The Big Boy was a locomotive commissioned by Union Pacific during the WWII years and it is believed to the biggest locomotive ever built. These and other steam locomotives were retired from service when diesels started appearing but not all of the Big Boys got melted down to make Toyotas and microwave ovens. No. 4014 was preserved in San Diego and now he is being restored to get him back on the tracks.
There are much cooler pictures but this one gives the best perspective on the size of No. 4014 and you see a lot more pictures in the article. (Mail Online: Big Boy coming through! Locomotive of the Union Pacific Railroad to be restored to its former glory)
Part of what intrigues me about this is why would this be an article I would find in a Brit newspaper. Here's something America did better than anywhere else, apparently, and made this incredibly cool locomotive. Seems like there's a good measure of healthy national pride in that ... but ... I hear about it from overseas. No-one wants to hear about your guns but locomotives, man, every kid loves locomotives.
There are much cooler pictures but this one gives the best perspective on the size of No. 4014 and you see a lot more pictures in the article. (Mail Online: Big Boy coming through! Locomotive of the Union Pacific Railroad to be restored to its former glory)
Part of what intrigues me about this is why would this be an article I would find in a Brit newspaper. Here's something America did better than anywhere else, apparently, and made this incredibly cool locomotive. Seems like there's a good measure of healthy national pride in that ... but ... I hear about it from overseas. No-one wants to hear about your guns but locomotives, man, every kid loves locomotives.
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