Most tractive effort? For a non-one-off, isn't that the Virginian AE Class 2-10-10-2 at 176,600 pounds simple and 147,200 pounds compound?
John
Another factor in the "mystique" of the BigBoy, is the mystique of the west. A bug I have never been bitten by.
I have models of H-8's, Y class, A class, and EM-1's, because I model the east........
But for every model I have of some big articulated monster, I have about 10 models of average, medium sized, everyday work horse locos like Mikado's, Consolidation's, Mountain's, Pacific's, and 10 Wheeler's.
Sheldon
xboxtravis7992 John-NYBW I wonder if the guy at the factory hadn't chalked Big Boy on the first one off the line giving the 4000s their nickname if they would have enjoyed the lore they do today. Would there have been the effort to restore one? I doubt it. What's in a name? In this case, everything. I think the size appeal certainly would have helped it be restored eventually, but the Big Boy gives it a strong appeal; it helps hint at the size and power of the engine in the name alone.I dunno though, I personally prefer the working class name of "Wasatch" if in part because it names the mountain range the 4-8-8-4's were built to conquer. Just as how names like "Niagra," "Pacific," "Northern," "Mikado," "Santa Fe," etc. all tell you something about where the first engines of that type were built for. I am also partial to Wasatch in part because I live near that range and my workplace and school is nestled right up against those mountains... so there is certainly a local bias there. But at the end of it all, Big Boy has a strong naming appeal. It conveys power and strength in a way Wasatch never would have; and it made sure that everyone worldwide who knew anything about trains would remember the simple name of "Big Boy" and the locomotive it stood for...
John-NYBW I wonder if the guy at the factory hadn't chalked Big Boy on the first one off the line giving the 4000s their nickname if they would have enjoyed the lore they do today. Would there have been the effort to restore one? I doubt it. What's in a name? In this case, everything.
I wonder if the guy at the factory hadn't chalked Big Boy on the first one off the line giving the 4000s their nickname if they would have enjoyed the lore they do today. Would there have been the effort to restore one? I doubt it. What's in a name? In this case, everything.
I think the size appeal certainly would have helped it be restored eventually, but the Big Boy gives it a strong appeal; it helps hint at the size and power of the engine in the name alone.I dunno though, I personally prefer the working class name of "Wasatch" if in part because it names the mountain range the 4-8-8-4's were built to conquer. Just as how names like "Niagra," "Pacific," "Northern," "Mikado," "Santa Fe," etc. all tell you something about where the first engines of that type were built for. I am also partial to Wasatch in part because I live near that range and my workplace and school is nestled right up against those mountains... so there is certainly a local bias there. But at the end of it all, Big Boy has a strong naming appeal. It conveys power and strength in a way Wasatch never would have; and it made sure that everyone worldwide who knew anything about trains would remember the simple name of "Big Boy" and the locomotive it stood for...
I've read that UP trainmen simply called them the 4000s. If the name Wasatch had caught on, I think a lot of people would have had to look up where the Wasatch mountains were. I knew about the Big Boy long before I ever heard of the Wasatch mountains.
ATLANTIC CENTRAL John-NYBW I wonder if the guy at the factory hadn't chalked Big Boy on the first one off the line giving the 4000s their nickname if they would have enjoyed the lore they do today. Would there have been the effort to restore one? I doubt it. What's in a name? In this case, everything. Well, it was going to be a notable example of modern steam with or without "BigBoy" chalked on the front. That said, I've never owned a model of one, don't plan to own a model of one, as built or as running today. I think it is great that it has been saved, the UP deserves great respect and praise for their steam program. What does sometimes bother me a little is some of the false assumptions about the 4000 class. It is not the biggest wheelbase, that prize goes to the PRR S1. It does not have the most TE, the winner is the GN S2. It does not have the most drawbar HP, the C&O H8 has 20% more. It is only the heaviest by 950 lbs, a margin of only 1/10th of one percent over the C&O H8. It is big enough with its rather long wheelbase on each engine set that it would not have been useful on a great many railroads, especially in the east were locos like the EM-1, H-8, Y6b and Class A defined big in their own terms. All four of these locos showed that BIG could also have a good balance of speed, power and nimble on the winding trackage of Appalachia. Sheldon
Well, it was going to be a notable example of modern steam with or without "BigBoy" chalked on the front.
That said, I've never owned a model of one, don't plan to own a model of one, as built or as running today.
I think it is great that it has been saved, the UP deserves great respect and praise for their steam program.
What does sometimes bother me a little is some of the false assumptions about the 4000 class.
It is not the biggest wheelbase, that prize goes to the PRR S1.
It does not have the most TE, the winner is the GN S2.
It does not have the most drawbar HP, the C&O H8 has 20% more.
It is only the heaviest by 950 lbs, a margin of only 1/10th of one percent over the C&O H8.
It is big enough with its rather long wheelbase on each engine set that it would not have been useful on a great many railroads, especially in the east were locos like the EM-1, H-8, Y6b and Class A defined big in their own terms. All four of these locos showed that BIG could also have a good balance of speed, power and nimble on the winding trackage of Appalachia.
That more or less confirms what I said. The nickname Big Boy went a long way toward seperating the 4000 class from the rest of the powerful articulated steam locomotives being operated by railroads around the country. None of them captured the fancy of railfans like the Big Boy did. All you have to do is look at how many different versions have been manufactured over the years. Way more than any of the other articulated locomotives from steam's final years.
It does not have the most TE, the winner is the GN R2.
I guess...to each his own, John. I haven't felt the strong appeal of the 4-8-4, and the name didn't improve things for me. I prefer the Challenger.
Why couldn't it have been Leviathan, or Atlas, or Goliath? Big Boy came out a few years prior to Little Boy. Go figure.
MTH makes the 4014. It even has the "Big Boy" chalk writing on the smokebox door. I don't actually have this model, but I have an MTH catalog with photos of it. This is the catalog if you're interested. The Big Boy is on page 10. https://www.mthtrains.com/sites/default/files/catalog_files/2019_ho_v_1/index.html
I believe the Athearn 4014 due out in Oct 2020 will have a decal of the chalk "Big Boy" you can apply to the boiler if you wish.
I haven't been able to find one of the BLI 4014's for sale anywhere. I'm sure they were pretty well all grabbed when the prototype 4014 was making it's tour. I don't believe it had the chalk Big Boy in any form.
BLI, apparently...not sure about the chalk lettering up front, but you can click to get enlarged views. Maybe do it with a single hair wiped once after dipping...?
https://www.broadway-limited.com/4387upbigboy4014excursionversionwilsonaftercoolersounddcdccho-2.aspx
Have any of the manufacturers come out with a current version of the 4014 with its oil tender instead of the coal tender it had when it was hauling freights for the UP? It also has a painted version of the "Big Boy" chalk mark put on the front of the first Big Boy off the line which is where it got its nickname.