Steam & Excursion > UP Big Boy 4018

I just happened to remember 4018 while thinking of the Big Boys. Does anyone know what sort of condition it's currently in cosmetically or mechanically?Has anyone ever had a chance to get a close up look at it before or since it's move?

Don't you remember it was supposedly going to be in a movie about 20 years ago?

With great fanfare, it was looked over by some "experts" and moved a few feet.

The big Hollywood production was going to be financed by donations. Apparently enough gullible fans donated money, even as the promoter's stories unraveled.

The promoter and the money disappeared.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/21/16 08:54 by Realist.

apollo17 Wrote:
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> I just happened to remember 4018 while thinking of
> the Big Boys. Does anyone know what sort of
> condition it's currently in cosmetically or
> mechanically?Has anyone ever had a chance to get a
> close up look at it before or since it's move?

• In the late 60's, when 4018 was being moved to the museum, the pistons seized, and UP cut the rods to get it moving again. So the piston rods are cut. (see pic)
• At one point so much moisture was against the barrel of the boiler than moss was growing out of the jacketing (see pic)
• Was towed 55 miles to the new museum site (Dallas to Frisco, TX). Scott Lindsay and Steam Operations Corporation was contracted to handle the move and they did so professionally and had no issues during the move. I believe they jacked up at least one of the wheelsets on the tender in order to navigate the tight curve of the lead out of the museum.

-Dave

Edit: Pictures Courtesy of http://www.steamlocomotive.com



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 05/21/16 09:10 by dbesade.

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As has been said various times by folks more knowledgeable than me, don't freak about the piston rods.  If someone wanted to do an operational restoration of this engine with all that entails, making four new piston rods is not that big a deal.  I'd be more concerned about long term storage in the weather with jacket and rain-soaked lagging in place.

Pic two is pretty ugly with all the rust and moss. Makes me wonder what condition the boiler is in even today. Speaking of mechanically overhauling 4018, can anyone imagine the cost of replacing just the boiler for this locomotive if it's beyond all hope?! And yes Realist, I do remember the movie and restoration that was suppose to take place about 17 or 18 years ago. That's a classic case of how NOT to restore a steam locomotive.

apollo17 Wrote:
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> Pic two is pretty ugly with all the rust and moss.
> Makes me wonder what condition the boiler is in
> even today. Speaking of mechanically overhauling
> 4018, can anyone imagine the cost of
> replacing just the boiler for this locomotive if
> it's beyond all hope?! And yes Realist, I do
> remember the movie and restoration that was
> suppose to take place about 17 or 18 years ago.
> That's a classic case of how NOT to restore a
> steam locomotive.


Yes, but more important, IMO, is that it was a scam from the very beginning.

Gee, sounds like it parallels another scam involving a large engine.


Realist Wrote:
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> apollo17 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Pic two is pretty ugly with all the rust and
> moss.
> > Makes me wonder what condition the boiler is
> in
> > even today. Speaking of mechanically
> overhauling
> > 4018, can anyone imagine the cost of
> > replacing just the boiler for this locomotive
> if
> > it's beyond all hope?! And yes Realist, I do
> > remember the movie and restoration that was
> > suppose to take place about 17 or 18 years ago.
> > That's a classic case of how NOT to restore a
> > steam locomotive.
>
>
> Yes, but more important, IMO, is that it was a
> scam from the very beginning.

Posted from Android

Good one !

I remember the "Restore 4018" (edit) folks even had a booth at Railfar '99 in Sacramento. I may have even thrown a few bucks in their direction.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/21/16 22:38 by davew833.

davew833 Wrote:
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> I remember the "Restore 2018" folks even had a
> booth at Railfar '99 in Sacramento. I may have
> even thrown a few bucks in their direction.

Well,,,,,it is "4018", but yes that "thief" did indeed have a booth at Railfair '99. After that event, he disappeared with all the money, and has never been heard from since! Most all of the locomotive crews that attended Railfair '99, complained to the CSRM "management" of that guys booth, since the "policy" laid out in advance was; any group that had a locomotive at Railfair '99, was allowed to sell their souvenirs at a row of booths provided for that purpose. That 4018 "thief" was the ONLY person in that entire row of booths that did NOT have a locomotive at the event.

If found, couldn't he be prosecuted for fraud?

HotWater Wrote:
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 Well,,,,,it is "4018", but yes that "thief" did
> indeed have a booth at Railfair '99. After that
> event, he disappeared with all the money, and has
> never been heard from since! Most all of the
> locomotive crews that attended Railfair '99,
> complained to the CSRM "management" of that guys
> booth, since the "policy" laid out in advance was;
> any group that had a locomotive at Railfair '99,
> was allowed to sell their souvenirs at a row of
> booths provided for that purpose. That 4018
> "thief" was the ONLY person in that entire row of
> booths that did NOT have a locomotive at the
> event.

IIRC, he had a booth very near the actual UP Steam
booth.  He was a bit of a loudmouth, and occasionally
one or more of the UP folks would get enough of his
claims about what he and UP were going to do and would
tell him to knock it off.

Every day, he also clamed that the "star" or male lead,
of the movie, would be there tomorrow to sign autographs.
The next day, he would again say "tomorrow" the star
would be there.  And the next. He sold a lot of pictures,
patches, T-shirts, etc.

He took off shortly after giving a big speil about how he
had made an agreement with the CC&RG RR to film on
their trackage in the Royal Gorge.  The people who own
that railroad happened to be standing there.  Of course, they
had never seen this guy before.  They let him finish his tale,
then intorduced themselves and told him in no uncertain terms
that if he ever mentioned them or their railroad again, he
would be hearing from their lawyers.

He claimed to have a lot of Hollywood connections.  It
was later revealed that his Hollywood "connection" was
that he had worked for a short time as a laborer at a
Blockbuster distribution warehouse.

But the foamers sure swallowed his story.

lets find him

dan Wrote:
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> lets find him

Great idea.

Let us know when you have him in custody.

Even in 1999, if a REAL movie company wanted to do a movie about a Big Boy, they'd have likely used real and/or digital scale models, perhaps intermixed with close-ups of #3985 framed at certain angles to hide the fact that it's only a 4-6-6-4. The moviegoing public would have never known the difference.

Hmm.....raise a bunch of money on the idea of doing something very fun sounding, but technically and/or politically impossible...Las Vegas X-Train, anyone?

Desmond Praetzel, "4451 Puff" 

I rather enjoyed when the "movie clown" threatened me with legal action for continuing exposes I was putting on the internet. The last anyone knew he left the dfw area. A check at the home at Sherman, TX revealed a fully stuffed mailbox with stuff at least a month old. Also claimed to be a professor of film studies at SMU.

Probably the law caught up with him