The Union Pacific Big Boy # 4005

I have always enjoyed this locomotive and ever since I was a kid have always thought that it would be cool to own one. About 4 years ago I purchased a brand new Athearn Genesis 4-8-8-4 Big Boy from United States # 4005. Big Boy was the name given to the Union Pacific Railroad's twenty-five 4000 class 4-8-8-4 articulated steam locomotives built between 1941 and 1944 by Alco.

In total, 25 Big Boys were built, in two groups of ten and one of five locomotives. All were coal burning, with large grates to burn low quality Wyoming coal from mines owned by the railroad. One locomotive, #4005, was experimentally converted to oil burning. Unlike experience with the Challenger types, this change was not successful, and the locomotive soon reverted to coal. The cited reason for this failure was the use of a single burner, which, with the Big Boy's larger firebox, created unsatisfactory and uneven heating. It is unknown why multiple burners were not employed, though with dieselization in full swing after 1945 the company probably lost interest in further development of steam.

The Big Boy is one of the best represented and preserved model of steam locomotive in the United States, due to its legendary reputation and late survival in service to 1959. Eight of the 25 still exist:

The backhead (controls) of 4017 at the National Railroad Museum in Green Bay, WI

• 4004: Holliday Park, Cheyenne, Wyoming 41°08′12.30″N 104°47′59.4″W / 41.13675°N 104.799833°W / 41.13675; -104.799833 (Big Boy 4004)
• 4005: Forney Transportation Museum, Denver, Colorado 39°46′37.38″N 104°58′13.8″W / 39.77705°N 104.9705°W / 39.77705; -104.9705 (Big Boy 4005)
• 4006: Museum of Transportation, St. Louis, Missouri 38°34′19.73″N 090°27′40.0″W / 38.5721472°N 90.46111°W / 38.5721472; -90.46111 (Big Boy 4006)
• 4012: Steamtown National Historic Site, Scranton, Pennsylvania 41°24′26.96″N 075°40′10.8″W / 41.4074889°N 75.669667°W / 41.4074889; -75.669667 (Big Boy 4012)
• 4014: Railway and Locomotive Historical Society, Southern California Chapter, Fairplex, Pomona, California 34°05′01.44″N 117°46′14.44″W / 34.0837333°N 117.7706778°W / 34.0837333; -117.7706778 (Big Boy 4014)
• 4017: National Railroad Museum, Green Bay, Wisconsin 44°29′02.70″N 088°02′55.1″W / 44.484083°N 88.048639°W / 44.484083; -88.048639 (Big Boy 4017)
• 4018: Museum of the American Railroad, Dallas, Texas 32°46′58.32″N 096°45′49.4″W / 32.7828667°N 96.763722°W / 32.7828667; -96.763722 (Big Boy 4018)
• 4023: Kenefick Park, Omaha, Nebraska 41°13′49.03″N 095°54′54.3″W / 41.2302861°N 95.915083°W / 41.2302861; -95.915083 (Big Boy 4023)

All except numbers 4005 and 4017 are currently stored in the open without protection from the elements. The dry air of Southern California has helped #4014 to remain the best preserved of the survivors, assisted by care of the local chapter of the Railway and Locomotive Historical Society. The Steamtown example is also said to be in good condition, though the harsher weather of the northeast has taken its toll. The Forney Museum of Transportation in Denver moved the 4005 to a renovated building in January 2001. Thanks to considerable fundraising and volunteer efforts, number 4017 now resides with other pieces of railroad equipment in a climate-controlled shed at the museum in Green Bay. Number 4023 is the only known Big Boy to move by highway since preservation, to the new Kenefick Park in Omaha, NE.

This information was collated from Wikipedia.com