I must have watched this on VHS hundreds of times as a kid. That last long whistle blast as the train disappears into the sunset still brings a tear to my eye. There will never be anything else quite like a steam locomotive.
On a trip to see my grandmother in Pittsburgh I was watching a steam engine in the rail yard near her home. My dad came down to sit next to me. He said, “Take a good look, son. We won’t be seeing those much longer”. I can still see, smell, feel and hear those wonderful machines.
I n my perot saw BIG BOY 4014 in action just east of L.A pulling UP passenger cars n before then BB 4014 was rnr we saw it in pamona by race track next to another giant DD A40X 6922 with few other locos
According to the RRHMA site it wasn't under steam during this film, they burned old tires in the smokebox to create the illusion and had it being pushed by a diesel offscreen. However it does look like they managed to get a trail of steam from the generator, not sure if that's some sort of film trick or what. However if you compare the footage of the other locomotives, it should have steam coming from a lot more places.
@@blackbirdgaming8147 I'm 68 and since I was 15 I would go to this place near down town Houston called Eureka Junction. It was where the MKT and the SP met. Was fortunate to have seen the earlier GP's and even a few Katy "F" units plus their really odd ball Baldwin/EMD road switchers. I came of age during a post steam era, was born too late. I first knew and understood what a "Big Boy" was when I was about 12, when I would wonder off on my bicycle to either the SP or MKT just to watch a train go by. Never in my wildest dream, even then would I have dared dream a mighty 4000 would slowly go thru Eureaka Junction curve but in Nov. 2019 it did!
man I remember watching this 10 Years ago when I was 5 and still into thomas. Now I'm taking my first steps into serious model railroading. Finally remembered the title of this amazing documentary.
@@thunderturbine8860 doesnt really spoil it, the fact that a 4000 moved under its own power in our lifetime is already a miracle as it is... anyway the diesel is for dynamic braking and switching, and as a backup in case of a problem with the steam loco's, etc. Whole host of reasons, really
I am absolutely delighted by the fact that, in a month, many of us will finally be able to say that we were one of the lucky boys to see them in action, an opportunity I would have thought disappeared forever.
I remember back in the 50's as a young man going to Spencer, North Carolina, and seeing the steam engines at the repair yard. Spencer is now a museum where you can see round table and shop that repaired the trains and at times ride on a steam train.
GREAT MEMORIES GROWING UP WITH THE STEAM ENGINES... USED TO PUT PENNIES ON THE TRACK AND PICK EM UP AS FLAT PIECES OF COPPER AFTER THE TRAIN PASSED ! 👍😁
Indeed, to think that today one single crew engineer can control a whole 2 mile long freight from one cab over whole distances, these needed 5-6 men minimum just to get the train out of the yard; engineer, fireman, conductor and then (usually at least) 2 or 3 brakemen, nowadays even an extra conductor is becoming a thing of the past
Just THINK of the MANUFACTURING Process at ALCO American Locomotive Company ! NOT one single solitary PART was made OUTSIDE of the UNITED STATES of AMERICA
This was a great documentation on steam history, I would love to see more. I'm 56 years old I never seen steam power in it's day but I seen 844 I think 3 times come thru Kansas, 3985 at least once and I have been fortunate to see 4014 from Grand Island earlier this year going to North Platt, Than now to find out she is going to be in my back yard on Nov.21 for 45 minutes. Thank you Union Pacific for all the great work and recreating this for all of our younger generation people to experience. The first time I saw 844 etched memories in my head that I can't forget and it's part of our history that formed this country, I feel greatly privliged to see all three engines in my lifetime, I know it costs tons of money to restore and operate these old historic engines keep up the great work and God Bless America
This is my favorite classic railroad film of all time, along with Norfolk and Western 611 "Going Home." I'm glad UP has chosen to restore 4014, I hope they get many good excursions out of it.
4014 in a way truly is the "Last of the Giants" (unless Steamtown someday brings back 4012). Fun fact, the opening music of this film was in my head for almost all of 4014's first trip. Truly fitting for the king of locomotives!
My maternal grandfather was a UP mechanic from WWI to 1965. @ 1960, when the last steam locomotive was to be retired, UP put together a special train for employees & families...Wonderful experience..
This film features several survivors: 1243 (4:56) 2295 (3:44) 9000 (8:38) 3985 (9:35) 5511(5:18) 4012 (14:54) Drive Wheel 'L8' only. I'm guessing backmost axle, left wheel? and a special appearance by the original Big Boy 4000 at 14:29 and again at 17:30, although it did not survive into preservation. There are many background engines that I could not identify, so some of them COULD be survivors for all I know.
