Metro got a great video of it from Grand. With a bonus MetroLink train:
https://fb.watch/7IOLMWX5zy/
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https://fb.watch/7IOLMWX5zy/
Some of my own pictures from today and yesterday. I have some videos I'll upload later.
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Definitely a PR win for UP. Indeed the line to view some of the cars was super long.
I'm jealous of you lucky duckies that got to see it moving.
StlToday - Photos: Big Boy, world's largest operating steam locomotive, stops in Kirkwood
https://www.stltoday.com/news/multimedi ... a53bf.html
I'm jealous of you lucky duckies that got to see it moving.
StlToday - Photos: Big Boy, world's largest operating steam locomotive, stops in Kirkwood
https://www.stltoday.com/news/multimedi ... a53bf.html
Nice shots Chris. Funny seeing people in modern clothing marveling at trains like it's the 1800's again. Not a dig, it's just interesting to see.
Nicely done, Chris; thanks for sharing.
BTW, how do we know the Big Boy was doing the actual pulling, and not the modern diesel lashed-in a few cars back? In the end I guess it doesn't really matter, but these are the things I think about.
BTW, how do we know the Big Boy was doing the actual pulling, and not the modern diesel lashed-in a few cars back? In the end I guess it doesn't really matter, but these are the things I think about.
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I was wondering the same thing. And what fuel does it use now to heat the steam. Not coal. Diesel?framer wrote: ↑Aug 31, 2021Nicely done, Chris; thanks for sharing.
BTW, how do we know the Big Boy was doing the actual pulling, and not the modern diesel lashed-in a few cars back? In the end I guess it doesn't really matter, but these are the things I think about.
The diesel is simply an emergency option to keep main lines clear in the event the BB has operational issues. Traction is being provided solely by BB when steam is apparent.framer wrote: ↑Aug 31, 2021Nicely done, Chris; thanks for sharing.
BTW, how do we know the Big Boy was doing the actual pulling, and not the modern diesel lashed-in a few cars back? In the end I guess it doesn't really matter, but these are the things I think about.
NO. 6 oil provides the fuel. Matching tender provides both oil and water. The other two tenders are water only.
Thanks Chris, my cousin sent me a video over the text message of Big Boy rolling through Jeff City w Capital in background. Her and her Husband must have been on the bridge from what it appears.. Not nearly as good as what you posted though.
Ed Dickens who runs the steam program was asked this question in an interview a while back. The diesel has a few purposes. First is redundancy in case the steam engine has a problem. (Used on the latest tour when big boy ran low on water in Louisiana.) Second is dynamic braking so the steam engine doesn’t burn through cast iron brake pads rolling down grades. And yes occasionally to provide additional power, but only to increase steam engine “fuel” efficiency not because it needs help. With no water and oil infrastructure left they have a lot to balance when trying to roll around the country. The load it is pulling on tour is a fraction of what it is capable of.framer wrote:Nicely done, Chris; thanks for sharing.
BTW, how do we know the Big Boy was doing the actual pulling, and not the modern diesel lashed-in a few cars back? In the end I guess it doesn't really matter, but these are the things I think about.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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^They frequently also provide "head end" electrical power to the train for light and HVAC, though UP steam has an unusual set up with a generator car so that isn't always strictly necessary for them. (About everyone else, though.) In steam days many appliances on passenger trains were steam powered. There were bone-fide steam powered air-conditioners. I kid you not. Not that all trains were air conditioned. Some, but probably not most. These days it's all electric. And while steam locomotives do have generators, they're not beefy enough to provide the amps needed for HVAC in particular. They were really just there to run the lights. An odd feature of the "transition" period is that passenger diesels were nigh always equipped with steam generators to provide steam to run the steam powered appliances in everyone's fleet of legacy passenger cars.
All right, here's a few from . . . oh . . . January. (I'm slow and got distracted.)
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And believe it or not, this is a locomotive. Or at least parts of one. Some local St. Louis folks are helping to build a brand new high-power steam locomotive. (To a lightly updated version of a 1940s design.) Meet Pennsylvania Railroad T-1 5550. She's not quite hatched yet, but she's coming along nicely. And when she's grown she's going to be a runner! As mad as it sounds, they have a boiler now, a firebox, a cab, and at least some of the cast drivers. I believe they even found a historic tender. The design work is largely complete. The frame will be built up rather than cast for reasons of practicality. I'm sure it will have fully modern safety systems. But aside from that, they're staying pretty true to the original design, which was exceptionally fast. Probably faster than Malard (though maybe not quite as fast as the Milwaukee F7s at least in the sprint), but that was never proven. Well . . . they'll have the opportunity to prove it now.
Smokebox and boiler barrel with front tube sheet:
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Firebox wrapper:
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And believe it or not, this is a locomotive. Or at least parts of one. Some local St. Louis folks are helping to build a brand new high-power steam locomotive. (To a lightly updated version of a 1940s design.) Meet Pennsylvania Railroad T-1 5550. She's not quite hatched yet, but she's coming along nicely. And when she's grown she's going to be a runner! As mad as it sounds, they have a boiler now, a firebox, a cab, and at least some of the cast drivers. I believe they even found a historic tender. The design work is largely complete. The frame will be built up rather than cast for reasons of practicality. I'm sure it will have fully modern safety systems. But aside from that, they're staying pretty true to the original design, which was exceptionally fast. Probably faster than Malard (though maybe not quite as fast as the Milwaukee F7s at least in the sprint), but that was never proven. Well . . . they'll have the opportunity to prove it now.
Smokebox and boiler barrel with front tube sheet:
Firebox wrapper:
Steam power may indeed see it's day again. After all, even nuclear power plants ultimately use steam to generate electricity.
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^True that. 
(Though I don't think I favor the idea of nuke trains. Trains are pretty safe, but the accident rate is a little high for direct nuke power.)
(Though I don't think I favor the idea of nuke trains. Trains are pretty safe, but the accident rate is a little high for direct nuke power.)
OTOH, I would absolutely watch a B movie named 'Nuke Train'symphonicpoet wrote: ↑May 25, 2022^True that.
-RBB
Supertrain was a short-lived TV series in the late '70s that featured a nuclear powered passenger train.
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Holy crap! Why is a train in the US carrying the Tsarevich Bombino? Do I want to know?
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Oh boy, the UP line that straddles Maplewood and the City was getting its ties replaced over the past couple of days. Not sure whether they're still working on it or not, but there were a lot of neat construction/utility type single units going back and forth in huge convoys. Was wondering if you or anyone else got any shots of it all going down - saw a couple people set up on lawn chairs watching the whole ordeal.
Yeah, work crews love it when the civilians set up lawn chairs to watch.
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^Sometimes they know the civilians and share pictures and information. Sometimes. With the friendlier civilians and crews. I used to know a fellow who had built a viewing tower in his yard to watch the southern leads to the Dupo yard. (Retired UP conductor, so he was almost certainly one of the better civilians.)