Category: Heritage

MAR finally gets ‘Big Boy’ to its new home; massive locomotive moves flawlessly to Frisco site

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Aug 29th, 2013

With hundreds cheering it on, the Big Boy made it home.

The Museum of the American Railroad’s beyond massive 4-8-8-4 Union Pacific steam locomotive arrived without incident at its new digs in Frisco, TX, on Aug. 25, capping a two-part move interrupted by periodic postponements.

The move culminated almost to the day MAR’s yearlong transfer of 40 pieces of vintage locomotives and rolling stock from its former home in Dallas’ Fair Park. On Aug. 27 a six-car consist left Dallas and arrived on the 12-acre Frisco site behind the Discovery Center to officially mark the start of an adventure that was conceived in 2009 when MAR agreed to lay tracks in Frisco.

Crowds formed along the 25-mile route that the Museum of the American Railroad’s heralded Union Pacific “Big Boy” steam locomotive took on its way from Irving to Frisco, TX, on Aug. 25. – Ken Fitzgerald/Cowcatcher Magazine

“We did it!” said MAR CEO Bob LaPrelle after No. 4018 rolled to a stop at 2:20 p.m. just inside the gate off the BNSF main line by Tower 19. “It went flawlessly.”

A throng of rail enthusiasts, onlookers, nearby residents and dignitaries cheered as a dedicated BNSF train gingerly pushed the 70-year-old locomotive onto the new site. The locomotive eased through the curve from the switch without issue. Crews were prepared to jack up the rear axle of the tender to help the 1.2 million-pound set negotiate the curve.

“We were concerned that we would have issues coming off the main line and going through the curve into the new tangent tracks,” LaPrelle said. “It eased right through it.”

No. 4018 wasn’t delayed on the trip from BNSF’s yard in Irving, TX, where it had laid over for a week for the next window to go to Frisco. The Dallas, Garland and Northeastern Railroad brought the locomotive from Fair Park on the previous Sunday.

Escorted by two older Burlington Northern units, the move over BNSF’s Madill Subdivision began at 10:35 a.m. Two trainmasters along with several BNSF maintenance-of-way, mechanical and police personnel assisted. Large crowds gathered at every crossing along the 25-mile route.

Crowds were heaviest in Irving and Carrollton. Others followed the move on social media.

The move began in earnest in April with preparations but was delayed for various reasons. MAR and the assisting railroads – BNSF, DGNO, Union Pacific, the Trinity Railway Express – had set at least three dates as far back as June. One move in July was halted just a few hours before anticipated departure.

“We are very grateful to the railroads for even agreeing to move us,” LaPrelle said. “Without their generosity and willingness to take on the project, we couldn’t have done it. You have to keep that in mind. You have to be patient and follow their guidelines. I never lost sight of that.”

BNSF, LaPrelle said, played an integral role by providing motive and manpower to transfer the Big Boy and the rest of the collection.

“They really came through for us,” he said. “We can’t thank them enough.”

See the September/October 2013 issue of Cowcatcher Magazine for more on this story.

UPDATE: Railroads give go-ahead for ‘Big Boy’ to complete move to Frisco on Sunday morning

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Aug 23rd, 2013

A train guided by the Dallas, Garland and Northeastern Railroad gently pulls the Museum of the American Railroad’s ‘Big Boy’ locomotive through Dallas on Sunday. The train moved at a top speed of 10 mph to transport the massive steam engine as far as Irving, TX. – Courtesy Museum of the American Railroad/Ken Fitzgerald

The “Big Boy” will be on the move shortly to its new home in Frisco, TX.

Officials at the Museum of the American Railroad got the word about 10 a.m. today from BNSF Railway that the second leg of moving the Union Pacific steam locomotive should begin at 9 a.m. Sunday. Within minutes of the news, calls began coming into MAR’s office at the Frisco Heritage Museum within minutes.

“The word is out,” MAR CEO Bob LaPrelle said with a grin.

