Does anyone have an idea as why no Cab Forwards were ever restored and put back into service? Was it because of its unique design as compared to the conventional steam locomotives or was it more expensive to run and operate compared to the conventional loco’s?
Larry
Sheer size could be a factor. UP 3985 took a long time to be restored.
Do any cab forward’s even still exist?
One is in the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento.
Steam engine restoration is a very complicated proposal. The GS4 #4449 had an individual who kept the bearings oiled for over 20 years in the hopes of seeing it run again. Had he not done that it would never have been restored. The engines that are successfully restored have had excellent care taken of them prior to and were preserved in very good repair when the were saved. Some were on their last legs and restoration is a ground up idea. It would be cheaper and easier to build some models from the ground up rather than restore them. The PRR K4s 4-6-2 is getting a complete rebuild at Steamtown and is in excess of $5,000,000. A cab forward could be triple that based on the complexity and work required if you could find a shop that still had the cranes and equipment to pull it off. Some guy tried to do a movie several yearsago in Texas about restoring the Big Boy in Dallas. The idea died rather quickly as he couldn’t get the funding from anywhere to do it.
It is a shame that more did not survive. They were such a unique part of American railroad history.
One reason N&W J 611 still exists is because it was in a wreck late in its active career…
Probably because of the size. A Cab Forward is a 2-8-8-4 (or 4-8-8-2). A Big Boy is a 4-8-8-4. They cannot restore either because there is no place large enough to turn them. (i could be wrong)
Thanks for the info guys! Guess I’ll have to live the memories in video’s as I was too young to remember them as a kid.
Turning is one issue, finding track they can run on is another. Most of the very large locos had a limited are where they were actually used, and that area was built to handle them. In today’s excursion world, where people would like to see them just about everywhere, they would be very likely to encounter track that would not handle their required turning radius, among other things. It can get complicated.
But it would be nice to see more steam in operation, regardless.
Yes - Berks are cool. NKP 587 is a Mike, though.
ISN’T THERE A "CAB FOWARD, IN CHEYENNE,WYOMING, OR IS THAT THE “BIG BOY”, THEY WERE GOING TRO MAKE RUN TO WEST COAST, BUT WERE STOPPED BY INSURANCE PROBLEMS., A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO. AKA HUB.
Yes. One still does exist. 4294 is on display in the Califorina Railroad Museum. It is the only one left. (They don’t operate it either.)
It’s a shame that there aren’t more left. [V]
It was on display (unfenced) for many years in front of the RR Station in Sacramento, where weather and vandalism took its toll. It has been cosmetically restored and looks beautiful, but has not been restored to runable condition.
I have memories of cab forwards charging through my home town of Martinez with
long strings of reefers tied to their tails as they made a run for the grade leading up
to the Suisun Bay Bridge. What a show they put on for a young boy! The other day,
for the first time, I sat in the engineer’s seat of a cab forward. I didn’t want to leave.
That cab forward is the only one that remains as it rests in it’s majesty in the
Sacramento Museum. Physical restoration is impossible, but the memories need
no restoration! The videos are nice, but they don’t make the very earth move
beneath your feet.