Big Boy Steam Engine Fun

 Yesterday, Mister and I heard about Big Boy being in Fort Worth and we missed it.  What?  A little digging found their travel schedule for the next day and we quickly made plans to rise early and be in Midlothian when he arrives.

We've found a great spot under a bridge along the tracks and are pretty much at the front of the pack.  Here is our view and as we wait.

Who is Big Boy?, you may be asking.  Well, here is a LINK to a site with lots of technical information but the short of it is, "Twenty-five Big Boys were built exclusively for Union Pacific Railroad, the first of which was delivered in 1941.  The locomotives were 132 feet long and weighed 1.2 million pounds.  Because of their great length, the frames of the Big Boys were "hinged," or articulated, to allow them to negotiate curves.  They had a 4-8-8-4 wheel arrangement, which meant they had four wheels on the leading set of "pilot" wheels which guided the engine, eight drivers, another set of eight drivers, and four wheels following which supported the rear of the locomotive.  The massive engines normally operated between Ogden, Utah, and Cheyenne, Wyoming.  There are seven Big Boys on public display in various cities around the country.  They can be found in St. Louis, Missouri; Dallas, Texas; Omaha, Nebraska; Denver, Colorado; and Cheyenne, Wyoming.  Big Boy No. 4014 was delivered to Union Pacific in December 1941.  The locomotive was retired in December 1961, having traveled 1,031,205 miles in its 20 years of service.  Union Pacific reacquired No. 4014 from the RailGiants Museum in Pomona, California, in 2013, and relocated it back to Cheyenne to begin a multi-restoration process.  It returned to service in May 2019 to celebrate the 150th Anniversary of the Transcontinental Railroad's Completion.  

Mister and I actually saw Big Boy 4004 in Cheyenne, WY (LINK) back in 2013, and we've seen the one in Dallas, but they are just on display, not operating.  THIS sweetie today --- the ONLY one actually operating.

The picture above was taken while standing on a pile of gravel.  Then, the police came along and said we were too close.  They literally moved us 2 feet back, not further from the tracks.  So bizarre.  At any rate, we have an excellent view.  (In the next picture you can see the gravel pile I WAS standing on.)

I'm tracking Big Boy on my phone and he's almost here.  I REALLY want to just enjoy this moment - so a brief video and a few pics is all I get at first.  Here he comes:

Switching to pics - we are sooooo close and it is soooooo loud.  I'm holding my ears and couldn't take pictures if I wanted to by the time we are next to it.

Here is where I put the camera down to hold my ears.

Now, we have to run all the way back to the intersection in order to get closer pics while it rests for 15 minutes.  This is where all the people are.  Goodness.  Enjoy!!

Time for departure ---  check out the steam - 

Here he comes again and here I "think" I'm getting a video.  Nope.  Screwed it all up.

Bye Big Boy --- 

Earlier, a nice man came up and asked if I had a couple of pennies he could flatten for his son.  After, I go to check and see how they turned out.

AND managed to get one back to keep.  All in all --- a really fun, impromptu morning in Texas.  Gotta love life.