Various sources on internet say that a full restoration of Big Boy No. 4014 is being considered.
A spokesman of Union Pacific confirmed a restoration is under study,with the help of an undisclosed sponsor(!).
The 4014 would be one of the best kept Big Boy locomotives,or at least worth the effort.
Aim is to have it running in 2014,at the celebration of 150 years transcontinental railway in the USA.
In 2014 Maerklin will be celebrating their 155 years of existance.
It is said that this years new item Maerklin 37995 Big Boy has cabin number 4014.

If M are indeed involved,that would be very exciting news for most M fans,i suppose.
And,would it not be a magnificant sight to see a real Big Boy run again?

www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWpPeugUI44

Cheers,
Paul.

Twenty were built in 1941,another five in 1944.
Last operational service in 1959,finally outphased in 1962.
Because of the short operational life i doubt whether they were ever completely taken apart.
One was converted to oil burning,this was not a success,it was later converted to coal again.
They were overrated for the job to be done meaning that they were never pushed over their limits.
From what i read it is the intention that 4014 is converted to oil burning because of enviromental reasons.

Wikipedia is already updated with the possible restoration project!

Cheers,
Paul.

Clip of the smaller cousin of Big Boy,the Challenger,Union Pacific series 3900.
Big Boy has 8 drive axles,Challenger has 6 drive axles.
Imagine Big Boy 4014 driving this way.....

www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OgSNQOTw2U

www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHI5VHBwIfI

Hi!
Is there a source for the "undisclosed sponsor"?

I found the following:
"Company spokesman Mark Davis told Trains News Wire Friday that the company has been approached by and is working with a third party interested in restoring and operating a Big Boy." That third party is more than just a sponsor.
Source:
http://trn.trains.com/Ra...excursion%20service.aspx
Kevin quoted the text already.

I don't think that Märklin has plans to operate a Big Boy ...
I'm afraid that Märklin is not involved.

There is also a plan to move 4018 from Dallas to a new railroad museum in Frisco.
The engine is in pretty bad shape after being left outside for over 50 years without any visible maintenance.

http://www.dallasnews.com/news/community-news/frisco/headlines/20120901-fans-cant-wait-to-see-big-boy-the-worlds-biggest-and-strongest-steam-engine-rolling-on-the-rails.ece

Regards,
Juha

That would have been the A1 Tornado, which was not a restoration, but a complete brand new loco, built from scratch. I heard it cost 5 million pounds, that might not be correct.

I did not say it was a restoration,i said it was a newly built loco.
This magnificant loco triggered the discussion in the magazine Trains about a Big Boy restoration.
As far as i can judge,Union Pacific is a very wealthy company,no one in the board will blink an eye on spending 1 million dollars on the Big Boy 4014 if that would give them proper media focus.
Support from a third party such as Maerklin would be symbolic but worthwile.
M are having the ambition to increase sales in the USA,sponsoring restoration of the 4014 would give them plenty media attention.

Perhaps 4018 could be used as parts supply for 4014.

Exactly,

Marklin donated so much per 01.150 Lok made, or sold ?? from he original 39013, and IIRCC a larger amount per Lok from 39017

Also the Wagner smoke deflectors were a part of returning 01.150 to it's original state rather than it's developed state as it was before the fire, so Marklin said, but granted a difference worthy of the second model.

I can only see Marklin donating so much per 4014 model made or sold, no more money or involement than that, and I'm sure the UP RR will be aware of it's licencing property legalities to use this to charge a royalty to other MRR manufacturers who wish to make a model of 4014 in it's restored State, or maybe even as it is, and I'd be amazed if they haven't been doing this already.. (Perhaps they've put this money aside over the years for just such a project as the proposed restoration )

Restoring 4014 will be a huge undertaking, if the original boiler casing is in fit shape I'd be suprised if the internals don't have to be completely replaced, and thats only the boiler
Could the Meiningen Werks expect a call maybe, altho I'm sure the USA will have a facility to do the job somewhere.
As for the oil firing, yes this can be done successfully today, it's only expertise and is a much more practical and cost effective way of operating a Museum Lok. I'd hope the UP can see the benifit of spending a bit more money to give 4014 a long and useful life in it's restored state. However this will give the Loco some visual differences when it's restored, so I suspect a second issue of 4014 by Marklin after/if the job is done.
It will be interesting to see if they make the tender a water carrier only and then attach one of the UP's yellow oil tank tenders behind.

