Hyce Reacts - Last of the Giants (Big Boy documentary!)

[@RailPreserver2K]

I forgot, in trains Unlimited, an ex Union Pacific employee who worked on the 4000s recalled a story where he had to manually fire on one of the 4000s and the draft from the fire was so strong it sucked the shovel out of his hands and into the Firebox, the fire was so hot that it melted the shovel.

[@matthias18]

I haven't fired any steam engine in my Life but Hand-firing a big boy seems like a giant pain in the a** and an awful amount of work

[@IsaacBaxter]

It might be true, for just moving it out of the roundhouse

[@JETZcorp]

Idk if he was fully hand firing it or just filling in spots the stoker was missing. But yeah, gnarly story.

[@PowerTrain611]

I remember this. The stoker malfunctioned, and the fireman and the head and brakeman both had to shovel like crazy... As I recall, they were actually coasting downhill, but working lightly to keep the draft up and the train stretched, but it was enough to pull the shovel out of his hands. Absolutely mind boggling. Something like 70% of the coal never even touched the grates, it burned in midair.

[@oddjob1795]

Bet that it was in the shop to fix that mess.

[@XelanaterEllevanox]

I recently visited RailGiants and saw UP 9000 with my own eyes for the first time. What a sight to behold, she is! Not to mention the various other engines and equipment they have there, including one of the Centenniels. It was also when I learned, while talking with some of the crew there, that the reason why #4014 was chosen to be put back in service was it was the only Big Boy to be fully intact.

[@KR4FTW3RK]

Growing up in the 90s, in all of the Big Boy themed documentaries, all I heard was "none of these will ever run again, we don't have the money, they can't run anywhere, we've got plenty with 844 and 3985, IT JUST CAN'T BE DONE"

[@alansloan7784]

Thank you, Hyce, for this posting excellent historical review of Big Boy in it's glory days. Wild daydream, here---or perhaps more? Since UP #4014 has been running again for the past 5(?) years, I wonder----are there any rail fans out there with the goal [and means] of restoring SP #4294 to operating condition....? (If a Big Boy can be brought back to life, why not the last Cab Forward, as well?)😉

[@ryano.5149]

...and then those beautiful crazy buggers at UP were like "You know what? No. Screw it! We're gonna do the thing!" And what always struck me about the conventional wisdom back in the day, is that EVERYBODY that knew anything about steam locomotives at every museum everywhere was SO SURE that a Big Boy would never run again.

[@Idaho-Cowboy]

Yep, Big Boy returning to the rails was such a surprise to the railfanning community. Then people started saying 3985 wouldn't run again, looking forward to when she runs again too.

[@draketherailfanSPSF]

8:05 Correct! The 5511 was shoved dead by a diesel (Wikipedia says a EMD) behind a string of cars in the shot and had old tires burning in it's firebox. Apparently from what I've heard, the tires (at least the burnt remains) were still in her firebox. RRHMA most likely removed them by now.

[@highball5550]

I thought they were burnt in the smoke box? It does make sense though that they would be burnt in the firebox. They weren’t idiots.

[@nathanc7394]

they did the same with the 1243

[@kosmostimber1174]

Volunteer at RRHMA here- I was there the day that one of our volunteers was cleaning the burnt tire remains out of the smokebox, and he was black as a chimney sweep when he came out! LOL!

[@michaelclark3544]

Im a member of RRHMA and live close to Silvis. I had asked exactly how dirty the smokebox was and the guy, probably the one you saw all dirty, replied to me saying its terrible. Molten tires from the 1950s. And hes spending a ton of time scraping and chiseling that crap out. The particulate matter from the tires has all gummed up the front tubes and superheater area too. ​@kosmostimber1174

[@PowerTrain611]

​@@kosmostimber1174it's funny, as soon as I heard this, my first thought was always "gee, those guys in silvis are going to have a hell of a time cleaning that out..." Sounds like that was true...

[@CardScientist]

31:28 "But once the engineer on his hero throne had cracked the throttle to start the tons a-rolling..." is by far my favorite line of the entire documentary. The poetry of the phrase coupled with the the sounds of an engine pulling hard really, for me, sell why I (and probably many of us) see the romance in being a locomotive engineer. All that power and potential at your finger tips as the locomotive waits for you to unleash it, knowing there are many who envy your job

[@pacificproductionsofficial]

“I just sawed this train in half!” -Phil Swift, probably

[@alexanderbeck5063]

My favorite railroad film. Glad you got round to this one! Now we either need and Last of the Giants II or someone to recreate the shot of the grandfather and grandson at the crossing

[@memediatek]

Well if you had electric railroads over the pond...

