|
Union Pacific Big Boys in Action by James J Reisdorff & Michael M Bartels
Union Pacific Big Boys in Action by James J Reisdorff & Michael M Bartels
Soft Cover STAPLED
80 pages Reflections from light on some photos
Copyright 2014
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments2
Preface4
Introduction 8
194115
1942-194516
194618
194723
194824
194926
195029
195130
195232
195335
195436
195540
195651
195762
195868
195974
196077
Bibliography 79
Index of Photographs80
PREFACE
A few years ago, a railroad enthusiast who grew up in the era when steam locomotives were in regular service, wrote to a railroad-oriented magazine to lament about the generation gap. After showing a younger railfan his photos of steam, the younger fan replied that he didn't care how many photos of steam engines he was shown. He could not be convinced that they ever existed.
The younger fan had a valid point. The physical mark of the steam locomotive has been largely obliterated from the industrial landscape in North America for more than half a century. Given human nature, it is understandable why someone who never saw steam in regular operation might be apathetic to the idea of its onetime prevalence.
However, what is it about the Union Pacific "Big Boy" that seems to unite the generations when it comes to viewing old photographs and movies of them? But also the larger question: Why do train enthusiasts of all ages still have a fascination for the "world's largest steam locomotive?" Is it because, as Jim Wrinn, editor of Trains Magazine noted, "of our culture's affinity for the ultimate of anything?" The spectacle of widespread public interest in Big Boy that continues to this day prompted Wrinn to further note: "Big Boy's power is truly mighty, even without turning a wheel under its own power."
To briefly review, Union Pacific's 25 4-8-8-4 class of articulated steam locomotives were built during the World War II period between 1941 and 1944 by the American Locomotive Co. of Schenectady, N.Y. They were actually not the most powerful steam locomotive class ever built. However, they were heavier when fully loaded with fuel and water, and when the length of the locomotive alone is considered, it was a few feet longer than any other large steam locomotive constructed for a U.S. railroad. Their nickname of Big Boy came after these words were chalked on the front of the first engine completed, and the name stuck.
The Big Boys, Nos. 4000-4024, were designed primarily to haul long, heavy freight trains across the Wasatch Mountains between Ogden, Utah, and Green River, Wyo. Their territory was later extended east to the large steam terminal at Cheyenne, Wyo. Ultimately, operation of the class was concentrated between Green River and Cheyenne. Here, as the Big Boys moved tonnage across Union Pacific's crossing of the Continental Divide and the topographical feature known as Sherman Hill, the lasting public image of Big Boy was made, helped in part by the railroad's own promotion of the engine class.
Union Pacific would eventually turn to more economical diesel and turbine motive power to pull its trains, and the Big Boys would be among the last UP steam to be taken out of service, a few of the class having last been in operation for less than a month in July 1959. Altogether, the Big Boys had seen service for about 17 years. Following the end of steam operations, Union Pacific generously donated eight Big Boys for display to various museums or municipalities around the country.
In 2006, the authors had published The Big Legacy of the Union Pacific Big Boy, a book recounting the post-steam era story of the 4000 class. As part of that book, they examined the question that train enthusiasts everywhere had long been asking: Would a Big Boy ever be restored to operating condition?
Much to the amazement of anyone interested in trains either professionally or as a hobby, this question was answered in late 2012. At that time Union Pacific first approached the RailGiants Museum at Pomona, Calif., and asked those in charge to allow the railroad to repatriate Big Boy No. 4014, which had been on display at the museum for more than 50 years. The express purpose for this was to return 4014 to operating condition for use by the Union Pacific's Steam Heritage Program headquartered at Cheyenne. This program and its employees were already responsible for overseeing the maintenance and operation of two other historic UP steam engines, 4-8-4 Northern type No. 844 and 4-6-6-4 Challenger type No. 3985. Both had already served as goodwill ambassadors for Union Pacific for many years.
After considerable speculation and discussion within the railfan community nationwide following the initial announcement, members of the Southern California Chapter of the Railway Sc Locomotive Historical Society, operators of the Pomona museum, voted in August 2013 to return the 4014 to UP. After further negotiations and preparations, the once-unthinkable happened when 4014 was first moved in November 2013 out of the museum to the edge of the Pomona fairgrounds, then to UP's West Colton yard in January to prepare it for its trip to Cheyenne. In April and May of 2014 the 4014 was successfully hauled almost 1,300 miles from West Colton to the UP steam shop at Cheyenne in a special train movement closely watched by hundreds of people, many who turned out at each town along the way to see the beginning of a new chapter in Big Boy's history.
