I suspect they were delivered over the NYC. I saw a newspaper article and photo of one of the Big Boys in Joliet yard. So that sort of helps us to believe that the NYC delivered the Big Boys to the EJ&E thru Joliet (around Chicago proper avoiding weight loading on bridges, etc.) up to the CNW and on west to the UP in Council Bluffs. Anyway with that which I have seen leads me to believe that.

Bob Krieger
Cheyenne, WY

No. 4000 was shipped dead via the Delaware & Hudson, New York Central, and Chicago & North Western to Council Bluffs, Iowa. A UP switch engine towed the engine across the Missouri River to Omaha Shops where it was officially accepted on Sept. 5, 1941. Later that month, No. 4000 was steamed up for the first time, and then put on display at Omaha Union Station. It traveled light to Council Bluffs for servicing, then back to Omaha to pick up a train of 100 empty Pacific Fruit Express reefers. The locomotive made several stops as it traveled west across Nebraska for water, fuel and crews, arriving in Cheyenne early the following day.

I *presume* the pictures were taken in Mohawk or Ilion, which would mean #4003 was routed over the West Shore line instead of over the NYC mainline.

When Steamtown's Big Boy (4012) was moved from Wyoming to Vermont, and then to Scranton, PA with the rest of the collection, what routes did it take?

'THE MESSENGER IS ENGINE NURSE AND LIVES IN CAB

Sometimes in Trip Across Continent He Is in Solitary Confinement for More Than a Month

Delivers Locomotive From Makers to Railroad

Philadelphia, May 20th- Since the Days when people first began to look upon the locomotive as a rival of the stage coach the engineman has occupied a big niche in the Hall of Fame. Artists paint him standing faithfully at his post of duty as his engine plunges on to destruction. Writers tell of his bravery under the most terrifying stress, poets sing of his heroism and the responsibility for the human beings in his care.
Yet there is another man who occupies the locomotive cab long before the trusty grime-besmeared engineman guides the throttle- a man around whom neither the artist, the writer nor the poet seems to have woven the fanciful and the heroic.
After the huge modern locomotive is completed it may be necessary to send this powerful machine thousands of miles across the country. From Philadelphia the trip may be Portland, Ore., or far off into the coldest and wildest regions of Canada. A new locomotive cannot be be used to pull a train traveling in that direction, assuming immediately the work for which it has been built. It Probably belongs to another railroad and must be shipped to the ordered destination as freight.

THE BEAUTIFUL NEW LOCOMOTIVE

Most of us have traveled sufficiently or have been near railroad enough to have become familiar with the sight of a long freight train which is made up of numerous locomotives, fresh paint and shiny metal testifying to their newness, between the familiar box and gondola cars. They are not traveling under their own steam, but are moving as freight, the same as any other merchandise or machinery. Grouped in twos, each pair is separated from the next by four or six regular freight cars. In the cabin of each leading locomotive sits a man, officially designated as "the messenger." He is guard and caretaker of two of the newly built engines and is required to remain with them continually until they reach the place where the owners take possession.
While traveling he must stay awake, watchful of possible accidents and breakages. For days and weeks he is practically under solitary confinement, snatching an occasional few minutes of sleep when the train halts and that only after he has completed a thorough examination of the engines. His life is unusual. In many respects it is similar to that of a tramp. He travels from one end of the continent to the other by freight and is seldom at home.
From the time he leaves the locomotive works he lives in the cab of one of the engines. The back is boarded up with a small sliding door in the middle. Within it is fitted out as combination eating and sleeping room. The quarters are cramped, but the messenger finds the space for his needs. On the left side he places a temporary bunk and over it a shelf. A small coal stove heats the compartment. On the right is a table and a seat. His provisions and fuel are stored in the tender. Thus he lives during his trip, which may mean three, four or five weeks.
Attached to the locomotive works are about 150 messengers. During the busy season these men are riding the rails farther and longer than the most hustling of our city drummers. They return to the city on passenger trains and their mileage is covered by the company.
The messenger's work ends as soon as he turns the locomotive over to the representatives' of the purchasing railway, but before the transaction is officially completed another test is given. With this the messenger has no concern, as another employee of the plant is then in charge. This last mention individual is permanently stationed in the district where many locomotive are being sent, and journeys from place to place, according to shipment. In cases where a single engine is being sent out to to a section where there is no permanent special man, the traffic department sends an engineer in charge instead of the regular messenger.

PREPARING ENGINE FOR LONG TRIP

A locomotive send out from the shops for delivery needs little attention afterward. Before shipment a trial run is made, and if satisfactory, the driving rod is removed, so as to not work the piston and cylinder needlessly during the coming trip. Also it is often required to remove the bell, the headlight, and other appliances which are too high for low bridges along the route. These are wrapped and placed in the tender. When the messenger delivers the locomotive at the end of their trip it takes little time to make the several connections, get water, start the fire and soon be in running shape.
His unconventional apartment doesn't make the messenger any less appreciative of good food. And some of these men have gained fame for their cooking. Said one man who has made so many trips that the work has almost become monotonous "I usually start with a good supply, and for a three weeks' trip get a pound each of butter and coffee, several loaves of bread that will keep fresh a week if properly cared for, a quarter peck of onions and potatoes, a half dozen boxes of biscuits, two dozen of eggs, some canned vegetables, a couple of slices of ham and sufficient sugar. Like myself most of the boys have a sweet tooth, and like buns and cakes and rice puddings. Also no messenger would go without some cans of sardines, for they make their favorite sandwiches of them."

MONTH AND A HALF TO THE COAST

Living in the cab, the only time the messenger leaves his quarters is when his charges have been shifted off in a division waiting the makeup of a freight train. For, be it understood, these freight trains do not run from coast to coast without changes and remaking. Also the locomotives travel on slow freights between 15 to 20 miles an hour.
The run to Kansas is made in an average time of about 18 days, to California in as many as 45 days may be consumed. This is due to relays in freight yards and to various holdups when trouble develops in the new locomotive. It is the messengers duty to keep his locomotives moving as rapidly as possible. If the delays are due to causes which he cannot overcome, the messenger wires the Philadelphia offices. Sometimes the locomotive may get many miles along the way before they are blocked; again difficulties may develop in the first few hours.
One thing the messenger must especially guard against is the "hot box." In a new locomotive the bearings are stiff and the constant grinding makes trouble. Often the messenger, experienced in such manners, can "smell the trouble." If he thinks it is serious he gives the engineer of the freight train the signal to stop by waving his arm in a certain manner. Otherwise he will wait until the train makes a stop for water. Always at stops he examines his charges.
If necessary he will have the engineer cut out his locomotives and place them on a siding. When he has brought them into good shape again he notifies the division superintendent of the road and is attached to the next freight passing that way. The reason the pair of locomotives are distributed throughout a long line of freight cars is because of the need of a division of weight in going over bridges.