Big Boy 4014 Across The Salt Lake Desert (4K) | July 6, 2024

[@timothywinter2412]

Railfan Dan, you never fail to deliver exceptional footage, thanks yet again 😊

[@TheRailfanDan]

Thanks so much!

[@rickpawl]

Watching that big black beast of an iron horse just never gets old. Thank you for doing these. You do a good job with the audio as well.

[@isabellame7326]

Perfect description of Big Boy!

[@TheRailfanDan]

Thanks so much Rick! I'm glad it doesn't get old because there is much more still to come!

[@StormySkyRailProductions]

Wow, Great work on putting this one together! Very, very nice production there Dan! Cheers! (Dave).

[@TheRailfanDan]

Thank you Dave!

[@JoeBachmann-ry7wm]

What an impressive locomotive. As always top shelf drone work.

[@terryhoath1983]

Excellent production. Added sound appeared to match perfectly.

[@TheRailfanDan]

Thank you I put a lot of effort into it matching it!

[@espeescotty]

Exactly what I was going to say. The clanking of the rods was in such perfect timing, I would swear Dan had a microphone onboard the engine.

[@jillscheidell8383]

Love the terrain Big Boy is in here, the contrast is awesome! Good addition of the sound, well done, really enjoying it👏

[@TheRailfanDan]

Thanks Mom! Yes what a contrast!

[@tracksidemike]

Awesome share I definitely wished the drones caught sounds but we know which sound it would catch first sound of flying Awesome video and share Have a fantastic weekend Thanks

[@TheRailfanDan]

Yes it would sound like a bees nest!

[@LouT1501]

Very nice, Dan! Thank you.

[@TheRailfanDan]

Thank you Lou!

[@charlescoghlan2855]

Lots of good stuff here, can't wait for the full-length version. Till then gonna be doing a lot of laundry with shirts with drool stains!!😃Thank you for this effort for the rest of us to enjoy and appreciate.

[@TheRailfanDan]

Haha foam stains perhaps you mean?? I know it makes me foam at the mouth! 😂

[@fiddleronthecube7835]

I used to ride the Southern Pacific from Los Angeles to San Francisco and back again. I miss being on a train.

[@espeescotty]

Again Dan, I am blown away by the long length of pacing runs you are able to get with your drone. That opening shot was so long, I was almost starting to think you may have been pacing and flying from a moving car...then I saw you were stationed at the big "Y'. Bravo, man! 🤠👍

[@TheRailfanDan]

That first one I flew way out to meet it first so I had a long flight flying back towards me and yes it did work out great.

[@PaulA-yh7kr]

Thank you for your time can't wait for more. Paul

[@allendwebb]

That’s some nice flying!

[@donaldfaris4798]

Dan you always do a great job of matching the sound of your drone work with video

[@TheRailfanDan]

Thanks so much I'm glad you think so!

[@craiglordable]

Another wonderful video, great work.

[@snchilders]

Excellent, as usual, Dan. Your added-in sound was synced very well.

[@TheRailfanDan]

Thanks I'm glad you think so!

[@isabellame7326]

Didn't get to start my day with you, but we are ending it together 😊 it's funny watching the traffic slow down to watch 😂 can't wait for the long version! Thanks for another great video!! Oh and btw, we have been watching the Pacific Rail channel you told us all about, it's great!

[@TheRailfanDan]

Oh yes plenty of traffic was slowed for this thing! Even on the freeway which I didn't think was very smart when it's 80mph on the road! Yes there will be much more to come. That's great Jeremy of Pacific Rail is a good friend and really does give some great info.

[@Oregontrailblazin]

What a run !!!I have drove that road !!

[@bruceskehan251]

Great Job Thanks. B

[@b.douglasjensen]

Great as always Dan!

[@TheRailfanDan]

Thank you Doug!

[@danielagee4062]

Dang I wish I knew you had been in SLC! Would have been cool to meet up. Awesome video as always!

[@TheRailfanDan]

Thanks! Well we only made it just outside the city in time to start chasing it back West but yeah that would have been neat to meet up.

[@MrBillCNW]

Thank you for making another great video Dan. my question is I wonder why they’re pulling freight cars that’s unusual for the big boy to do that. Usually, it’s the passenger car. It look like they had a couple passenger cars but then look like maybe a dozen freight cars, and it is wonderful seeing a caboose.

