Pacing Big Boy #4014
After 60 years in retirement, Union Pacific’s Big Boy #4014 barrels down the track in Utah. While making history, Union Pacific Steam shops in Cheyenne, Wyoming, unleashed this beast to the delight of rail fans all over the world!
During World War II, since metal and fuel was in short supply, the Big Boy class locomotive was conceived to eliminate the need to double head up the Wasatch Mountains. UP originally ordered 20 class 4000 engines in 1941 and then 5 more in 1944 at $265,174 per engine. Adjusted for inflation, it is estimated that this would have totaled a whopping $107,620,056 or more in today’s dollars, each engine individually running $4,304,802!
Quick Facts about UP Big Boy 4014
- Rail Line: Union Pacific
- Driver diameters:-68 inches
- Power type: 4-8-8-4 Steam Locomotive Class 4000
- Builder: American Locomotive Company 1941
- Coal Consumption: 22,000 lbs per hour (converted to oil)
- Locomotive and tender weight: 1,250,000 lbs
- Max Speed: 80 MPH !
Let us know if you have seen these two locomotives in person. We would love to hear about your experience!