While it isn’t in this film union pacific 844 would’ve been a contemporary of the scenes of what we see here and it would have either just ended its original era prior to being withheld from retirement around this point, or it would have just embarked upon its long excursion career. I kind of wish we got to see some very early footage of 844 in this because I have found that I pretty much can’t find any footage of 844 prior to 1960 and even then it’s almost impossible to find any footage of it before 1970 as a 1966 era Trip is one of the first things that I know for certain was recorded on film other than the 1960 snow plow experiments it was a part of.
I grew up from the mid-40’s -1060. In the 50’s I rode steam train almost everywhere. In 1949 me, my brother and mom road a steam train from Denmark,SC to SF, Ca on our way by ship to Guam. I just wish young people could ride steam trains like I had, it was a great time.
if you rode from denmark that must mean you must have rode on the southern part of the way. it must have been nice. seeing as i live in columbia and back when i rode my bike around id still see alot of their bridges and such i always wondered what it was like to ride the southern back then. you ride a named train?
The Union Pacific restored both the Challenger No. 3985 a few years before they restored the Big Boy No, 4014. Many other railroad companies have restored many more steam locomotives and use them for passenger excursions.
Not anymore at least, there’s a video of it and 3985 being towed to the RRHMA, and in the future once it’s restored, it’ll run again for the modern generation to see
This documentary was my favorite thing to watch as a kid, im now 21 and still love watching it every now and then, seeing 4014 live is a definite bucket list must see
This is the video that introduced me to my favorite type of articulated steam locomotive, the Union Pacific "Big Boy" & I have been fascinated with this locomotive type ever since I was a young child about 25 years ago.
My grandpa and dad both worked for the ICRR Illinois Central. Grandad was a crew chief and dad a laborer. At 25 cents a day dad worked around the coal steam locomotives. It was a good job if you could get it. The RR gave Grandad a IC Railway house right 20 yards off the mainline, big Ol barn. As a kid my dad liked the smoke and cinder flying back by the window where he rode the line. Big trains Big drive wheels, lot of action and fun!!
I notice Big Boy 4013 was a predominant fixture in this video. it's a damned shame that loco was sold for scrap shortly after it retired in July, 1959. Total bummer. But alas...we all have 4014 back on the rails as a object of our awe and wonder!!!
That echo of the whistle is chilling. Its almost like the dying call of a mighty beast. A grim reminder that despite their power and size, most of these beautiful steel beasts would fall at the hands of the scrappers torch. The echos of their mighty whistles, being all that's left of the great giants of the west
4:56 Union Pacific 1243 [Narrator] With this museum piece with its six churning driving wheels was new in 1890. It was considered a Samson of the rails. 5:04 [train whistle]
Thanks so very much for this documentary, the Big Boy engine as with all steam locos was a living breathing mass of metal that has a beauty all of its own, fabulous machine and thankfully was saved and restored. To work on one of these each day must have been hard work at times but wonderful to look back on.
That closing shot of the sunset sky is stunning. Hooray for Kodachrome! I have a recording of SP&S 700's whistle in the Rockies that is note perfect for what we hear here. Hear here! :P
Correct, yet they never really went to Seattle, except as part of the "pool trains" passenger service. UP, NP, GN and SP&S shared passenger train duties between Portland, OR and Seattle.
Wow! Big Boy was some magnificent masterpiece. Being able to move rolling stock 5 miles long is a real feat of power⚠️ I'm glad there is still one in existence to be able to be viewed.
When I was a kid, my parents took me to Steam Town because I begged them for years. When we went to the gift shop, they bought me a DVD containing historical railroad movies. This happened to be one of them, and it was my favorite in the entire disk. I must've seen it over a thousand times. I think we gave the disk away at a thrift store, but I have many fond memories of watching all of those old train movies as a kid.
+Robert Brunner I saw 4004 in in the second week of march for spring break im thinking next year me and my dad should go back to the steam shops and check the progress of 4014 if anyone has question ask im start about trains!!!
up4014 steam train fan What ever happened to UP 4013? I saw him in this video. Will 4014 really be ready for the sesquicentennial of the golden spike in 2019?