The locomotive has been holding over in Irving since Sunday, following its departure from its longtime home in Fair Park in Dallas. Last weekend, crews pulled the steam engine to the interchange point between the Dallas, Garland & Northeastern Railroad and BNSF Railway in South Irving.

Steam locomotive expert Scott Lindsay of Steam Operations Corp. arrived Friday morning from Birmingham, AL, to assist with Sunday’s move. If Big Boy performs as well as it did on the first leg, Sunday’s move should go off without a hitch.

“It ran just like it was supposed to,” he said. “There were no exceptions, as we say in the business.”

As hundreds cheered, No. 4018 moved flawlessly with no mechanical issues over the entire route in its return to the mainline for the first time in 48 years. The 70-year-old locomotive has been on static display since the museum acquired it in 1965.

“It’s a real testament to the American Locomotive Company’s design and manufacturing practices back in 1942,” LaPrelle said. “Today it would be considered overbuilt, but in its time Big Boy was simply rugged and reliable.”

Lindsay and the museum’s Steam Team have been working since the spring on readying No. 4018 for the move, and the work has paid off so far. Lindsay said the locomotive performed without exception in his 10 mph ride across town last weekend. Leaving Fair Park, the locomotive and tender well-handled the tight curve outside the gates of the former museum site that had concerned officials.

“All the prep work on the front end paid off on the back end,” he said. “The time that we spent at Fair Park in the in the hot sun, those long days, it all paid dividends.”

On Monday, cars drove slowly by MAR’s site off the Dallas North Tollway hoping to get a peak of the Big Boy after reports aired earlier in the day that it could arrive by afternoon. At least two Dallas/Fort Worth television stations broadcast live spots detailing the move.

“Is she here yet?” called out one City of Frisco employee to a bystander near the fence. “We heard it was supposed to be here today.”

Much care was given to the world’s largest steam locomotive, at 133 feet and weighing in at 1.2 million pounds, to get it as far as it’s gone.

The entire route between Fair Park and Frisco was inspected, including bridge load capacities and degree of curvature along the line. Extra care was given to the locomotive’s long wheel base during preparations and throughout the move. Safety was paramount as well as avoidance of any delays to freight and passenger traffic along the way. Museum volunteers worked in concert with railroad employees to ensure a safe and successful move.

LaPrelle said MAR is indebted to the railroads for providing transportation of the Big Boy to Irving. Using a locomotive furnished by BNSF, DGNO dedicated two crews to the all-day effort at no cost to MAR. He also praised Trinity Railway Express for its cooperation and support of the move between Downtown Dallas and South Irving.

With the Big Boy in Irving, DGNO is finished with its portion of the move. The shortline has played an integral role in helping move much of the museum’s collection, in addition to the Big Boy, to Frisco.

“We will miss our friends at DGNO as we move off-line to a new home, but we are committed to preserving their legacy as part of our nation’s railroad heritage,” LaPrelle said.

The locomotive is sitting on private property adjacent to a busy commuter line and is not accessible by the public.

LaPrelle didn’t speculate on how long it would take to make Sunday’s move and when it would arrive Frisco.

Track being pulled up at Fair Park while MAR awaits next opportunity to move Big Boy

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Aug 1st, 2013

Volunteers remove track from the Fair Park site of the Museum of the American Railroad. – Courtesy Dick Thompson

Almost 50 years to the day that Dallas’ much anticipated railroad museum opened at Fair Park, tracks are being removed as the Museum of the American Railroad winds down a move to newer ground. Workers were on hand today to pull up rail that will be transported to MAR’s new museum in Frisco, TX, with exception of the rails which holds the massive “Big Boy” locomotive that is still waiting to be moved.

Several attempts to transport the Union Pacific steam locomotive have been stymied for one reason or another, the latest because of track maintenance on one assisting railroad’s line.

After a couple of failed attempts to make the move earlier this summer, MAR got the green light to transport No. 4018 on July 21. But plans were dashed in the final hour because of concerns about it going through a wye. A subsequent attempt the following weekend was postponed to Aug. 4, and that date has since been shoved back because of track issues on the Trinity Railway Express. MAR officials are targeting Aug. 18 as the next move date.

