The only surviving Big Boy I've not yet seen is in Green Bay, Wisconsin, so another trip will have to be made!

The Forney Museum in Denver has a nice collection of old automobiles, which hit me like a slap across the face when I realized many of the those in the collection are from my own life time! Antique autos, they say?

Of course, the reason we went there was not for automobiles, but for steam locomotives and older railroad equipment. The most positive points first, and please remember, this is only me, voicing my opinion. The museum has two live sidings running right into the building. Extracting 4005 or any other piece of equipment would be a piece of cake. The building could be extended to house a third. The building is well attended and attended to, being climate controlled and dry. The railroad collection, excepting one caboose sitting outdoors, is painted and looked after. Forney Museum has saved some real gems, particularly several wooden passenger cars which show signs of deterioration, but are indoors and painted, making them preserved and secure. Big Boy 4005 is probably the most impressive artifact in the collection. It's painted, well kept, and appears to be intact. None of the railroad equipment is easy to photograph. As we see in other museums, indoors and out, the equipment is bunched together to maximize storage, which is, really, the heart of the matter. The 4005 display includes a significant rememberance of the men killed in the accident which nearly demolished the big loco. Scars from the wreck remain on the side of the tender.








Also included is a U.P. steam rotary, ex-C&NW R-1, 4-6-0, #444, a German Henschel 0-4-0, duded up to look like a clown, with all kind of phony garbage added to make her look "western", and lastly, a Forney 0-4-4. The Forney is painted up, but bears a huge Porter plate on the side, a sheet metal replacement headlight and what appears to be a sheet metal replacement stack.






The automobile collection is nice, well researched, but displayed without professional imagination. This is only my opinion, and I can't knock the museum for doing the most important thing, which is keeping artifacts safe.

There are a great number of rules specified prior to entering the building. My favorite was discovered in the men's room, just in case one needs instructions on how to act like a "big boy".


Next week, I hope to get to California, for some live steaming at Riverside Live Steamers, and perhaps Travel Town.

RIchard- thanks for more great pictures! #4005 looks MUCH better than she did in 1985 when I saw her at the old Forney location, displayed outside, with chain link fence stretched across her pilot and her firebox painted RED (!)

According to Ron Ziel's 'Twilight of Steam Locomotives", #4005 was partially disassembled in the early '60s in preparation for shipment to Argentina (!) Obviously that deal fell through and she went to Forney in Denver instead.