22:11 Narrator: "The rumble and roar of Big Boy will seem still to echo from the high country of Southern Wyoming." Union Pacific 4014: *I'm about to ruin this man's whole career.*
I had this as a VHS when I was a kid, and dreamed of the moment in the beginning where a young kid sees one rolling by. It's so awesome to watch now, 30 years later, and see they only got the "happy memory" part wrong, with 4014 now operable.
God that whistle... I think that 3 chime whistle is my favorite whistle to ever get put on a locomotive. It is both haunting and powerful. (Fixed whistle-type error)
@@ethancederberg718 Np yeah the 4000s wore Hancock Longbell 3-chimes. But each had a different tone character as 4014 still wears it's original Hancock 3 to this day.
Finally a Big Boy documentary showing what these engines were built for (around 19 minutes in) , hauling (racing) armaments like tanks, and munitions to the coasts. mb
We lived within 2 blocks of a Railroad "Roundhouse". I actually saw steam locomotives when I was small. I could hear those lonesome whistles all thru the night.
Haven't seen this one before. Magnificent machine and superb production. Thanks to all who contributed to this production. And special thanks to those who made the biggest steam engine ever come back to life. Marty Jasper
Wow, the announcer speaks so eloquently of the romance of the iron horse - and all I see is that huge sooty exhaust cloud spewing up into the pristine Western air - still, a cool machine
I got an N-scale Big Boy for my birthday, and fast forward a few days later, I bought some freight cars for him. I’m really excited once we build our full railroad layout to see him pulling some cars!!! I can’t wait!!!
If #5511 at 5:18 looks like its smoke isn't being lifted very high, that's because it's not actually steaming. That locomotive was out of service by the time the movie was made, but to make it appear operational, the railroad set some tires on fire in its smokebox and pushed its train from behind with a diesel locomotive. The visibly weak puffs come from the valve gear being moved by the rotating driving wheels. You'll also note the lack of steam coming out of other places on the locomotive--compare it to the film segments just before.
22:21 such a sad ending of a magnificent locomotive. (Yes I know 4014 has returned but when this was made this was the end and some people who watched this back in the day had probably never heard a big boy in person.)
what a majestic and awe-inspiring creation was 'Big Boy:' a work of art that thrilled one with its bully and bluster; man Oh man!! Memories are made of this
"Every inch of Big Boy radiated majesty." Ain't gonna get scriptwriting like that now. Did anyone notice that some of the background music was employed in the Hanna-Barbera cartoons of the same era? And the resonant confidence-inspiring voice of the narrator, typical of the early post-WW II era. Note that the film regretted that the age of the Big Boys had passed, but that there was a better future coming. Alas, it didn't happen.
Last of The Giants is the story of BIG BOY's life from when he left ALCO in 41 to his first day on the job at Steam Shop. BIG BOY pulled the stuff that won WWII. when the war was over BIG BOY was sent to the museum in Pomona. Now he is back ready to conquer Sherman Hill once again.
The big boys ran until 1960 when the last f them were in standby service they were not retired after WW II Late 1959-1960 is when they ran their last miles in service
Got to see the bigboy 4014 the other day. Stopped right near my home on a frontage road. Got to take plenty of videos and photos of it! Truly amazing to see!
While designed for smooth operation up to 80 mph to avoid beating itself up hauling freight at track speed, no Big Boy has ever hit 80 and revenue speeds hardly exceeded 50 mph, mainly because their mainstay was the steeper grades. The fastest reported speed on a Big Boy was 72 mph on a test run. Still impressive if you ask me, and still faster than the Challenger's official top speed of 70 mph (I still love the Challengers though). Though neither the largest nor most powerful steam locomotive ever built, it still ranks among them and it goes without saying that they are legends. Definitely more than worthy of preservation. So glad 8 survive. The Big Boy was probably the first locomotive I got to know about and study, having first heard of it as a child and they still fascinate me to this day and is my favorite steam locomotive (tied with the Norfolk & Western J 4-8-4).
1:16 "For by 1960 the age of steam had virtually ended, and the thrill of seeing a mammoth engine at work was to be only a happy memory of childhood." *Not anymore.*
Too bad the people that worked on this video never got to see the 4014 return to operation, since they died long before Ed Dickens was even in charge of the steam operations.
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1959: Big Boy was a King of the Rails.
2019: *Big Boy is the King of the Rails.*
2023: Big Boy still is the King of the Rails.
2024: Basically the same thing as 2023
JULY 11,2024 : BIG BOY IS HERE IN ROSEVILLE CA!!!!!!