While museum officials and volunteers await the next move date, there is work to be done.

It was 50 years ago this month that the Age of Steam exhibit began creation at Fair Park. In preparation for the 1963 State Fair of Texas, the small attraction received two new items to its tiny collection during the month of August – recently retired Dallas Union Terminal steam locomotive No. 7 and Southern Pacific’s Eakin Street Yard Office (H&TC Depot).

Now, nearly 2,000 feet of track that displayed some 28 pieces of vintage rolling stock is being pulled up.

The original Texas & Pacific spur dating back to at least the 1936 Texas Centennial Exposition was the first section of track to exhibit the first pieces of rolling stock, which included T&P’s “Texas” type steam locomotive No. 638 and later ex-New York Central “Mohawk” steam locomotive No. 3001 masked as T&P No. 909.

Additional trackage was constructed as pieces were added to the museum. Major expansions took place in 1965 with the arrival of three additional steam locomotives: Big Boy No. 4018, Frisco No. 4501, and Eagle Picher Mining Co. (ex-Frisco) No. 1625, and again in 1969 with the arrival of Santa Fe Motorcar M-160 and Coach Observation No. 3197. A couple of modest expansions of trackage took place in the 1990s to make more efficient use of the 1.5 acre site.

The museum eventually rebranded itself into the Museum of the American Railroad.

As the collection grew, requiring some off-site storage, the museum’s 3,000 feet of rolling stock would no longer fit well at Fair Park, prompting MAR’s decision to relocate to the new 12.34 acre Frisco site. Some 3,200 feet of track has already been constructed at the new facility. An additional 3,000 feet of exhibit track will be laid as part of the second phase of construction.

UP acquires ‘Big Boy’ from California museum, plans to restore to working order

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Jul 24th, 2013

Union Pacific Railroad announced Tuesday it reached an agreement with the Southern California Chapter – Railway & Locomotive Historical Society in Pomona, CA, to transfer ownership of one of the world’s largest steam locomotives, “Big Boy” No. 4014, back to Union Pacific.

“Big Boy” No. 4014 has been re-acquired by Union Pacific Railroad and will be restored to working condition. – Courtesy Union Pacific Railroad

UP plans to relocate No. 4014 to Cheyenne, WY, where the railroad’s Heritage Fleet Operations team will work to restore it to operating condition. Details regarding those efforts will be made public at a later date. Restoration is expected to take three to four years.

UP donated No. 4014 to the historical society Dec. 7, 1961. The locomotive arrived Jan. 8, 1962, at its current display location at the Rail Giants Train Museum in Pomona.

“Our steam locomotive program is a source of great pride to Union Pacific employees past and present,” said Ed Dickens, senior manager – Union Pacific Heritage Operations. “We are very excited about the opportunity to bring history to life by restoring No. 4014.”

Twenty-five Big Boys were built exclusively for UP, the first of which was delivered in 1941. The locomotives are 132 feet long and weigh 1.2 million pounds. Because of their great length, the frames of the Big Boys are “hinged,” or articulated, to allow them to negotiate curves. They have a 4-8-8-4 wheel arrangement, which means there are four wheels on the leading set of “pilot” wheels that guide the engine, eight drivers, another set of eight drivers, and four wheels following which support the rear of the locomotive. The massive engines normally operated between Ogden, UT, and Cheyenne, WY.

Eight of the Big Boys were donated for public display in various cities around the country. They can be found in Pomona, CA; St. Louis, MO; Dallas, TX; Omaha, NE; Denver, CO; Scranton, PA; Green Bay, WI; and Cheyenne.

Big Boy No. 4014 was delivered to UP in December 1941. The locomotive was retired in December 1961, having traveled 1,031,205 miles in its 20 years in service.

UP currently operates No. 844 and “Challenger” No. 3985 on steam excursions across the country.