Steam & Excursion > Question? Did Big Boy ever pull a fantrip?

From  the recent posting and news it sounds like the Big Boys never pulled a fan trip.  It that true?  I guess they pulled troop trains.  Did any pull large passenger trains or were they all handled by Challenger? I would think the Rocky Mountain Railroad Club might have requested a trip with a Big Boy.

According to "Fifty Years of Union Pacific Steam Excursions" by Lloyd Stagner and James J. Reisdorff the answer to your question is no. I know of Challengers being used to pull troop trains. I am not sure about Big Boys but that may have happened. I believe that I heard that the Denver group requested a Big Boy for a trip but instead was given UP 9000, a 4-12-2. There are also early trips listed with a 4-8-4, 4-6-2's, a 2-8-2, 2-8-0's, and an 0-6-0. then along came 844 which was renumbered 8444. And so the steam program was begun thru the UP Mechanical Department and eventually the two eras of heritage program crews that we all know today.

Bob Krieger
Cheyenne, WY

IIRC David Morgan's long ago article on the 4000s stated that WWII troop trains were handled, without citing when.
Definately not a fan trip lads!

In an emergency a big boy would be used to pull passenger trains (only when there were no challengers or other suitable power) but I wouldn't consider that as a fan trip.

Posted from Android

Here's an Ogden east, UP Fireman's time book page from Dec of 1945. It shows a "Main" (which I understood was a troop train) handled by 4022, and a "Mail" train using 4015, and another with 4005. "Mains" on other pages he was using 4011, 4023, 4019, 4024. So the steam heat connections were used from time to time.

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Main = Millitary Authority Identification Number... a.k.a troop train and/or military equipment shipment

Mary McPherson
Dongola, IL
Diverging Clear Productions

In 1949 my dad who was by then a VP on the CRRofNJ ( owned then by the Reading & B&O ) arranged through friends at the UP for us to have a cab ride on a 4000 class engine out of Cheyenne,Wyo. IIRC. I can stiil recall a lot about the experience ( I sat on his lap which wasn't easy at age 9) but not what we were pulling. I'm nearly certain it was a freight train but for me it was a superb " fan trip". 

    Great memories for sure. Ross Rowland

In one of our UP videos we have a Big Boy exiting Hermosa Tunnel(Sherman Hill) with a Big Boy helping E-units on a passenger Train.
Greg

Thanks for all of the interesting above replies and information.  The time books are invaluable.  It is such a shame that so many of the time books are kept to the last days of the owner but are then disposed of.  This is based on the rare occurrence to find any in paper shows and railroad fan train shows  I once found some for crewman in Iowa and actually found a historical society that knew the people and valued the book, thousand of miles away from me and not a railroad of my interest. Find then, trade them.