Following the initial exuberance over the 4014's proposed restoration to service, the UP Steam Heritage Program is now proceeding with what from the outset is expected to be an approximate five-year effort to return the 4-8-8-4 to service, including converting its fuel source from coal to oil. A schedule for its return to steam has centered around a proposal to have it ready in time for the 150th anniversary of the Golden Spike ceremony at Promontory, Utah, in May 2019.
As a worldwide community of UP steam supporters awaits the impending return of the 4014 to operation, it is perhaps appropriate to cast a look back pictorially at Big Boy during the 17 years that it originally served Union Pacific and the nation. It's a story that has already been examined in numerous books, magazine articles and videos.
In order to build on what has been done by others, the authors have chosen to provide a pictorial with a detailed timeline for each year of service by the 4000 class. A year-by-year history such as this can provide background information pertinent to the untold number of photographs taken by railfans of Big Boy during its regular service life. To illustrate this timeline, the authors have chosen a select number of those images, which again are just a fraction of those committed to celluloid during the day of Big Boy. As noted in the 1973 book Sherman Hill, railroad historian and co-author Francis Gschwind stated: "Sherman Hill may well have attracted more photographers than any other individual area along America's railroads during the age of steam locomotion. ... It would be virtually impossible to estimate the total cost of film and the footage expended here throughout the years."
The following is otherwise a testimonial to those railfan photographers of the 1940s and 1950s who went trackside in Utah and Wyoming to capture the last days of leviathans. In his immense 1987 book, The History of the Union Pacific Railroad in Cheyenne, author Robert Darwin described the majority of railfans who came to southeast Wyoming as not being "professional photographers," but rather "serious photographers." And serious they were, for they achieved the incredible feat of photographing a fairly small class of locomotive type from one end of Sherman Hill to the other. This exploit now allows others who were never there in person to have, in the words of scientific engineer S.G. Erhlich, "a sense of accuracy" as to what had transpired on the Hill.
Making this pictorial possible is railfan photographer and retired UP employee James L. Ehernberger, who was at "ground zero" during the final years of revenue steam at Cheyenne. Jim not only dedicated his early years to being a photo documentarian of UP steam, including Big Boy, but to also helping others achieve that goal. Later, at his own initiative and expense, Jim would provide a repository for a number of large photo collections from a number of retired or deceased rail enthusiasts, archives that he has willingly shared over many years through both his own publications and those of others. He does so here again, as the majority of images that follow come from the Ehernberger collection.
This endeavor cannot begin to be all-inclusive regarding images of Big Boy. Just a partial list of the surnames of serious railfan photographers who were there for the 4000s must include Collias, Duke, Griffiths, Hale, Hastings, Kratville, Kreig, Grenard, Miller, Olmsted, Shaughnessy, Stagner and Steinheimer. While their visual work is not included here, they--and still many others not mentioned--are hereby acknowledged for their contributions to the photo coverage of Big Boy.
Those images included here were editorially selected from the Ehernberger collection. Some are well known, while others are being published for the first time. The selections were also chosen from among action scenes showing the eight Big Boys that were later preserved. Now scattered across the United States, they are a tangible connection to part of America's industrial past, and it is part of the human condition to find some satisfaction, while looking at old photographs of machinery of their magnitude, to know that these particular locomotives are still extant and available for public scrutiny. This emphasis on the "Big Boy Eight" is also meant to give recognition to those institutions, their employees and volunteers, who to this day maintain these very large artifacts for many to enjoy.
The following is also a look at a time and social environment now long past. In the years since Big Boy vanished from Sherman Hill, almost all of the photo locations depicted here have become off-limits to photographers on account of increased security on what is private property belonging to the railroad or local ranchers. Gated fences and an increased railroad security presence have replaced the less-strict policies regarding railfanning that were prevalent on Sherman Hill in the 1940s and 1950s.
"From 1954 to 1959, no Wagnerian opera could have eclipsed the drama that was unfolding in Cheyenne on a day-to-day basis," wrote Darwin in his book on the UP steam era around the Wyoming state capital. It was indeed a time of great transition for many employees who worked in train service for Union Pacific, as well as for non-railroaders who often expressed their interest in trains by aiming a camera at the rail scene taking place before them.
The restoration of 4014 will one day allow for drama to again unfold in the Cheyenne area as another generation of rail photographers strive to document the same spectacle associated with the world's largest steam locomotive. This new legion, albeit, will likely accomplish their pursuit using digital camera equipment undreamed of in the original days of Big Boy. But until then, let us appreciate the work of railroad photography pioneers who seized a moment for the ages.
James J. Reisdorff, David City, Neb. Michael M. Bartels, Lincoln, Neb.
