I think this will interest the readers on this board. I had the opportunity early this August to vacation in Southern California. The first half of my vacation was spent with my father and mother, who took me to see Travel Town. These engine were pathetic with fading paint and rusted parts.

The second half was spent with my twin sister. She took me to the Los Angeles County Fairplex to see the locomotive displays there. I was most impressed by 4014. She's in a remarkable state of preservation. Her boiler jacketing has been removed to prevent the moisture entrapment and moss that so blighted 4018. She has been covered with a thick coat of shiny black paint and her smoke box and firebox look like they are covered with the oil/graphite mix instead of just silver paint. Her bearings are in such good condition she has to be chocked to keep from rolling down the track. An incident did happen where a group of people gave her a shove and she started rolling. She pushed all the cars and locomotives in front of her. The Hudson at the head of the lineup ended up getting a taste of dirt as she was shoved off the track stub.

Her cab is in need of some paint but is otherwise functional. Plans are to repair her whistle and hook up and air compressor so visitors can blow it. This is an engine well worth seeing if you ever are in the Pomona area.

R. E. Marks

Bigboy 4014

What a delight to see a park locomotive looking like she simply needs a fire on her grates to roll away. I'd say we're looking at a viable candidate for operation at some point in the future. Wonderful item to bring before the group. Thanks!

glueck@saturn.caps.maine.edu

> I'd say we're looking
> at a viable candidate for operation at some
> point in the future.

Oh my, it seems to be my week for throwing cold water on people's dreams.

The odds of any Big Boy operating on a mainline again are close to zero, because of the turning radiuses and clearances these beasts require. Even UP had to add new turntables, rebuild wye tracks to larger radius, improve horizontal clearances between parallel tracks on curves, etc. just to operate them over Sherman Hill--the rulebook spelled out with great specificity where they were and were not allowed to wander. Steve Lee covers much of this in his article in the current Trains.

No Class 1 today is going to want to be bothered with the headaches of checking radii and clearances around the system just to run one steam engine.

No, I'm afraid we already have lots of fine super-power steam that doesn't pose these special challenges sitting around with no where to run. I don't think adding a Big Boy to the roster would help much. Let them enjoy an honorable retirement.

eledbetter@mail.rypn.org

> enjoy an honorable retirement.

You make an excellent point. For all her size and might, the 4000 class was one big headache. We have her little sister a Challenger in operation. She is quite impressive.

Sadly many of the survivors do not enjoy an honorable retirement like the 4014. The history of 4005 was checkered as she wandered from place to place before finding a final home a the new Forney museum in Denver. To add insult to injury her trailing truck centering devices had been cut. These has to be repaired before moving her to the new museum.

The most undignified retirement has to be for the 4018. She sits stuffed where it is hard to get a good photograph of her. Her piston rods have been cut with a torch. Her boiler jacketing is rotting away with moss growing through holes and her pipes and lines are in bad repair. I can't see how anyone would be able to afford to restore her like a certain person tried about a year or so ago.

I was delighted when I saw 4014. This engine is well cared for.

> The odds of any Big Boy operating on a
> mainline again are close to zero, because of
> the turning radiuses and clearances these
> beasts require.
> No Class 1 today is going to want to be
> bothered with the headaches of checking
> radii and clearances around the system just
> to run one steam engine.

O.K. I thought it might be fun to stir up the can of worms on this one. . .
How about at Steamtown ?
The line is (mostly) single track, so the fear of bonking into passing trains is not an issue. . .
and it was built to heavy DL&W standards.
The 4012 is already there. If clearances are too close, how the heck did she get there from Vermont ?!?
Yeah, I know. It will cost 86 gazillion dollars to restore her to run. So lets pass the hat to 8.6 gazillion of us steam - fanatics, each toss in ten bucks and get on with it !
So what if the Pocono's don't look anything like Sherman Hill.

> O.K. I thought it might be fun to stir up
> the can of worms on this one. . .
> How about at Steamtown ?
> The line is (mostly) single track, so the
> fear of bonking into passing trains is not
> an issue. . .
> and it was built to heavy DL&W
> standards.
> The 4012 is already there. If clearances are
> too close, how the heck did she get there
> from Vermont ?!?
> Yeah, I know. It will cost 86 gazillion
> dollars to restore her to run. So lets pass
> the hat to 8.6 gazillion of us steam -
> fanatics, each toss in ten bucks and get on
> with it !
> So what if the Pocono's don't look anything
> like Sherman Hill.

My question is how did they get 4014 into Pomona? I have pictures of her being towed over the Cajon pass. I'll confess running a Bigboy isn't too practical, but just seeing her belching smoke and steam would be a sight.

> My question is how did they get 4014 into
> Pomona? I have pictures of her being towed
> over the Cajon pass. I'll confess running a
> Bigboy isn't too practical, but just seeing
> her belching smoke and steam would be a
> sight.

Could you post those pictures, R.E.? Man, I'd love to see them! Seth


sethajackson@hotmail.com

I visited Southern Cal. in late April, early May, and also visited Travel Town at Griffith Park. I found the conditions there to be remarkably improved over my last visit two years ago. Planning to post some of the photos in a brief soon. Not that every thing was perfect but the transformation was amazing and the Travel Town people are to be commended for their efforts.

As for 4014 I am curious to know if the pistons and rods have been reinstalled. The one time I saw 4014, the same trip when I first visited travel town, it did not have its rods installed.

Could you contact me by e-mail. I'd like to compare your recent photos of 4014 to mine from two years ago.

Thanks.

Railway Preservation News
hkading@rypn.org