Re: Big Boy #4018

> P.S. Come to think of it, is a Big Boy all that different to run from Challenger #3985? (besides coal firing)
The 3985 was a coal burner when it was originally restored to service. I forget where it got it's oil bunker, but it was from another UP park locomotive that used the same tender.
Steve Lee has covered the issues of why the U.P. is HIGHLY unlikely to ever consider restoring a Big Boy in several interviews and posts to news groups.
As I recall them in no particular order...
1) The two extant places in the UP system where they can be turned are only a few miles apart. I believe that is Cheyenne and Laramie.
2) They are hard on track and bridges. They are also very big and would have problems with clearances across the UP system.
3) They are hard to keep on track (he has explicitly explained that they are not two FEF 4-8-4's bolted end-to-end under one boiler). They're quite stiff and will walk off of soft track without much coaxing.
4) It would be extremely painful to convert them to oil. UP experimented with oil on the 4005(?) (in Denver at the Forney) but didn't pursue it. The locomotive was reverted to coal. The firebox is big... really big.
5) The UP's post restoration experience with 3985 as a coal burner convinced them they would never operate a coal burner again. The logistics, and expense, of positioning a hopper car full of coal and a clamshell crane (operated by a RR employee) was not trivial.
6) While there are reports of the Big Boys operating at speeds up to 70mph, they were designed to develop their maximum power at about 30mph. They're big freight locomotives, while the 8444 and 3985 are faster, dual service locomotives and can easily operate at the fastest allowable track speeds across the UP system.
7) Their current fleet of steam locomotives and heritage diesels is sufficient for their needs.
I'm pretty sure I've got his complete discussion (nearly a diatribe) that he posted in response to a usenet post. In that post, a troll suggested that the UP's reluctance to restore a Big Boy was Steve Lee's personal vendetta against them. Steve's response was very educational and interesting.