[@nikdog419]

Unusual in what sense? That in her heritage days she normally pulls excursion trains? She was built to pull freight over the Wasatch Grade. Most of my railroad photography books depict her pulling an oil train. Why is a good question though. I think it's probably just to depict real world operation ~80 years ago. I heard some Railfans in Portola speculating it was for an Operating Loss Tax Write Off. 🤷‍♂ She took the freight consist out to Roseville, and back home from Sparks. Ran an excursion train from Roseville to Sparks. Of the baggage cars they had in both consists, the lead car had been converted to a machine shop car. If not also the other two. Which served it's purpose well at the Auburn breakdown.

[@MrBillCNW]

@@nikdog419 You seem to have missed the point. Since technically the excursion usually only pulls passenger train not revenue freight that’s why it’s unusual. They don’t do revenue hauling anymore with a steam engine. unless something changed in UP’s policy, strictly as excursion or business train.

[@TheRailfanDan]

UP themselves did say they opted to pull freight cars since it was built to haul freight. The only reason they pulled any cars at all was for braking purposes but freight cars to give a more accurate look at real world operations. Not all that real world though since it's modern cars but I understand what they were going for. I was very glad to see the caboose as well.

[@YardLimit]

Nice work. Interesting that it acquired UP1983 heritage unit when it went through Wyoming.

[@TheRailfanDan]

Thanks Thomas! 1983 got put on in Portola the day it was on display at the Western Pacific Railroad Museum which was fitting for the run down the Feather River.

[@argeesart8567]

They don't call it "The Big Boy" for nothing do they! I would hate to be stuck on a crossing with this guy bearing down on me, that is probably the biggest "cow catcher" I've ever seen on a steam engine. Great video, I too can't wait to see the full version! Thank you for all your hard work...clickety clack, clickety clack, runnin' down the track!😃

[@TheRailfanDan]

Hey thanks so much and yes stay tuned there is much more to come! I'm just getting started. I can tell you when that whistle blows right next to you it shakes your soul! What an experience.

[@frankym274]

Good Catch UP 4014 Big Boy Steam Engine

[@Zsolti0NYM]

This is an interesting area. I'll be honest, I've never seen the salt lakes in a video before. This is where cars often sets speed records right? Speaking of speed the Big Boy is in great strength, he's flying down the tracks with his mixed train. His sounds are amazing, especially the steam whistle. Very nice trailer Dan. I'm sure the full length video will be wonderful too.

[@nikdog419]

You're thinking of The Bonneville Salt Flats, which is part of The Great Salt Lake Desert. But yes, it is known for land speed records at the Bonneville Speedway. It may have been seen on the horizon somewhere between 8:27 and 10:46

[@TheRailfanDan]

Thanks so much Z!

[@TheRailfanDan]

Yes at the end of the video the camera is facing the direction of the Bonneville speedway but it's still quite a ways away to the West.

[@thomasmackowiak]

This is a fantastic video, Dan! The drone footage with added synchronized sound was superb. The Salt Lake Desert area is a desolate looking place. Are you going to create one video of Union Pacific 4014's journey west or are you going to produce multiple videos? Thank you for this taste of what the future will bring. I have a question that came to mind as I was watching this video. At the speed that the 4014 was moving, how were you able to get ahead of the train to capture it as it moved through the Salt Lake Desert area? (POsted 3 August 2024 at 1758 CDT.)

[@TheRailfanDan]

Thank you Thomas! I will keep producing shorter videos (some not so short) and then put one big long one together of my 6 full days chasing the Big Boy. Salt Lake City to the Feather River Canyon and Ogden to Rock Springs via their routing through Idaho. This one was pretty easy to keep getting ahead of the Big Boy due to the distances between each location and the speed limit out there is 80mph on the freeway so one can catch up pretty quick at 85mph or quicker! I think we did 90mph between some of the locations.

[@davidsnider1703]

Great video. Is the dpu just for brakes and electricity. Or is it helping

[@TheRailfanDan]

Both braking and helping. They used it quite a bit to help at times which was a bit of a bummer.

[@JPF941]

did you get it in Silver Zone Pass?

[@TheRailfanDan]

Part of it yes!

[@stanleyj.mitchell4851]

I presume the diesel is there for show. And what a pity they didn’t add some decent tonnage. That really is a waste of horsepower. We really aren’t seeing what she is capable of.

[@TheRailfanDan]

They used the diesel for both braking purposes and for power. plenty of times during my 6 days chasing and filming during this tour I could hear the diesel doing work.