@@Railfan-uf9mw Big Boy will always be King of the Rails, even when dormant!
I must have watched this on VHS hundreds of times as a kid. That last long whistle blast as the train disappears into the sunset still brings a tear to my eye. There will never be anything else quite like a steam locomotive.
So have I!! My grandfather had this vhs back in the day
I don't know how i got the VHS of this when I was little.
Big boy pushed a stalled diesel consist up a hill, this is how its done
On a trip to see my grandmother in Pittsburgh I was watching a steam engine in the rail yard near her home. My dad came down to sit next to me. He said, “Take a good look, son. We won’t be seeing those much longer”. I can still see, smell, feel and hear those wonderful machines.
I n my perot saw BIG BOY 4014 in action just east of L.A pulling UP passenger cars n before then BB 4014 was rnr we saw it in pamona by race track next to another giant DD A40X 6922 with few other locos
Good to see footage of 5511 running
Soon enough 5511 will be back up and running again like old times.
According to the RRHMA site it wasn't under steam during this film, they burned old tires in the smokebox to create the illusion and had it being pushed by a diesel offscreen. However it does look like they managed to get a trail of steam from the generator, not sure if that's some sort of film trick or what. However if you compare the footage of the other locomotives, it should have steam coming from a lot more places.
Hard to believe the Big Boy is back in service. I never thought I would ever see it happen.
When I see the clips of 4014 now running, the opening theme music here comes into my head. It's almost like a superhero's theme.
None of us did
Americans can do anything!
@@blackbirdgaming8147 I'm 68 and since I was 15 I would go to this place near down town Houston called Eureka Junction. It was where the MKT and the SP met. Was fortunate to have seen the earlier GP's and even a few Katy "F" units plus their really odd ball Baldwin/EMD road switchers. I came of age during a post steam era, was born too late. I first knew and understood what a "Big Boy" was when I was about 12, when I would wonder off on my bicycle to either the SP or MKT just to watch a train go by. Never in my wildest dream, even then would I have dared dream a mighty 4000 would slowly go thru Eureaka Junction curve but in Nov. 2019 it did!
@@stanfischer6175 Very cool! I was born way too late for steam myself, I’m 19 lol. I hope to see 4014 next month in Fort Worth.
man I remember watching this 10 Years ago when I was 5 and still into thomas. Now I'm taking my first steps into serious model railroading. Finally remembered the title of this amazing documentary.
Yesterday Big boy 4014 ran under its own power for the first time in decades
It really is a spectacle to watch it's almost as if it was a living being
Any idea as to why they have diesels pushing from behind now? That just spoils the look of the glorious Big Boy locomotive
@@thunderturbine8860 doesnt really spoil it, the fact that a 4000 moved under its own power in our lifetime is already a miracle as it is... anyway the diesel is for dynamic braking and switching, and as a backup in case of a problem with the steam loco's, etc. Whole host of reasons, really
@@urmad378 OK That's a fair point. Dynamic braking wasn't a thing in steam locomotives back then.
That was more than a year and a half ago. Wow
I can never get enough of Big Boy's three chime steam whistle. It makes me feel like I went back in time.
The return of the KING of the high iron.
I recognize some of that country, Cheyenne to Laramie. Drove it a lot during the early 80's.
No computers, no electronic calculators. Superior people using their skills as designers, machinists to make a magnificent machine.
I am absolutely delighted by the fact that, in a month, many of us will finally be able to say that we were one of the lucky boys to see them in action, an opportunity I would have thought disappeared forever.
I remember back in the 50's as a young man going to Spencer, North Carolina, and seeing the steam engines at the repair yard. Spencer is now a museum where you can see round table and shop that repaired the trains and at times ride on a steam train.
1:18 “And the thrill of seeing a mammoth engine at work was to be only a happy memory of childhood.”
60 years later, that mammoth engine has awoken.
And the smoke breathing Dragon rumbles down the tracks oncemore.
Boss music starts
GREAT MEMORIES GROWING UP WITH THE STEAM ENGINES...
USED TO PUT PENNIES ON THE TRACK AND PICK EM UP AS FLAT PIECES OF COPPER AFTER THE TRAIN PASSED ! 👍😁
It says, “Soot…Soot…SOOT!”
Saw it on person. Was absolutely epic.
The Union Pacific Big Boy is a legend!