[@DrSteamy]

Amazing film. It was my first time seeing it, and I'm glad you covered it! The last line killed me at the end (as I am a sap myself) "The day has no end for the locomotive, but whatever locomotive that progress shall put at the head of tomorrow's train, the rumble and roar of Big Boy will seem still to echo in the high country of southern Wyoming." *BLAST OF THE WHISTLE* Absolute Cinema.

[@VintageRenewed]

Fun fact, a decent amount of the smaller engines used as demonstration in this are still around today 5511 was in Cheyenne until going to silvis 2295 is on display in Boise 1243 is in Omaha Nebraska

[@andrewadams3894]

I saw 1243 about two years ago. It's indoors with several passenger cars on the lower level of the Omaha Union Station. Officially the Durham Museum.

[@Idaho-Cowboy]

Oh wow! I've been to the Boise Depot and seen her parked there and never realized she was a movie star.

[@Taylormade12]

Crazy about 5511 when I went to Silvis this year to see it, they actually burned a tire in the smoke box to give the impression it was still under steam. When Silvis started to inspect it, there are still remnants of burnt rubber in the smokebox

[@schwarzermoritz]

9:14 You can tell he's French because of the moustache. Honhonhon!

[@quintinbarnhart]

If you are ever interested, I was given the original film reel for this. I also have about 2 1/2 decades of a fireman/engineer log books from the UP, including train numbers, locations, and travel times with notes on issues and derailments. Super fun to read through.

[@jamisonr]

If so, it should be high resolution scanned and restored.

[@quintinbarnhart]

@ that is way out of my realm of knowledge. I have no idea what kind of projector would even work with the reel.

[@Rayinn-lw3ej]

It would be useful to see if the beginning or the end had a leader with the copyright year on it. I have a DVD with it but I can't tell what kind of resolution and it doesn't have the leader and trailer on it. I think somebody scanned it commercially a couple of decades ago ( maybe 70's or 80's) and what I have looks like a video of that. Curious if it is 16 mm or 35 mm film. I have a 16mm projector but 35 mm movie projectors are a little scarce.

[@quintinbarnhart]

@ I took the reel out to measure, it is 16mm, date marked inside the reel case is 1/17/64. First section of the film until the frames showing the “last of the Giants” title seem to have been broken off, unless they didn’t exist on the original and that was a separate reel. Marked on the reel itself are “Last of the Giants #5”. I don’t know if that means it is the 5th reel or the 5th copy. It doesn’t make sense for it to the the 5th reel, so I’m assuming it’s the 5th copy or 5th edit.

[@RustGear5.56]

16:25 I can clearly recall Union Pacific's Big boy collection video. at the beginning showed a clip of a UP big boy hauling ass around that speed. And it did not seemed sped up. Narrators quote" it's diesels versus the big boys"

[@KPen3750]

I had a dvd set of old films like this. My two favorites were Snow on the Run (Southern Pacific) and this film. Its just so amazing to anyone of all ages

[@FrothyFawn]

You mean America’s Railroads, A Steam Train Legacy. That’s my favorite too.

[@jamisonr]

UP deserves a ton of respect for having a history of caring about its past and maintaining these machines.

[@TesseraktGaming]

I saw the Big Boy this year at the Rochelle Railroad Park in Illinois, and documented my experience on my KZbin channel. It truly is a magnificent machine that's larger than life, and videos don't do it justice. You have to experience it in real life. I feel incredibly fortunate that I had the opportunity to see it for myself since Union Pacific has restored it. What a time to be alive!

[@OfficialTrainzGod]

Fun Fact: All of the big boys featured in this film have been scrapped. At least, the ones that I could identify by number. One of the two preserved challengers, 3985, does appear, however.

[@Skillfulljack23]

thats make me sad.

[@awildjared1396]

where's the fun in that?

[@00Zy99]

I'm pretty sure I saw 4012 in there. @1:50, passing the boy and grandfather. Or somewhere thereabouts.

[@KyloKellen]

And 5511

[@OfficialTrainzGod]

@@00Zy99 That engine is 4002, you can see it on the train boards

[@erkish5444]

I love the outro song, it’s got a lot feeling to it, but I always lament it because the video is gonna end soon. Love the content brother. Thank you, Mark.

