Rebirth of a Legend

摘要

To have seen one of Union Pacific's "Big Boy" 4-8-8-4 locomotives at work you need to be in your mid-50s or older, considering the last revenue working of the class was on July 21, 1959. Enthusiasts have always marvelled at their gargantuan size engine and tender weighing in at a staggering 554 tons. The tender alone - with a capacity of 25,000 US gallons of water and 28 tons of coal - weighs nearly 153 tons, more than a BR 9F engine and tender together! The 132ft 91/4in length of a "Big Boy" is the equivalent of two 9Fs double headed. Yet, despite their size, according to Ed Dickens Jr, the 4-8-8-4 locomotives were to have been called 'Wasatch', after the mountain range between Utah and Idaho, which UP's east-to-west route climbs through. But during the construction of the locos, an unknown worker had scrawled "Big Boy" in chalk on its front. The name stuck and has become legendary in railway terminology.