INTRODUCTION
I was born in Omaha, Neb. My grandfather owned land near Desoto, Neb., north of Omaha, which eventually became a game refuge and historical site on account of an early Missouri River steamboat, the Bertrand, having sunk in that area. The Great Depression of the 1930s was a difficult period for our family, and although my father worked at an Omaha bakery, he moved our family to the farm near Desoto in about 1939. When World War II came, my father went to work in a shipyard near Seattle, leaving his family to tend the farm. However, because the Missouri River would flood our ground nearly ever spring, my mother decided to rent a place near Desoto. We still later moved to Blair, Neb., on account of my oldest brother entering high school there.
When the Seattle-area shipyard downsized, my rather was furloughed and returned to Blair. On his way back, he discovered a closed blacksmith shop at Bushnell, Neb., a small town located along the Union Pacific Railroad's transcontinental main line, and close to the Nebraska-Wyoming border. After arranging to purchase the business, we moved to Bushnell in 1944. My father and oldest brother eventually started to manufacture steel storage tanks. However, in order to obtain an underwriter's certificate for such work, it became necessary for us to relocate to Cheyenne, Wyo., where proper product inspections could be made. This move occurred during the summer of 1950.
The Union Pacific, both in tiny Bushnell and in the railroad's major shop town of Cheyenne, was always a place of interest to me. While living in Bushnell, the depot agent there would give me his out-of-date timetables, helping to foster my interest in both trains and where the tracks went. Hence, by the time my ninth-grade civics teacher had us students answer a future career survey, my response was railroading. In Cheyenne, I frequently visited the UP station after school. Also, in that era, you could go almost anywhere on railroad property without anyone questioning anything. I walked the UP yards from one end to the other many times, and visited the company's large roundhouse and shop area as well.
During these tours I got acquainted with a UP yardmaster who also operated a part-time photo studio in his basement. Taking an interest in photography from him, my earliest photo efforts circa 1952 were done using either a box camera or sometimes a poor-quality folding camera. At this same time, I had discovered the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad branch line that operated between Sterling, Colo., and Cheyenne. I began photographing this line because of the ancient 4-6-0 type locomotives that the Burlington then used on it. As a result, as I had with UP employees, I became friends with the local CB&Q train crews as well.
My father was interested in railroads, but not to the extent that he took photos. He supported my "enthusiasm." One day, when I was 15, it was reported in the Denver Post that the Rocky Mountain Railroad Club of Denver would operate a UP steam excursion from Denver to Laramie on May 17, 1953, (using 4-6-6-4 Challenger type No. 3967). The local ticket agent said arrangements could be made for me to board that train at Boric, nine miles west of Cheyenne, which had an interlocking tower. Here the train picked up about a half dozen passengers, and we traveled to Buford and took siding. The passengers were let off and we were able to photograph the westbound fleet of passenger trains, plus several westbound freights with helper engines. This was the last opportunity for the RMRRC to do this as, one week later, Union Pacific opened the new Harriman line (third track) across Sherman Hill, eliminating a need for helper engines.
My friend, the yardmaster, knew that I was taking this excursion. Later, he asked me about it. I provided details and commented that some guys on the excursion were using large cameras in which they looked down through the top of them in order to frame their photos, and I thought they were pretty "neat." The yardmaster said, "Those are Graflex cameras. Would you like one?" Of course, I said that would be nice, but I didn't have any money. He then told me that if he got me a job as a crew caller, after I turned 16 in a few weeks, that he would sell me his Graflex camera. That was the beginning of both my UP career and taking quality rail photos. This was undoubtedly the best break anyone could ever have had, and many railfans cannot believe that I practically started with such professional equipment.
Of course, as they were then in regular service out of Cheyenne, the Big Boys were favorite photo subjects for everyone. But I liked steam in general. I was especially fond of smaller power and often-times photographed branch line locomotives. To me, the "big" engines initially did not seem quite as historical since smaller power was then being scrapped at an alarming rate. I largely avoided diesels since catching steam in action was the main goal.
I became quite active with the Rocky Mountain Railroad Club shortly after obtaining my driver's license. I would otherwise ride the UP to Denver for the club's meetings and return home afterward by bus. My second excursion with RMRRC was in September 1953, riding the Denver & Rio Grande Western's narrow gauge line between Alamosa and Durango, Colo. I quickly became acquainted with other railfans. In October 1953, the Burlington's train to Sterling derailed after leaving the east yard limits at Cheyenne, and there I met a UP brakeman/conductor, Roy Dunn, who was taking photos. From that meeting we became longtime friends, making many trips, including to Sherman Hill, to photograph steam operations.
I would pick up copies at the newsstand of the two major railfan periodicals at that time, Trains and Railroad Magazine, and I sent several photographs to the former for consideration for publication. As it turned out, the first two of mine that Trains published, in the March 1955 issue, were of the CB&Q branch line to Sterling, Colo. I was not quite 18 and already had photos published in a national magazine! Soon after that break, I received a phone call from the noted railroad author Lucius Beebe. He was then preparing another book and was interested in including some of my photography. He ultimately used a number of my views in his book, The Age of Steam. Subsequently, I became acquainted with other railroad authors and publishers, including Bill Kratville from Omaha. (Bill would later author and publish Big Boy, the book considered to be the "Bible" on the history of the 4000s.)