[@monitorlizardkid8253]

I used to have a vhs of this when I was a kid as well, it was part of a collection of vhs tapes on “America’s railroads”. And it was awesome.

[@michaelramsey82]

I have a standalone VHS copy. Hilariously, it has a picture of the V&T #22 "Inyo" 4-4-0 on the cover.

[@fredlash795]

When I was stationed in England during my Air Force career, my family went for an excursion behind Sir Nigel Gresley, an A4. This three-cylinder has the most unusual chuff. I was in train-nerd heaven. The British railroad museum in York is well worth the trip. I enjoyed watching this with you. The VHS tape is on a bookshelf behind me. You made this viewing as much fun the 12th time through as my first.

[@michaelramsey82]

The UP 9000 class (the huge 4-12-2) uses a similar 3-cylinder setup - the normal two on each sides, and then a third one in the center, directly under the smokebox. It does sound unique, and produces 6 chuffs for every wheel revolution instead of 4. Each set of valve gear is offset by a third of a turn, rather than the usual quarter turn.

[@ostsan8598]

I felt a bit of the same sadness after reading Athearn's Rebel of the Rockies, published in 1962 if I remember correctly. At the end, the book talked a bit about how the D&RGW had a bright future, though had to be on the lookout. The Baby Road was facing challenges, though none that were unfamiliar to that road, and there was a guarantee that there would be no mergers or sale of the Rio Grande. Of note, there was also the rumor that the Union Pacific had recently bought a 10% interest in the D&RGW.

[@Amigafur]

This is the film that inspired a lifelong passion for railroading in my 3 year old self. I used to watch it every day, sometimes several times a day!

[@844Steamtrain]

One of my favorite vintage railway films. I'm glad I got to experience the return of 4014. For years, too many naysayers kept saying such a thing was "impossible". In May 2019, we all witnessed that actually, such things ARE possible. By 2030 or so, we will witness the successful completion of the PRR T1 5550. That project is coming along nicely.

[@zacm.2342]

The bit of putting the tyres on is just amazing to me, cause one of our old videos like this from the "Big Four"/BR-era had the tyre flat on the ground, with burners around it to heat it, then the wheels were lowered into it by a crane when it had expanded. Then there's you lot just sledgehammering the buggers on!

[@KatyPacific382]

5:18 hey 2295, this Union Pacific mikado is thankful preserved. It is one of the few engines in this film that are still around today. Same case at 7:20 1243 is also still around today! It's a neat ten wheeler.

[@awildjared1396]

I really want to see 2295 run again, but i doubt it'll happen.

[@Idaho-Cowboy]

One of the favorites of my childhood. Had this on VHS. I gotta say I love the look of those big 2-10-2's with the smokebox hanging way out over the pilot, such a unique look.

[@157RANDOM]

I love that shot of it taking off around 32:20 ish with the flat cars of M48 Patton tanks in the background. It looks so damn cool.

[@Johndoe-jd]

Can you imagine if Ed remade the Last of the Giants or better yet, have Mark at the CRRM make a documentary of the CRRM using both old footage and modern video.

[@dillonohlemiller401]

Why has nobody done that yet?

[@SYH653]

It's not a remake of Last of the Giants, but Pentrex does have two DVDs devoted to 4014's return to service.

[@HaddaClu]

I still have a VHS copy of this on a shelf. One of the best things about going to model train shows as a kid was going home with a new train VHS. For anyone that might be interested; I HIGHLY recommend York PA model train show that tends to be held in October. So many memories of my dad taking me out school for a day or two to go almost every year.

[@SYH653]

I'm not ashamed to admit I have both the VHS and DVD sets.

