I probaly will get burned for saying the “BB” word, but…
I got a big boy for cristmas, and I was wondering what cars did the real ones pull, and can get I get some(in HO scale). The time peroid I would prefer is 1944-1950. Please post links to various manu. of these cars.
bb4884,
First off, [#welcome] to the forum! Good to have you aboard! [:)]
In the era that you’ve mentioned: 50’ and under boxcars, reefers, 55-ton hoppers, 52’ and under gondolas, tankers, flatcars, and caboose would have been common. Whether you buy kits or RTR (ready to run) rolling stock, you can check the BLT (built) or NEW dates on the side of the car before you buy. Although some may argue how accurate these dates really are, it does give you a good ballpark figure to work from.
Tom
Don’t forget the iced reefers carrying produce east and empties west, still a major commodity in the late '40’s and '50’s. Actually almost any thing except intermodal flats and trailer on flat car which became the major change in the evolution in shipping in the '90’s and '00’s. The advice to look for “New” or “BLT” dates is probably the best advice in selecting freight rolling stock.
Will
Not being anything like a UP expert in any way as I recall they were pretty restricted to the Cheyene Wyoming area and were used primarily for getting any kind of freight up and down Sherman hill west of Cheyene. As a 12 year old kid I was in a motel swimming pool across from the west end of Cheyene yard when one walked a freight out of the yard westbound and started the trek west once more. I could feel every piston thrust and steam exhaust in the water 100 yards away.
[#welcome]
Contrary to what might be supposed Sherman Hill is not the Operating Departments main source of heartburn; that distinction belongs to the Wasatch and the 4000 Class was designed with that geography in mind. The units may have occasioally gravitated - temporarily, of course - to other areas but in the time frame cited in your post that is where they were still assigned. As diesels became more common on the Onion Specific in the late-40s early-50s the Big Boys were pushed eastward into the Cheyenne-Laramie region.
In modeling this era don’t forget PFE - I understand that they used to haul solid blocks - 70 plus units - of PFE reefers eastward up Devils Canyon out of Ogden in those days - a heady performance considering the grade there approaches and may even exceed two percent.
Big Boys were built for the Ogden to Green river run and worked this run for much of their lives, but were always rebuilt in Cheyenne shops and would work their way to and from Cheyenne even in the early days.
They normally worked every type of freight train the Union Pacific had and provided some helper service over Sherman in the later days to other Big Boys. They finished their last few years in the Cheyenne to Larami pool over Sherman.
I listed some web sites for Big Boys in action.
PFE train below
http://www.rr-fallenflags.org/up/up-s4018ark.jpg
Mixed Freight
http://www.rr-fallenflags.org/up/up-s4003an.jpg
Mix Freight
I’m sure I’ve seen some pictures of them with PFE Reefers. In some train movies they refered to them pulling a load of 50 of these wagons.
[#welcome]
The reason for living for this iron clad behemoth was long lines of Overland freights which could have been slightly mixed freight (boxcar-boxcar-boxcar-boxcar-boxcar-boxcar-boxcar-boxcar-boxcar-boxcar-boxcar-boxcar-boxcar-boxcar-boxcar-boxcar-gondala-boxcar-boxcar-boxcar-boxcar-flatcar-boxcar-boxcar), I mean just take al look at the pictures starring the 4-8-8-4 in the wilderness. Although I am ify about coal units trains and Pacific Fruit Express was ever hauled by this giant.
Heres a link about “BB” :
Just make sure your boxcars all have roofwalks. A requirement in the steam era but began to disappear in the diesel age and are now gone completely.
Also, your boxcars should be mostly red-brown in color. Rainbow colored boxcars didn’t begin appearing until the last days of steam and even then they weren’t that prevalent.
Big Boy!!! Mmmmm Mmmmmmm!!! That’s a tasty sandwich!!![:P]
underworld[:D][:D][:D][:D][:D]
During the ‘big steam’ era of the '40’s and '50’s, solid blocks of PFE reefers would be packed in California and shipped east over the SP to Ogden, where UP would pick them up and deliver them to eastern connections at Omaha. So yes, it would be only logical to have a Big Boy charging up the Wasatch with a solid block of these colorful reefers. The reefer blocks were run as expedited specials between Spring and late Fall, and often up to ten of these extra trains would be run per day between Roseville and Omaha. I’ve seen several photographs of Big Boys lugging these blocks up the Wasatch grades, they were as common a loco power on these trains as were SP’s equally famous ‘cab-forwards’.
Tom