We have challengers, northerns, and lots of other locomotives still operating today. But how about having a 4000 Class loco. running? I know that the cost to do this would be extremely high, but would it even make sense to have a bigboy restored? The Union Pacific dosn’t own any bigboys, so who would make one running again?
Any comments?
[8D]
Good idea! I guess since it is your idea you are elected president of the restoration fund to purchase & restore a big boy to working order [:o)][:D][:p]
Didn’t a couple years back a movie company have (4018 ???) moved to see if it was restorable for a roll in the movie. Don’t know what happened.
Railroad65
The obvious happened. Not enough money. I would rather see currently running locos to run, then take money from them to start another.
Adrianspeeder
I think a most of the 8 remaining Big Boys are in “display only” condition. I’ve heard the closest one to running is the one at Steamtown. Based on their financial status, I agree with Adrianspeeder in that I would like to see money spent a little more wisely.
The only real hope for a Big Boy lies with its original owner, I think. The UP Steam program is the only real entity that could undertake a Big Boy. Given the fact that they have pretty openly stated that they do not want to undertake such a project, I wouldn’t hold my breath.
Of course, times change. The main opposition from the UP over a Big Boy are the fact that they are coal burning, and too large to conveniently turn around. Of course the 3985 was converted to burn oil, and its not a whole lot shorter than a Big Boy, so who knows. Only time will tell, and only when it’s ready.
Well they can send them to Ogden they have a “Y” big enough to turn it easily. [:o)][:p][:D]
[quote]
Originally posted by CopCarSS
According to the people at the Age of Steam Museam in Dallas, in which I frequent, the movie deal fell through as it was part of a hoax and a joke on the part of some people. Originally it would have cost 10 million to restore the big boy which is in a sad state of display only condition. The next time I am there I will get some postable photos and post them here to illistrate what I mean.
Even if a Big Boy was restored to operating condition, the sheer size of it would put pretty serious restrictions as to where it could run. Even in the Age of Steam when all the supporting infrastructure was still in place, Big Boy was by no means a system locomotive.
We have plenty of operable mainline steam locomotives. It’s the mainline excursions we don’t have many of!
The Big Boy, #4018, at the Age of Steam Museum at Fair Park in Dallas was reported to be the one in the best condition for restoration after an inspection by an expert. As mentioned it was moved a few feet without any problems. The fence was lined with spectators that day and several additional museum memberships were picked up then. The museum wisely said that a bond had to be posted for the complete restoration cost as they did not want the engine disassembled then the project abandoned leaving the museum with a warehouse full of heavy parts scattered all over the floor. Since the movie producers could not post the bond the idea died.
Better to take the money and buy insurance so the existing steam locos can do some running!
I agree with that last statement!
I think if UP thought restoring and running Big Boy was feasible,they would have already done so.But as previous posts have said,even they would be limited where they could run it.3985 has its limits(Clinchfield 676,anyone?),and a Big Boy even more so.Not to say I wouldn’t jump at the chance to see one running ! Now how about someone getting an Alleghenny running?
I’d like to hear someone opine what it would cost to build a brand new steam loco (your choice). While a lot of the tools, etc, that were used to build the originals are gone, advanced computer-driven milling techniques, modern metalurgy, etc, etc, might allow for the duplication of a lot of the parts. It’s doubtful that the entire locomotive would be built in one place, but I’d bet that most of what’s needed to fabricate one could be found.
By no means would this be an inexpensive project - with modern locomotives going for 7 figures in what amounts to a mass production environment, putting together a full sized one-off Berkshire would cost. A lot.
Still, a faithful replica, free of many of the problems that the advanced age of existing steam locomotives bring with them, would certainly be a major draw. Some of the liability issues related to the locomotive itself would be minimized by a state-of-the-art machine. And once you built a Berkshire, you could move along to a Mohawk, or a Niagara, or a T-1, or a Texas, or you-name-it. Think of the possibilities!
We’re all pretty proud of what the National Railroad Museum in Green Bay has done with their Big Boy. #4017 has a nice house around it now and it’s been repainted. It looks great.
This is precisely why the Boone & Scenic Valley Railroad in Iowa bought a new Mikado from China instead of rebuilding something American. In the long run it was much easier to start with a new locomotive than go through the whole rebuilding process, and then start with maintenance. Of course, China doesn’t build steam anymore, so we’re back to square one.
That’s a bit of a contrast to the #4012 at Steamtown. Last year we took a lot of pictures of it standing out in the open with no protection at all. The paint was streaking and it looked a bit weather-beaten. But you sure couldn’t miss spotting it when you first pulled into the parking lot.
I can’t help but wonder if building a replica from the ground up might not cost about the same as restoring one. I once saw a man build a brand-new model A Ford from scratch using all brand new parts. It cost him less than half the price of a new modern car, but that was not counting his labor.
Talking of building a new locomotive from scratch - have you checked out the A 1 project in the UK . they have built an LNER A1 4-6-2 from the ground up . The boiler is now being constructed in Germany . Check out the A1 website for info . Yes it can be done - but the cost , that’s another matter . Now has anyone got a few million $ - say a lottery winner who doe’snt know what to do with it !!
An Allegheny would suffer even more restrictions than a Big Boy since they were appreciably heavier and possibly more powerful than Big Boys if C&O used them properly. At any rate, both of them are impressive locomotives.
China stopped building them, but there still a few there, and the purchase of one is very viable. The company in Germany thats doing the LNER A1 will build a custom replacement for the boiler (the weakest link) of any locomotive. So its IS possible to get almost any good condition engine operational, its all about the costs. I can think of a dozen other loco’s I’d rather see returned to operational condition. The Big Boy was simply too specialized an engine and there really are very few places it could run due to its shear size and wieght.