[@HaddaClu]

@SYH653 I had a DVD copy at one point. It was stolen along with the rest of my family's DVDs when the house was broken into when I was a teen

[@GabeTheOkalhomaRailfan]

Thank you again for whoever gave me a membership

[@QuorkQTar]

0:40 - Oh, favourite VHS from childhood. I had a carefully curated self-made VHS (or several? I'd have to ask) from my parents that I really loved watching. I think they just took it out of the box and hit "record" whenever they saw something and thought "hey that's something for little Quork". It was a WILD mixture of stuff I enjoyed. Nature videos, Star Trek snippets (mostly intros and visually cool scenes working without context) - and, obviously, railway videos. I've always enjoyed those. I barely remember my childhood, but that's a fond memory set. 2:35 - So it's not just my European eyes. I always wondered if it's just me. But yes, the later American steam locomotives (*very* contrary to the early ones), especially the Big Boy, always were more impressive than actually beautiful to me. They're technical wonders, gigantic (loading gauges are a thing) pieces of machinery, impressive feats of technology, forces to be reckoned with - but visually very industrial, raw, un-designed in a way. Quite the contrast to both the flamboyant early American engines, the rather modest, minimalistically yet consciously decorated early European engines and the slick, also modest, undecorated but very elegantly shaped late European engines. Quite the diversity! 10:10 - Yep, they really are neat animations. It's often amazing to see how playful animations they'd do back when it all had to be meticulously done by hand, while we tend to have way simpler, more toned down animations now when it's way easier to do them. When it's difficult, it's a feat to do. When it's easy, it's a feat to refrain. Feels ironic, at least until you remember early PowerPoint presentations and how absolutely UNNERVING and time consuming their abundancy of flashy animations was. Then you remember why we got rid of that xD 11:45 - One does wonder, if it's Mallet because of Monsieur Mallet or if it's Mallet because it clobbers the track like an insane mallet. 17:30 - Metric conversion appreciated

[@Hyce777]

Tubes are just tubes, flues hold superheaters, at least per our lingo. :D 25:05 - they probably "cleaned" the fire - shook it enough to dump ash to the pan, and rebuild, and then cleaned out the ash pans. The video was a bit more general public facing I think, lol! 26:30 - it was typical for a locomotive to run for up to 31 days continuously before doing work, back in the day. I'm glad the 20 minutes turned into 80. I hope it was a fun 80, at least! :D

[@QuorkQTar]

@Hyce777 else I wouldn't be doing it 😄

[@ThatGuyAt2FPS]

The last of the giants will always be one of my favorite films, I have been waiting for Hyce to react to this for too long. Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

[@BNSF1238]

Love videos like this that give extra context to all the little nuances you'd miss if you don't have much steam experience, definitely been enjoying this!

[@jkp41978]

I grew up a few blocks from the Martinsburg Roundhouse that was part of the B&O. When I was a kid, there were actually two on the property, but one burned down. They were an enclosed roundhouse in which the turntable is inside. The stalls surrounding it were all open under one roof. Growing up, I thought this was the way all roundhouses were supposed to be. Also, the frog and switch shop there had a unique feature to where the second floor was suspended from the roof. That way there were no posts in the way on the shop floor.

[@SteamfanScott]

Such a great video. It is truly awesome that 4014 is back on the mainline once again and that steam preservation in general seems to be heading for a bright and exciting future. But one does understand why diesels took over looking at how complex and demanding steam locomotives are to run. Just so awesome that railfans even back then captured videos for us. Have just recently purchased (yet to watch, thinking the holidays will be a good time) some footage of Cass back in the late operation and early tourist days, and think about how fortunate we are that even back then, people understood the magic and significance of steam locomotives and captured some of it for us to enjoy. I imagine they were just as excited to experience and record it as we are today.

[@Wandering_4ever]

@ 27:35 get to see one of the drivers form the now static display 4012 ,which is just north of me in Scranton ,Pa ..Let's not forget the pipes Wrapped in good old Vitamin A shown at 33:17 :P

[@f4fwildcat29]

I had this on VHS as part of a “history of railroading” vhs box set. I definitely watched this the most. Also, if you get a chance, could you do a video like this about the National Geographic film “love those trains”? That was another key part of my childhood

[@ditchpatcher]

Largest surviving roundhouse in the U.S. is the one in Spencer, NC which is now the North Carolina Transportation Museum. There are 37 stalls which was great for Norfolk Southern's 30th anniversary in 2012 and Streamliners at Spencer in 2014

[@TrainMedia00]

I used to watched this video when I was 8 or 9 years old and I watched Last Of The Giants several times, I watched this video while UP 4014 is in restoration in 2015 until 2019, and I'm glad you reacted to this video.

[@keith_root]

I watched the Big Boy go through the Chicago area just a few weeks ago. That horn (ha-WOOO) is iconic! Unbelievable to witness in person.

[@DER-ail]

This is honestly the best railroad doc in my opinion. It's got so many great quotes in it and is written beautifully not to mention the shots and audio.