Most recently, I heard that Big Boy helped a stalled diesel train get up a hill in Blair, Nebraska.
im still trying to get my head around the amount of service this engineering masterpiece needed, i mean what do you expect, its just massive
Indeed, to think that today one single crew engineer can control a whole 2 mile long freight from one cab over whole distances, these needed 5-6 men minimum just to get the train out of the yard; engineer, fireman, conductor and then (usually at least) 2 or 3 brakemen, nowadays even an extra conductor is becoming a thing of the past
@@haydendraycott7897 Yet, the Big Boy pulled five miles of cars.
Just THINK of the MANUFACTURING Process at ALCO American Locomotive Company !
NOT one single solitary PART was made OUTSIDE of the UNITED STATES of AMERICA
We got tired of double-heading the trains, so we built one engine with double the power.
This was a great documentation on steam history, I would love to see more. I'm 56 years old I never seen steam power in it's day but I seen 844 I think 3 times come thru Kansas, 3985 at least once and I have been fortunate to see 4014 from Grand Island earlier this year going to North Platt, Than now to find out she is going to be in my back yard on Nov.21 for 45 minutes. Thank you Union Pacific for all the great work and recreating this for all of our younger generation people to experience. The first time I saw 844 etched memories in my head that I can't forget and it's part of our history that formed this country, I feel greatly privliged to see all three engines in my lifetime, I know it costs tons of money to restore and operate these old historic engines keep up the great work and God Bless America
I was in Salina, KS when Big Boy 4014 came thru, being a young buck, I was in awe when I saw it up close and when it was running
This is my favorite classic railroad film of all time, along with Norfolk and Western 611 "Going Home."
I'm glad UP has chosen to restore 4014, I hope they get many good excursions out of
it.
fuck excursions
It needs to pull freight
@@WesternOhioInterurbanHistory
No matter what they use those beautiful beasts for I'm happy to know they are in use.
@@pointingdog7235 let’s please don’t say that. Let’s just say they are Beautiful Giants.
@@WesternOhioInterurbanHistory so you dont give a fuck about maintennance crews having to fixing the wear and tears, foamers will always be tweaking
It's amazing seeing these beautiful machines. It astounds me that my great grandpa got to fire the 844.
They say they do everything bigger in America... That just brought real meaning to that statement...
I'd recognize this narrator's voice anywhere. This is the same guy who narrated "Plan Nine from Outer Space." The Edward D Wood movie!
This film deserves an HD restoration.
"It's was the last of the giants"
Until today!
4014 in a way truly is the "Last of the Giants" (unless Steamtown someday brings back 4012). Fun fact, the opening music of this film was in my head for almost all of 4014's first trip. Truly fitting for the king of locomotives!
Pentrex said that it wasn't likely for a Big Boy to ever pull a train again. But BOY did UP prove them wrong.
@@thunderbird1921 ah I see you have good taste
How much did UP spend to get him up and running?
@@thunderbird1921 👩❤️👨i
My maternal grandfather was a UP mechanic from WWI to 1965. @ 1960, when the last steam locomotive was to be retired, UP put together a special train for employees & families...Wonderful experience..
I live in Schenectady, NY, the home of the former ALCO plant...birthplace of the Big Boys. Love seeing them run and the sounds.
And it is back in action and with more power due to changing to oil burning.
14:21 Steam Shop back in the day it was a hive of activity when those engines came in. now there are only three #844 #3985 and BIG BOY.
Yes Big Boy 4014
Nice to see 3985 in this film!
428 is currently under restoration in Illinois...
How many watching in 2021 Saw the 4014 Big Boy pass thru mu local today..amazing...!!
She was quite majestic steaming thru Kirkwood!
This film features several survivors:
1243 (4:56)
2295 (3:44)
9000 (8:38)
3985 (9:35)
5511(5:18)
4012 (14:54) Drive Wheel 'L8' only. I'm guessing backmost axle, left wheel?
and a special appearance by the original Big Boy 4000 at 14:29 and again at 17:30, although it did not survive into preservation. There are many background engines that I could not identify, so some of them COULD be survivors for all I know.
I watched this video many times as a kid. I just came back from the Durham Museum in Omaha, Nebraska, and Union Pacific #1243 is there on display!
At least we may see 5511 and 3985 run again since they’ve gone to be worked on
While it isn’t in this film union pacific 844 would’ve been a contemporary of the scenes of what we see here and it would have either just ended its original era prior to being withheld from retirement around this point, or it would have just embarked upon its long excursion career. I kind of wish we got to see some very early footage of 844 in this because I have found that I pretty much can’t find any footage of 844 prior to 1960 and even then it’s almost impossible to find any footage of it before 1970 as a 1966 era Trip is one of the first things that I know for certain was recorded on film other than the 1960 snow plow experiments it was a part of.
