Union Pacific posted this video today: Bringing the Big Boy Back to Life (Twitter)

Did we really need another topic on the big boy???

Yes!
The return to service of 4014 is likely the big rail event of the year, maybe the decade? The Big Boy event has been sadly under-represented on this site.
All the nabobs on here insist that they are not railfans so are probably pretending they are not interested. Some of the responses have been rather condescending and negative.
Guess what guys, I hate to break it to you - YOU ARE RAILFANS!- and this is really just another railfan site. Most were probably closeted away watching all the videos the last few days.
That a major, modern company like Union Pacific has placed so much interest and effort into the steam program and to restoring 4014 should be celebrated as much as possible. Get over your own egos and enjoy the moment.
Thank you Union Pacific and all the folks involved with the effort.

Personaly, I couldn't be happier for Brother Dickens, his crew, Uncle Pete, and everybody who has been able to watch this latest installment of the free big steam show that us locals have enjoyed for 40 years or better.

CONGRATULATIONS on pulling off a bloody MIRACLE.

VIVA UP 4014 !!!!

Oh I agree with that we are all railfans and I agree that the Big Boy is a big event. I just don't know if the same subject needs quite so many threads.. but that seems to be how this site goes so that's alright. :)

Obviously, the need is to have a thread dedicated to the completion of N&W 1218!

The motivation of Union Pacific to restore and maintain a small representative fleet of its greatest steam achievements is remarkable. But why do it? It shows corporate greatness. It shows "can do" capability. It shows historical awareness and the value of drawing the public into the fold. What does Union Pacific management understand that the other great companies have not yet addressed?

"Do we really need another thread?"

Look, this is potentially THE most significant railfan event in the past 60 years or more in North America, if not the world, at least as far as the ability to impress and excite the non-railfan public.

This beats Tornado hitting 100.
The Golden Spike Limited in 1969.
The American Freedom Train (which was a Bicentennial event that happened to have a railfan aspect, so it's not really applicable).
Bicentennial diesel paint jobs.
The Chessie Steam Special.
614T in the New River Gorge.
N&W 1218 or 611.
The SR steam program.
SP 4449.
Rebuilding the WW&F and/or the Welsh Highland Railway.
Cass.
Dragging various steamers out of the river bottom, and even restoring one (in New Zealand) to operation.
UP 3985.
The Flying Scotsman's tours in North America and Australia.
The temporary repatriation of the LNER A4s to Britain.
Any steam in just about any other nation.

About the only possible contenders may be the CSRM "Railfair" events in 1981 and 1991, or more likely the "Steam 150" calvacade events in Britain in 1975 and 1981.

Granted, it remains to be seen whether this PR stunt achieves the PR it should in the era of attention spans being nil, and/or UP properly exploits this thing for what it's worth and repeatedly shoves it into the public eye as it should. But this is the "moon launch" of main-line steam. You literally CANNOT top this.

And sorry, not even with a replicated PRR T1.

And I say this as an "old f*rt" that no longer impresses easily. AT ALL.

And now we get to see how far UP can physically send a Big Boy if they so choose for PR "shock and awe"--Los Angeles? San Francisco? Denver? Portland? St. Louis? Chicago? Houston? Scranton?

I say, keep the threads coming, as long as they're not so ridiculously mundane as "why's she stopped at [random siding]?" in nature.

I’m glad I asked the question! Nice to see people’s excitement for the project. I agree it’s a great thing to see a Big Boy under steam and I wish I could be there for it.

But what’s the great achievement? A Fortune 500 company decided to do something big and they hired a full time staff and said do this by this date. And what makes the big boy a bigger achievement than the challenger? Or the 611? (Asking somewhat hypothetically cause I do get it... I’m excited as well).

Maybe this is why UP did it, and why it is a big thing?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwmXDZ8J_Jo

I think this also serves as an inspiration for all of those park engines and static museum displays. The 4014 was the least likely locomotive to ever run again. It was landlocked clear across a sizeable fairgrounds with a busy Metrolink line being the closest live rail. The UP already had the largest operating steam locomotive in the 3985, why bother with a Big Boy? And if they were to restore one, surely they would go after one closer to home or accessible to live rail. Yet they chose the 4014 to restore back to operation.

So for those of you who trudge out to the local park or museum to grind rust, paint and lube up your favorite locomotive, keep at it. You just never know what can happen.

So some of us seem to be implying that it is "purer" for a non profit or a museum to restore an important piece of railroad equipment than for a large corporation to do it. How is UP's restoration effort different that the restoration of former F.E.C No. 148 under way by U.S. Sugar? There has been nothing but praise for U.S. Sugar and very little praise for U.P.

If we are all about Railway Preservation, does it really matter WHO is doing the preserving?

Ummmm, yes. If a topic goes off the first page, it may as well be gone forever. It is easier to start a new topic than to find an old one and bring it back to life.

I wasn’t implying that it was purer, nor that UP doesn’t deserve praise. I love the UP program. But from a preservation story, it is what it is? No one had to raise any money, or gather up volunteers. It’s a corporate program of a huge business that could change in anyway possible with the decision of a handful of executives. The whole thing could be shut down after the 150 events, or it could be expanded with daily excursions from Cheyenne to boost the economy of Wyoming! (Neither are likely. But both are possible).

Perhaps there is a difference, but only in the certainty of success and the time frame required. With a corporate sponsorship things are far more certain than a publicly funded effort. When it comes to big steam all the locomotives, whether privately owned or owned by a non-profit, are beholden to the vicissitudes of the class 1 railroads for a place to run. The Milw 261 has operated on the Twin Cities & Western short line, but operates pretty much at the mercy of BNSF to reach the short line. The CN and CP have no mercy when it comes to steam and the UP is unfriendly because they have their own steam. So, yes, the UP could shut its program down tomorrow. But the U.P is profitable and they see their steam program as a plus. If profits get squeezed we know what will get the axe first.

I don’t know what more the UP or other companies would do in response to the crowd the Big Boy has drawn. They did say they would “bring the Big Boy to a place on the UP system near you” so judging by that statement I’d expect it to be a very busy locomotive for the next couple of years. All these people have come to the state of Wyoming, the least populated state in the union just to see it. Imagine the possibilities in a more populated area.

I do like the sound of “daily excursions” but that’s a big task to handle for the heritage fleet. Sure you have the centennial, the E units, 3985, 844, and now 4014, but all of these engines are made for longer distanced and more powerful trains, and they all do their own things at some point during the year. If they were to do this, I’m sure the UP might just want to go to like Speer and back or something like that, maybe even Greeley, nothing terribly far. If UP were to ever create a short excursion program from Cheyenne in conjunction with the Depot Museum, I’d have an unlikely suspect to operate those trains: 2-10-2 5511.

Hear me out here, yes I know I’m foaming out the mouth.

5511 has been kept indoors since retirement, probably in better cosmetic condition than any other locomotive out there.

5511 is the only survivor of its class: it is a smaller, slower engine that can take the load of a loaded passenger train, but in its uniqueness in being 1 of only 7 American 2-10-2’s left in the country (that’s less than the total amount of Big Boys), it could absolutelyattract a crowd

And most importantly, 5511 seems to be virtually complete: as it is the only survivor of its class, 5511 isn’t cannibalized like a certain other 4-8-4 in Cheyenne.

I’ve heard multiple tales of 5511’s condition: some say the boiler wasn’t in very good condition, others say the engine is in such good condition, “restoration” will only take a couple of weeks.

But back to the big boy. This event in railway preservation history is monumental. The impossible has been achieved.