[@ALCO-C855-fan]

I once saw an outcut of it in a remake version of the song 'Roll on Big Boy'. That introduced me to the film. Even showing the most recorded Big Boy im the steam age No. 4003 as well as a CSA 1 early challanger. ❤ this comment if I was right lol. Love your content Hyce. See ya.

[@sjwhitney]

Steamtown, Bellows Falls, VT used to show LOTG ALL the time in their "Movie Car" where it was presented on 16mm film over and over and over again!! I can't count how many times I saw it.

[@thundercreekcustoms]

The old DL&W roundhouse in Scranton (Steamtown) is the biggest one I can think of still standing. It's near full circle.

[@nathancorcoran5347]

I remember watching this old film back years ago on a DVD release in my childhood. I love the beautifully amazing Union Pacific Big Boy’s, especially their Union Pacific Big Boy 4014. I hope to see operating one day in the future. But anyways, great video here. Also a few of these Union Pacific Steam Locomotives in Last of the Giants are still preserved as most of us know. I am planning on seeing one of them at the RailGiants Train Museum in Pomona, California over by next year 2025, which is no other than Union Pacific 9000. ❤️💕💖

[@ColtonRMagby]

"I've never heard such sweet music in all my life!" -Das Boot That's how I feel about the Big Boy steaming away.

[@GolemAvalanche]

When I visited the museum in Green Bay last year, they had this film playing once every two hours in their theater (scheduled to start a bit after the train ride would end). It was pretty neat to watch a primer on the Big Boy before going into the showroom to see one in person.

[@00Zy99]

When I was a toddler we went on one of our many trips to the Strasburg Railroad and picked up two VHS tapes featuring (unsurprisingly) the Strasburg itself. One of them showed the shop fitting a tire, flames and all. Of course, that was the tape that didn't have any commentary/narration! Being a little kid, I had NO idea what they were doing, and I was always freaked out and bewildered. It wasn't until I stumbled across this on VHS at a friend's house when I was ~9 and watched it that I was able to understand what was going on.

[@germantanker131johnny2]

I remember as a child having this on a DVD with a bunch of other documentaries. A tin full of em.

[@metalheadrailfan]

Highly recommend getting Pentrex's 1993 sequels that shows a lot of unused footage and interviews with (then) surviving engineers, fireman and shop crews. Part 2 focuses on the Cheyenne roundhouse and backshop and Part 3 covers the making of the film, running Big Boys over Sherman Hill and surviving examples, as well as a glimpse into the steam program at that time.

[@Hybris51129]

I can't say how many times I checked out this VHS video at my library as a young child. I feel safe in saying that between this video and a photo taken by my grandfather of 4004 sitting in its static display was what made me fall in love with this engine that even as the years have piled on has never quite died.

[@adalbertbuchaniec1199]

If you come to the Illinois Railway Museum, you can see a GTEL(the gas turbine powered by Bunker C fuel oil), DDA40X, and Little Joe(South Shore Line), and pop up to the National Railway Museum in Green Bay, Wisconsin to see LNER A4 “Dwight D Eisenhower” and UP 4017. And fun fact about the coaches behind the A4, they have knuckle couplers that can be flipped down to use European buffer and chain. The coaches were produced by Pullman, this was for the purpose of having an easily traversable gangway between coaches. LNER corridor tenders also have the same arrangement because they used the same corridor connection. Sadly(or thankfully) Dwight D Eisenhower doesn’t have a corridor tender since it returned after the gathering of A4s.

[@NicholasAdkisson1025]

One of my favorite videos. Could watch it on repeat 100 times over and never get tired of it. And like you said you notice more things as you watch it over and over. I had never noticed the extra boards for 2295 until you pointed it out and I have seen this video dozens of times.

[@michaelramsey82]

I watched this one SO MANY times as a kid. I can pretty much quote the entire thing line for line. So cool to see Hyce's take on it. I've also heard the story about the 2-10-2 being pushed for that shot, and I believe it - note the weird little puffs of black smoke coming out of the stack with no steam visible (i.e. fire in the firebox but no steam, with the puffs being pushed out by air from the cylinders). Also, fun fact - the "perky little museum piece" 4-6-0, UP 1243, still exists and is on static display at a museum in Omaha. Its nearly identical twin, 1242, is on display in Cheyenne.