4466 also appeared pushing 4012 to the wash.
@@ericurbane99 The locomotive pushing the 4012 looked awfully big to be 4466, or one of her sister engines.
I have this film and still do. Its part of a box set of videos. This happened to be my favorite
Same
I grew up from the mid-40’s -1060. In the 50’s I rode steam train almost everywhere. In 1949 me, my brother and mom road a steam train from Denmark,SC to SF, Ca on our way by ship to Guam. I just wish young people could ride steam trains like I had, it was a great time.
if you rode from denmark that must mean you must have rode on the southern part of the way. it must have been nice. seeing as i live in columbia and back when i rode my bike around id still see alot of their bridges and such i always wondered what it was like to ride the southern back then. you ride a named train?
The Union Pacific restored both the Challenger No. 3985 a few years before they restored the Big Boy No, 4014. Many other railroad companies have restored many more steam locomotives and use them for passenger excursions.
1:10 - 1:24 With #4014 up and running, the thrill of seeing a Big Boy in action is no longer just a happy memory of childhood. :)
Yup
Agree. I saw her before and after her revival
Only footage of UP 5511
Not anymore at least, there’s a video of it and 3985 being towed to the RRHMA, and in the future once it’s restored, it’ll run again for the modern generation to see
It’s pulling freight in this but according to bennyboi there’s a clip in this of it burning tires in its firebox
18:26 @@Strasburg_Railfaner611
We have some other footages, but they're very rare to find
A NECESSARY film for ANYONE who is a loyal fan of steam locomotives!
This documentary was my favorite thing to watch as a kid, im now 21 and still love watching it every now and then, seeing 4014 live is a definite bucket list must see
This is the video that introduced me to my favorite type of articulated steam locomotive, the Union Pacific "Big Boy" & I have been fascinated with this locomotive type ever since I was a young child about 25 years ago.
My grandpa and dad both worked for the ICRR Illinois Central. Grandad was a crew chief and dad a laborer. At 25 cents a day dad worked around the coal steam locomotives. It was a good job if you could get it. The RR gave Grandad a IC Railway house right 20 yards off the mainline, big Ol barn. As a kid my dad liked the smoke and cinder flying back by the window where he rode the line. Big trains Big drive wheels, lot of action and fun!!
I notice Big Boy 4013 was a predominant fixture in this video. it's a damned shame that loco was sold for scrap shortly after it retired in July, 1959. Total bummer. But alas...we all have 4014 back on the rails as a object of our awe and wonder!!!
Of the 25 Big Boys 8 are still in existence. Across the world their were great steam locomotives classes that where totally eradicated.
The beginning of the film showed 4009 which also got scrapped
there are photos of UP 4013 being scrapped
It's great that 4014 rolls again, representing a living tribute to the pinnacle of steam.
That echo of the whistle is chilling. Its almost like the dying call of a mighty beast. A grim reminder that despite their power and size, most of these beautiful steel beasts would fall at the hands of the scrappers torch. The echos of their mighty whistles, being all that's left of the great giants of the west
One of the best steam locomotive videos I've ever seen!
Some priceless footage, one of the best BigBoy videos on here
Soon you will be able to see a Big Boy when 4014 is back to service.
East Coast Rail Chasers yup and Last of The Giants is his story
Today is that day
@@harrimanfox8961amen
And that is now
The scenery in this looks like a painting.
At 9:35 is 3985. They had no idea how significant she would become. It's a shame she can't join 4014.
4:56 Union Pacific 1243
[Narrator] With this museum piece with its six churning driving wheels was new in 1890. It was considered a Samson of the rails.
5:04 [train whistle]
One of my favorite railroad videos!
Thanks so very much for this documentary, the Big Boy engine as with all steam locos was a living breathing mass of metal that has a beauty all of its own, fabulous machine and thankfully was saved and restored.
To work on one of these each day must have been hard work at times but wonderful to look back on.
What a lovely film! And that music from the 50's! I love these films.
Guess whoooooos baaaack!! 4014 is out of the shop and has a fire in its belly. Its ALIVE!
Just today, 4014 once again did what it was meant to do and pushed a stalled Manifest up a hill.
