Big Boy 4014
by Jon Burch Photography
Title
Big Boy 4014
Artist
Jon Burch Photography
Medium
Mixed Media - Digital Capture & Enhancement
Description
I was out standing in my field for this one... Out standing in a snow drift that is!
The Union Pacific Big Boy is a type of simple articulated 4-8-8-4 steam locomotive manufactured by the American Locomotive Company between 1941 and 1944 and operated by the Union Pacific Railroad in revenue service until 1959.
The 25 Big Boy locomotives were built to haul freight over the Wasatch mountains between Ogden, Utah, and Green River, Wyoming. In the late 1940s, they were reassigned to Cheyenne, Wyoming, where they hauled freight over Sherman Hill to Laramie, Wyoming. They were the only locomotives to use a 4-8-8-4 wheel arrangement: four-wheel leading truck for stability entering curves, two sets of eight driving wheels and a four-wheel trailing truck to support the large firebox.
Eight Big Boys survive, most on static display at museums across the country. One of them, No. 4014, was re-acquired by Union Pacific and restored to operating condition in 2019, regaining the title as the largest and most powerful operating steam locomotive in the world.
Many thanks to Hangar B Productions for their assistance on this rendition.
Original photograph made during a Thanksgiving snowstorm north of Greeley, Colorado at US 85 and "AA Street" while standing in a snow drift at the side of the road...
Image copyright 2019 Jon Burch Photography
Uploaded
November 26th, 2019
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Comments (63)
Anne Gifford
Fabulous capture of this relic, even if you had to almost freeze to get it! I enjoyed what you wrote about it.
Warren LaBaire Photography
Your work deserves to be featured in our group "Extreme Weather-Photography Only" Please consider adding this work to the "2024 Second Quarter Feature Image Collection" (l/f on 6-21-2024)
Christopher James
One of your peers nominated this image in the 1000 Views on One Image Group's Special Features Nominations For Promotion #27 . Please help your fellow artists by visiting and passing on the love to another artist in the the 1000 Views on One Image Group....L/F/Tw
Ben Prepelka
I love to see this vintage locomotive steaming along the tracks! Awesome shot, and congrats on your '1000 Views Special Feature'! Fav!
Christopher James
Congratulation.....your wonderful work has been featured in the 1000 Views on 1 Image Group ..... Feel free to place your featured image in the Features Archive and any Genre specific Archive l/f/p
Frank Maxwell
Jon, this is one of the finest renditions of a locomotive in action I've ever seen. It brings back a lot of memories of my watching the passing steam driven engines as they passed through my little hometown during the 1940s in Middle Georgia. Somehow what I saw then doesn't compare very well with your presentation! :) L/F
Jon Burch Photography replied:
Thank you very much Frank! Hangar B productions had a big hand in this as well.
Marlene Ann Malisow
Jon, this is a perfect/beautiful image. It is great that you were able to know that you could capture it.
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