[@Voucher765]

I remember watching this ages ago and we're glad to have 4014 still running today and the farest east she went was Chicago on Metra

[@403guy]

Something fun, the big boys were all overhauled very near the end of steam so when they found 4014 she was in very remarkablely good condition

[@SPRailfan4449]

I remember watching this on DVD as a kid. Such a wonderful film and it will always be one of my childhood favorites. ❤️👍🏻🥲

[@Voucher765]

I remember this as a kid too and it was one of the best docs on Big Boy made

[@nebrailfan1989]

At 7:23 the 1243 was also being pushed by a diesel and also had tires burning for smoke affects.

[@MichelleJacobcik]

I had the chance to see the 4014 as it steamed through St Louis this summer. What a treat it was hearing its whistle.

[@buckduane1991]

Fastest RECORDED speed of a Big Boy in UP service (1941 to 1960) was 72 mph. Yeah, the 5511 (2-10-2) was put on the front of a train shoved by some diesels for the drive by shot, and to create the illusion of it running they stuffed the firebox with tires and burned them to create smoke. The double-header was filmed by heating up the 2295 and the other by running steam into them from an outside source until they had just barely enough pressure to run them back 100 yards, couple up to 4-5 empty cars, then run forward about 100 yards before the steam was gone and they came to a halt. Even the 4-6-0 had something similar done, pumped steam in, threw some tires into the firebox for extra smoke, then pushed it with a diesel hidden behind a dozen cars that were all bigger than the ten wheeler itself. They talked about all of this in “Last of the Giants 2” filmed in the 90s… also mentioning the early shot at the turntable where the camera backs away as the Big Boy is rotated clockwise, they stuffed toilet paper into the joints and the Frog to keep the hand car from bouncing and spoiling the shot… that’s what the white stuff is in the left joint and in the Frog. It is also the video where Steve Lee infamously said “no Big Boy will ever run again in any way, shape, or form, it’s a total pipe dream! If they did, you could only run it up the hill here, it could never run on any track anywhere else in the country since any bridge it ran over would break, so it would be a waste of time and money with zero purpose to even do. That, and you could never convert it to run on oil since the testing with 4005 was a failure, don’t be fooled by us converting the 3985 to oil and running it to the Clenchfield Railroad and back for the CSX Christmas Train, a 3900 Challenger and 4000 Big Boy are completely different.” So, yeah… sorry, Steve Lee, but your words have aged like a cheap wine so badly that it has even rotted beyond the point of being vinegar… lol. The last few years not only beg to differ, but several thousand still standing bridges and the state of California not breaking off into the sea as 4014 runs perfectly fine and stack clean on oil all beg to differ.

[@pepsidoggo1598]

Howdy Mark! Absolutely love the video. Last of the Giants holds a similarly warm place in my heart, watching it over and over when I first found the video. The nostalgia is real with this one!

[@artiefufkin1705]

Really enjoyed your perspective and comments.

[@SamsungGuy09]

Great video Hyce! The last of the giants has been one of my favorite train documentaries ever since I got a VHS of it a few years back. It’s fun to hear a railroaders perspective on it. Also 35:04 I don’t know what big boy going 80mph would look like but that thing was scooting!

[@Daisysdomain]

Being from the UK I only found this documentary a few years ago but it is among one of my favourite railway documentaries. A couple of suggestions for future episodes of this if you are interested. Snowdrift at Bleath Gill And a German forklift safety video called (Translated into English) Forklift Driver Klaus. Whilst the last one isn't anything to do with railways it is still interesting and darkly funny.

[@Drockthe3rd]

UP 2295 & 1243 (which appear in the film) are also still around, respectively in Boise & Omaha

[@zavier5871]

I remember watching this back when I was 5 with my grandparents wishing the big boy was able to come back a run down our line in town. 15 years later it happened..

[@ZooTycoon223]

Oh my god, i grew up with this vhs. This is so nostalgic for me.

[@andrewadams3894]

My recollection is that the big boy crown sheet was 27 feet long including the combustion chamber. I believe the Cheyenne back shop crane was rated at 250 tons. You need to subtract the tender weight, the front engine weight, the lead and trailing truck weights, the rear engine driver and cannon box weights and rod weights, and the boiler water weight to get down to what that crane needed to lift. A comparable main driver weight on a plain bearing engine would be 10 tons plus axle boxes. The big boy would have roller bearings in cannon boxes, so maybe a little heavier. It was fun to see the old-style wooden snow fences in the background of the locomotive shots. I remember seeing those from US 30 as a child in the 60s.