By the mid-1950s, steam locomotives had vanished from many U.S. railroads, but Union Pacific was one of the great steam operations still available and fans realized that. They also realized that UP was gradually dieselizing as well, with the company's other form of motive power then, the turbines, having already basically done away with coal-burning steam west of Green River, Wyo. The news in railfan circles traveled quickly, and because of that, enthusiasts made a concerted effort to come to Cheyenne to see the big steam power in operation.
There was no Internet at that time, so people used the mail service. I corresponded with a great number of railfans, and it was in this manner that many made contact with me prior to coming to Cheyenne. My ability to recommend when and where to photograph trains was made a lot easier on account I had access to train lineups at the crew caller's office in Cheyenne. I had several people visit from California, a couple from the Pacific Northwest and many from the Denver area. One came from New York. He was a conductor on the Long Island Railroad and traveled on a rail pass. Other photographers of note who visited included Hank Griffiths Jr., of Boise, Idaho, and Stan Kistler from California.
Usually, for most of these visitors, I would escort them in their vehicles, but on the rough roads of Sherman Hill, I would drive them to my favorite locations for photography. I recall taking a Californian, John Hungerford, along the Harriman line. I knew the road well, but he didn't. Driving to the top of Dale Cut, just east of Dale Junction, was a challenge and required experience. I put my old 1952 Chevrolet in low gear and ground all the way to the top. When there, you could not see over the hood (all you saw was blue sky), but the road then made a slight bend and you then dropped down a very steep grade that was quite rocky. I heard later that John expressed to others that the trip was very scary.
I originally met Richard Kindig of Denver, a well-known photographer of both the Union Pacific and Colorado narrow gauge, on the May 1953 excursion trip with UP 3967. (I have Richard's log books, and have found my name and address in them, so that proves that point.) Another rail photographer "great," Otto Perry of Denver, was also on that same trip. He was not as easy to talk to, but he was also a regular at the RMRRC meetings.
The Kindig and Perry style of photography was normally the three-quarters "wedge" view in order to get quite a lot of smoke and to include as much of the entire train as possible. This photography style was then followed by many railfans. In fact, Railroad Magazine greatly promoted this type of view as being the "perfect action photo." Otto was an all-around photographer in that he would shoot every for information and interviews whenever a documentary is done by the railfan or national media about UP steam, including Big Boy. The foreign media has also asked for my help when doing stories on Big Boy. I was involved with the British television network, the BBC, in locating sites on Sherman Hill where many photographs had been taken for a "then and now" presentation. German public television had me travel all the way to Germany to assist them with a documentary on Big Boy. Personally, the follow-up documentary to Last of the Giants, done by Pentrex, is a favorite of mine. For it, I was able to interview people who actually worked with the Big Boys and this provided another avenue for preserving historical information about the 4000s. Most all of those people are now gone, but the content of the documentary still exists.
During the regular steam era I had climbed inside the cabs of several locomotives, including Big Boys. However, I was never one to "mooch" a cab ride and I really liked taking trackside photos instead. Therefore I never rode an active Big Boy. But, along with others, I was invited to board the cab of the 4014 at Laramie, Wyo., on May 8, 2014, for the ride of a lifetime. No. 4014 was then on its way from the museum at Pomona, Calif., to Cheyenne to be restored to operable condition, and we were able to ride the final distance into Cheyenne. Crossing Sherman Hill on the 4014, more than 50 years after the engine had last been there, was an experience I shall always cherish. Perhaps, after a lifetime of rail photography, including Big Boys in action, and then helping to preserve their memory through books and videos, this was a way for my special friends to let me know that I had "earned" this opportunity. It seemed an appropriate enough finale.
All pictures are of the actual item. There may be reflection from the lights in some photos. We try to take photos of any damage. If this is a railroad item, this material is obsolete and no longer in use by the railroad. Please email with questions. Publishers of Train Shed Cyclopedias and Stephans Railroad Directories. Large inventory of railroad books and magazines. Thank you for buying from us.
Shipping charges
US Shipments: When you add multiple items to your cart, the reduced shipping charges will automatically be calculated. .
Non US Shipments: For direct postage rates to these countries, send me an email. Shipping varies by weight.
Payment options
Payment must be received within 7 days. Paypal is accepted.
Terms and conditions
All sales are final. Returns accepted if item is not as described. Contact us before making a return. No warranty is stated or implied. Please e-mail us with any questions before bidding or buying.
Thanks for looking at our items.
|