That closing shot of the sunset sky is stunning. Hooray for Kodachrome! I have a recording of SP&S 700's whistle in the Rockies that is note perfect for what we hear here. Hear here! :P
+up4014 steam train fan Spokane, Portland, and Seattle if I'm not mistaken
Correct, yet they never really went to Seattle, except as part of the "pool trains" passenger service. UP, NP, GN and SP&S shared passenger train duties between Portland, OR and Seattle.
There is just nothing around nearly as glorious as these Big Boys!
Wow! Big Boy was some magnificent masterpiece. Being able to move rolling stock 5 miles long is a real feat of power⚠️ I'm glad there is still one in existence to be able to be viewed.
5miles... its insaaaane
more than one preserved but only one that is operational
@@JacobGrimaR761 thanks for information! Good to know that there is more than one around of these great machines 👍
@@victorcontreras9138 Your Welcome, The More the Merrier
When I was a kid, my parents took me to Steam Town because I begged them for years. When we went to the gift shop, they bought me a DVD containing historical railroad movies. This happened to be one of them, and it was my favorite in the entire disk. I must've seen it over a thousand times. I think we gave the disk away at a thrift store, but I have many fond memories of watching all of those old train movies as a kid.
Wow, this documentary screams the time period in which it was made. You don't hear such flowery language in today's documentaries.
I saw 4012 in steamtown it was so awesome to witness a behemoth like it
This is a moving tribute to these creations.Really wonderful.
Amazing technology and creative engineering. Never ceases to amaze me how something so heavy is able to move. Mind boggling!
I have a photo of the 4004 I took in Wyoming in about 1976 on a trip to Vegas. Love trains.
+Robert Brunner I saw 4004 in in the second week of march for spring break im thinking next year me and my dad should go back to the steam shops and check the progress of 4014 if anyone has question ask im start about trains!!!
up4014 steam train fan What ever happened to UP 4013? I saw him in this video. Will 4014 really be ready for the sesquicentennial of the golden spike in 2019?
@@hakeemsd70m Sadly 4013 was among the scrapped Big Boys.
@@britainluver431 I figured. Too bad they couldn't preserve a Big Boy for The Ohio Railway Museum.
I can't believe I just got to actually see one of these operate again 😍
22:11
Narrator: "The rumble and roar of Big Boy will seem still to echo from the high country of Southern Wyoming."
Union Pacific 4014: *I'm about to ruin this man's whole career.*
You just won the videos best comment award
I used to watch this as a kid, thank you for having this up.
I had this as a VHS when I was a kid, and dreamed of the moment in the beginning where a young kid sees one rolling by.
It's so awesome to watch now, 30 years later, and see they only got the "happy memory" part wrong, with 4014 now operable.
God that whistle... I think that 3 chime whistle is my favorite whistle to ever get put on a locomotive. It is both haunting and powerful.
(Fixed whistle-type error)
The 4000s actually wore 3 chimes not 6 chimes
@@AirchimeLTDproductions174 wow, you're right. I don't know how I made that mistake, thanks for pointing that out.
@@ethancederberg718 Np yeah the 4000s wore Hancock Longbell 3-chimes. But each had a different tone character as 4014 still wears it's original Hancock 3 to this day.
Finally a Big Boy documentary showing what these engines were built for (around 19 minutes in) , hauling (racing) armaments like tanks, and munitions to the coasts. mb
Much underappreciated "technology" of the day scoffed at by today's younger generation mesmerized by their little electronic gadgets.
We lived within 2 blocks of a Railroad "Roundhouse". I actually saw steam locomotives when I was small. I could hear those lonesome whistles all thru the night.
Haven't seen this one before. Magnificent machine and superb production. Thanks to all who contributed to this production. And special thanks to those who made the biggest steam engine ever come back to life.
Marty Jasper
Wow, the announcer speaks so eloquently of the romance of the iron horse - and all I see is that huge sooty exhaust cloud spewing up into the pristine Western air - still, a cool machine
***** Pristine? Since when.
ray ray better than back east, anyway
The men and woman who worked on these beasts back then were of a very special breed. You don't see that nowadays...AT ALL!
Except women didn’t operate these locomotives
Lol the last shot with the sunset and the whistle gave me chills
Beautiful Engine once again proves that they don't make them like that anymore.
I got an N-scale Big Boy for my birthday, and fast forward a few days later, I bought some freight cars for him. I’m really excited once we build our full railroad layout to see him pulling some cars!!! I can’t wait!!!
