UP to possibly restore a BIG BOY

[pnolan48]

Isn't the Challenger, aside from wheel arrangement, just as large or larger than the Big Boy? At least heavier?

Restoring a steam loco that large, even if stored under "good" conditions, will be expensive. I am wondering if some UP senior executive is thinking that, per million dollars spent, the Big Boy might be a better public relations and advertising buy than any other buy per million. If so, it might really happen, and then get stalled halfway through when that exec leaves or is fired.

[Leggy]

Maybe UP wants to have their biggest steam locomotive running again for histories sake? Afterall it was the biggest thing on the rails in the US (according to them mostly...).

[up1950s]

For the most part the ran from Cheyenne to Ogden . I guess LA to Council Bluffs might work if on a diet of oil . Not enough color shots in this world of a BB under steam , sure would be cool . There is many spare parts in museums , and the defects could be put on the donors to keep then looking right . As time goes by the chances of ever getting this done gets harder .

[aikorob]

Not to derail this thread, but does anyone have any idea what it would cost to build a major steam loco from the ground up? Like the Brits did for their A1 Tornado several years back?

[Bremner]

it would really depend on the loco, a Big Boy and a Pacific are two different beasts...the Tornado took 10 years and a cost of 1,600,000 GBP (1,600,000.00 GBP  = 2,565,680.00 USD  in today's money, was higher)

I can't see anyone raising $3-5m for a NYC Hudson

[Robbman]

Afterall it was the biggest thing on the rails in the US (according to them mostly...).

NS (VGN) and CSX (C&O) need to get the two surviving Alleghanies running just to mess with UP

[Bremner]

NS (VGN) and CSX (C&O) need to get the two surviving Alleghanies running just to mess with UP

I would assume that the C&O one in the Henry Ford Museum is in the best shape

[Specter3]

In the endless pining for a K4 restoration by the SPF's it came up that one of the capable restoration houses said they could build a brand new one from scratch for 4 million. Is that a real number in today's dollars? Who knows? But it is what they purportedly said.