Meantime I hope the 37995 model is weathered in a more tasteful and realistic way, rather than just throwing brown paint at it like they did with the 37992 examples I've seen pics of

The Maerklin model 37995 has a productionrun of 1,200 pieces,according to some internetsites.
Official selling price is Euro 849.95.
Have seen prices as low as Euro 628.95 on German internetshop sites.
This means a saving of Euro 221.-,easy win.

Hi Tom,all,

Compared to other restoration projects, I suspect that except for the sheer size of the loco, it may not be such a difficult restoration mechanically speaking. With the boiler only having seen less that 20 years of use, and with storage in a reatively dry environment should not need any major repairs done to it. However, I would not be surprised if the boiler needs retubing.

From looking briefly at some pictures and educated guesswork I expect that the wheels should be in a reasonable condition, the tyres still have a bit of meat on hem and for a company like UP re-turning the tyres should be easy in one of their underfloor lathes. I suspect that from standing still outdoors for such a long time will mean the roller bearings will probably have to be replaced. Again, in a big loco repair shop the necessary removing and pressing on of the wheels should not be too hard, and bearings should be able to be sourced from somewhere. The springs look stuffed, and will probably have to be remade. Some of the stuff between the frames would be next to impossible to access on the loco as a static exhibit, so there may be some serious corrosion there if the paint hasn't lasted.

Internally, I cannot say anything, because you can't see what's happening until you pull the stuff apart. A lot of this will depend on how the loco has been stored, and what happened just before the loco was pulled out of service. I know of two locos that recieved a mid-size overhaul just before they were pulled out of service, and therefore are in their unnrestored state still in a reasonable condition. If the loco got soem sort of overhaul near to the end of it's life the gear might be in a reasonable nick, but if the engine was run into the ground in it's last months, there may be a lot of work required.

The fact that the loco is a large, modern Mallett will mean that there are a lot of auxilary parts that will need attention, as well as two sets of cylinders and motion, and on top of that a number of flexible steam pipes which will probably take a lot of time to get right. I suspect that the overhaul could take anywhere from 5-10 years. The fact that a large company like UP with plenty of heavy machinery wants to start the restoration is a good thing IMHO, because it makes it a lot easier to get big things done without having to rely on trying to find the right people to do the heavy stuff, and transport is a lot easier.

Coal and oil burning each have their advantages and disadvantages, and both are getting harder to get hold of. The locomotive has a mechanical stoker, and as this is not as common as hand firing it may be difficult to get the loco to perform at it's best on coal, so converting to oil firing may make sense.

One thing to keep in mind though is, it is a big, powerful goods engine, and therefore has a very large apetite and will be expensive to maintain and operate. Even as a publicity locomotive, it will still have to earn a bit of money, which means that the loco will have to draw more passengers per trip than a smaller engine. In the long run it may well prove to be too expensive to operate as a modern heritage engine due to it's large operating costs. In saying that, I would be more than happy to be proved wrong...

My two cents worth..

Cheers,
Rick

Hi all,
"Truly"?


Dr D

A Youtube update i found today on the Big Boy 4014 project.
Guys,i think it is getting serious by now.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIAzbmn5VyA

And the previous clip:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4cEumu0lQw

Cheers,
Paul.

The NS 1500 is no longer running in Holland.
The British loco was on trial during the time NS were looking for a replacement for their aging 1100/1200/1300 series.
As said,the series 1600/1700/1800 were and are a great success.
I believe one 1500 series loco is being kept by a private club close to Rotterdam.
I consider it very unlikely that Maerklin would invest any money in a model of a loco which did not really touch ground.

Big Boy 4014 as filmed today 11th March 2013.
Note the welding gas cylinders and the erected overhead crane.
Something is going on,something big is taking shape.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=...UUDHKpXMiew0YxvThUvwxdZQ