I am sorry to see that the days of the good-old train are all gone. There are fewer railroads in America.
You gotta love the serendipitous music with the cartoon. Brings back so many memories.
If #5511 at 5:18 looks like its smoke isn't being lifted very high, that's because it's not actually steaming. That locomotive was out of service by the time the movie was made, but to make it appear operational, the railroad set some tires on fire in its smokebox and pushed its train from behind with a diesel locomotive. The visibly weak puffs come from the valve gear being moved by the rotating driving wheels. You'll also note the lack of steam coming out of other places on the locomotive--compare it to the film segments just before.
I keep reading that in different places, but if you look at the generator right in front of the cab... it looks like there's steam coming out of it...
22:21 such a sad ending of a magnificent locomotive. (Yes I know 4014 has returned but when this was made this was the end and some people who watched this back in the day had probably never heard a big boy in person.)
what a majestic and awe-inspiring creation was 'Big Boy:' a work of art that thrilled one with its bully and bluster; man Oh man!! Memories are made of this
Its been 8 years since the last time i saw this show. Im so glad i found it again
I've gotten to see two of the 8 surviving Big Boys. Those being the 4017 in Green Bay, Wisconsin, and the 4012 in Scranton, Pennsylvania.
Me too. I saw 4004, and 4014.
I never got to see any big boys
I’ve seen 4006 at the Museum of Transportation in Saint Louis and am planning on hitching a ride on 4014 within the next year or so.
4005 in Denver 4014 when it went through Texas, in the spring I’ll see the one in Dallas
4012 at Steam Town in 2008 then rode the train in California pulled by 4014 in October 2019.
A beautiful sympathy of power and grace.
I love to see the big boy on the track
"Every inch of Big Boy radiated majesty."
Ain't gonna get scriptwriting like that now.
Did anyone notice that some of the background music was employed in the Hanna-Barbera cartoons of the same era?
And the resonant confidence-inspiring voice of the narrator, typical of the early post-WW II era.
Note that the film regretted that the age of the Big Boys had passed, but that there was a better future coming.
Alas, it didn't happen.
Last of The Giants is the story of BIG BOY's life from when he left ALCO in 41 to his first day on the job at Steam Shop. BIG BOY pulled the stuff that won WWII. when the war was over BIG BOY was sent to the museum in Pomona. Now he is back ready to conquer Sherman Hill once again.
The big boys ran until 1960 when the last f them were in standby service they were not retired after WW II
Late 1959-1960 is when they ran their last miles in service
4014 was restored in may of 2019
This should be the intro for the DVD set for the big boy 4014 when it comes out.
Got to see the bigboy 4014 the other day. Stopped right near my home on a frontage road. Got to take plenty of videos and photos of it! Truly amazing to see!
While designed for smooth operation up to 80 mph to avoid beating itself up hauling freight at track speed, no Big Boy has ever hit 80 and revenue speeds hardly exceeded 50 mph, mainly because their mainstay was the steeper grades. The fastest reported speed on a Big Boy was 72 mph on a test run. Still impressive if you ask me, and still faster than the Challenger's official top speed of 70 mph (I still love the Challengers though). Though neither the largest nor most powerful steam locomotive ever built, it still ranks among them and it goes without saying that they are legends. Definitely more than worthy of preservation. So glad 8 survive. The Big Boy was probably the first locomotive I got to know about and study, having first heard of it as a child and they still fascinate me to this day and is my favorite steam locomotive (tied with the Norfolk & Western J 4-8-4).
These union pacific big boy steam trains are massive
Union Pacific was the main railroad.
What a great film! So reminiscent of the ones I enjoyed in grade school in the 50's. Nothing says WWII America like the "Big Boy".
Amazing technology. My Grandfather was a fireman on one of the old steam trains.
I’ll be seeing big boy here in Texas not even a week from now!
Saw it in 2019 in college station and cried
1:16 "For by 1960 the age of steam had virtually ended, and the thrill of seeing a mammoth engine at work was to be only a happy memory of childhood."
*Not anymore.*
Too bad the people that worked on this video never got to see the 4014 return to operation, since they died long before Ed Dickens was even in charge of the steam operations.
he's back
We, our country, should always have the 1300's and 1400's on stand by to haul heavy loads. Keep the coal and water stops along the tracks.
“And once the engineer on his hero throne had cracked the throttle to start the tons-a-Rollin’ it took some doing to hold big boy back.