[@patricksheary2219]

Hi Mark, what a lovely period documentary piece of the magnificent Big Boy. To echo your comments it was beautifully filmed with a nice soundtrack. I loved the close ups of the running gear and the fun quick history lesson of steam locomotive evolution. The animation about Mallet was hilarious but well stated. Great shots of Big Boy doing his articulation motion too! Then the ultra OMG crane in that shop of life. To say I’m impressed is an understatement! The gigantic round house, such a beautiful industrial architectural masterpiece. You know I was teary eyed myself at the end as well, and then you reminded us how incredibly lucky we are to have choo choo preservation today. Not just Big Boy but Peaches too! Brought a smile back. Dare I dream to be able to someday pull Big Boy’s throttle. 🤣 OMG, Mark I so enjoyed listening to your commentary; I always learn so much. Many thanks Professor for this wonderful video and as always cheers to you!

[@roadtrain_]

So today in derail valley I learned 2 things. 1: the S282 will happily do 145 going NE from the steel mill with a loaded train. 2: doing this will send you into the oil well going 110 because you've melted the brakes. Bloody worth it though

[@sd40t-23]

The "wet steam" 2-8-8-2s are definitely overshadowed by the later 9000s and superpower units but they kept running until the 1950s as well. Excited to see a 2-10-2 get restored!

[@commonsense1907]

Great video! I still have it. Great to see a Big Boy running today!

[@rshackelford4445]

7:19 I think I remember watching a video by railfan depot that said the the little ten wheeler wasn't operational and being shoved and it survives in the roundhouse at Cheyenne and is on a flat car and at the time toured the UP system.

[@The_Mason_Transportation]

2:46 the white stuff in the rails is actually toilet paper. The film crew stuffed between the rail joints because when the handcar they were on went over them, it vibrated and messed up the shot, so they used TP to fill the gaps.

[@osageorangegaming5128]

It was this very documentary that helped inspire me to chase the 4014, and the scene near the start with the railfans watching the 4000-class pass by has been cement in my head for me in several times I've been track-side and had 4014 go by: once at track speed in-between viewer stop locations, another other at walking speed.

[@edwinsinclair9853]

I understand and have seen photos of the move of the U.P. 9000 over the curves of Cajon Pass on its way to Pomona. There used to be a somewhat sharp reverse curve just west of Summit. It requires a slow careful move to get that beast around. The 9000 came under its own power too. Probably the last coal fired locomotive to operate on the main line this far west.

[@PowerTrain611]

14:18 seeing the steam leaking from the washout plug on 3985 makes my heart and my brain hurt. 'Clapped out' barely scratches the surface... In regards to the largest roundhouse still in existence, I'm going to go out on a limb here and say it's probably the one in Scranton Pennsylvania that houses the Steamtown collection... Most if not all of it is original Erie Lackawanna structure, i believe... Edit: Apparently, by interor square footage, it's NCTM's.

[@yelloweyeball]

10:05 you heard that music track a lot in children's TV animation in the 60s. I remember hearing that specific one in Gumby and Yogi Bear.

[@Rayinn-lw3ej]

Not only is 5511 in this film but 3985 is as well when they talk about Challengers. The Pennsylvania K-4S was one of the last hand fired locomotives to have stokers installed. I've read where they needed two firemen to get it over the Alleghenys in Pennsylvania before the ICC required stokers on all larger engines. I suspect the locomotive shop crane seen in the video may still be in the Cheyenne Shop but I don't know how to confirm that. I've seen a video of the Cheyenne shops on KZbin but it was removed since it may have still been in copyright. It had a lot of information that was quite interesting if one can still find it.

[@susanlua4792]

24:34 the biggest roundhouse left in the US is the bob julian roundhouse at the North Carolina transportation museum is Spence north Carolina at 37 engine stalls

[@Juxen4021]

15:36, you ask about the top speed of a 4000. Upon delivery from ALCo, UP recorded #4000 achieving 72 mph and was "satisfactory" in its run across Nebraska. Not the 80 that they were claimed to achieve, but definitive documentation that it at least did interstate highway speeds.

[@ryano.5149]

I almost forgot how really well-narrated that documentary is.

[@jmcosmos]

26:53 They effin' well existed, and not only at Cheyenne. Winston Link took photos ( _The Last Steam Railroad in America,_ pp. 28-29) of N&W Y6b class 2-8-8-2 #2180 being re-wheeled like this in the shops at Roanoke.

[@stuieman7709]

34:30 There is something very funny and very, very 50s/60s about the mention of "jet power" and the "atom" since the GTELs were sort of the state of the art in UP's roster at the time, and there was still this idea that 'everything' was gonna be nuclear powered eventually. It's funny seeing how that ended up turning out hahahaha

[@turdferguson4124]

Regarding the Big Boy’s maximum speed in service, in William Kratville’s book Big Boy (which is the gold standard of 4000 reference material), he writes that the 4000 itself was run up to 72mph between Tipton and Bitter Creek, Wyoming on its initial run over the system in September, 1941. This was done as a test of the type, and Kratville wrote that, “no especially bad riding qualities were noticed by the test men. Compared to other power, the Big Boy rode at the higher speed like it was only going about fifty-five”. There is footage in I think one of the Pentrex videos showing a Big Boy running downhill at probably 60 mph or so. I think Big Boys were limited to a speed of about 60 mph in service. I seem to remember seeing this in a timetable document at one point, maybe over on Don Strack’s excellent Utah Rails website. Don’s website has a wealth of UP steam era documents online, including Don Flebbe’s test reports showing his work performing engineering performance testing on UP Steam in the 1940’s and 1950’s.

[@SodorTrain1225]

27:23 The other day, I was at EnterTrainment Junction in Ohio (which will have closed by January of 2025), and they had this video segment playing on a screen. Pretty cool, tbh.

[@nasu50]

This was very neat to watch, these reaction videos are some of my favorites. I might have a suggestion for you. It's a Santa Fe railroad safety video featuring actual footage of a link and pin coupler being connected. It's available on KZbin for convenient viewing. Keep up the fantastic work; your notifications always bring a smile to my face.

[@joeyoungblood6578]

There is an amazing film also produced that is basically the behind the scenes of making the last of the giants. Basically describing what they did and how to make this film. I'll see if I can find it.

[@coreybonsall]

If I remember correctly, UP sourced a significant portion of company coal online from Hanna & Rock Springs, WY, with what I would call an average grade of coal: 9,000 - 10,000 Btu / lb. With the variability of those resources (seams) I've seen, I wouldn't be surprised that some of that excessive smoke is just from lesser quality (read: cheap) coals, especially at the end of the steam era.

[@ayayaybamba3445]

It can't be stated how incredible the effort the UP Steam team has undergone to get the 4014 not only running but practically modernized with PTC, so if they wanted, she could run anywhere she could fit unaided in nearly her peak performance. We have them to thank for bringing this magnificent beast back to life for us to enjoy (and of course, to save those shitty diesels when they die and need some help from Grandpa)

[@JonathanG94]

Saw the 4014 when it stopped in Muskogee, Oklahoma a month ago.

[@gmangwilliam]

The new version of this is BNSFs “Train Time” the planetarium was showing it in IMAX it was kinda awesome! 🤩

[@PatrickKCompton]

Thanks, Hyce! I'm so glad UP produced documentaries like this and guess I'm a real nerd b/c I own a copy of this and many others. lol

[@turdferguson4124]

I had also read that the 5511 was not under steam in its shot, and that the crews had put burning tires in the smokebox to create smoke. You can definitely see that the smoke is just dribbling out, not with the appearance of a working locomotive. Would be interesting to know if the crews at Silvis found any evidence of a tire fire in the smokebox. It would seem to me that this would make a mess.

[@Littledog0808]

This is such an amazing documentary. It really shows the power of thr big boy and steam engines in general

[@netherguardian]

24:40 I lived near a historical roundhouse that was involved in the civil war. The one where one of the Confederate generals stole the locos and moved them with horses. It burned down a number of years ago though. It wasn't that big but i just remembered it.

[@Surkai25]

I had this video on VHS growing up. watched it many times. good times....

[@natejenkins8645]

Big Boy, the King Of The Rails! Also loved seeing 3985 (14:14-14:27, 14:39-14:51), I can’t wait until the Big Challenger is running again. Hopefully they will recreate the scene at 18:39 with 4014 and 3985.

[@snowtheavali]

I am pretty sure I have this exact video as a VHS tape, good times.

[@krehmkej]

Watched this a few times over the years, For the first time noticed that Mikado on the double header has been redesignated as an McA - MacArthur.