Steam & Excursion > What was furthest west a Big Boy had traveled in service?

Prior to the recent trip 4014 made to California, had any active service Big Boys ever traveled further west than Utah on the LA&SL or OSL?  

Milwaukee Wrote:
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> Prior to the recent trip 4014 made to California,
> had any active service Big Boys ever traveled
> further west than Utah on the LA&SL or OSL?  

Don't think so. I thought there may have been a "test" to Pocatello, but can't remember the facts.

Milford, UT

Dick

> Don't think so. I thought there may have been a
> "test" to Pocatello, but can't remember the facts.

I've heard this happened and that Pocatello was set up to accommodate 4000s but I don't know for sure. I also read somewhere that some internet guy's dad swears up and down he ran a "test" all the way to Huntington but I find that a lot less believable that Pocatello.

Posted from Android

We all know that UP 4014 travelled all the way to the Los Angeles Fairgrounds so that may be it. But IF I rember right the UP diid test a Big Boy in Cajon Pass. The UP 4014 in it second life went west of Sierra Ave in Bloomington so it could be the one that went west in service to the Union Pacific.

Mudrock Wrote:
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> We all know that UP 4014 travelled all the way to
> the Los Angeles Fairgrounds so that may be it. But
> IF I rember right the UP diid test a Big Boy in
> Cajon Pass. The UP 4014 in it second life went
> west of Sierra Ave in Bloomington so it could be
> the one that went west in service to the Union
> Pacific.

Please remember that 4014 was towed DEAD to LA, when donated by the UP. However, the 9000 was run under steam all the way to LA when it was donated.

I will have to research further but I believe the farthest Northwest the Big Boys may have gone was to Huntington, OR.
I believe there were a couple of tunnels or track curvature further up the tracks that the articulation might have had issues with.
In 1946 the longest turntables in the Northwest were 100 foot. So they would have had to block up a number of tender wheels to turn them.
Besides there would definitely have been issues with coal burners and 4005, converted to oil, had internal and fuel usage issues too.
 

Bob Krieger
Cheyenne, WY



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 11/04/19 13:10 by Bob3985.

Do I believe that I'd heard a similar reports to Dick's that Milford was reached, interesting question.

Out

> I will have to research further but I believe the farthest Northwest the Big Boys may have gone was to Huntington, OR.

Hello Bob,

There was an article in the Spring 2019 Classic Trains that mentioned 4000s operating to/from Milford, UT for a time in 1943.  These weren't tests, but rather regular service for a relatively short time.
I've interviewed an old-timer who was road foreman on the Granger-Poc portion of the OSL and he said some 4000s operated there regularly for a short time after the war.  From follow-up research, we believe this would have been around 1947-49 but haven't been able to confirm it or pin down a year yet.
Also have seen very detailed accounts of a test run that made it as far west as a tunnel just west of Huntington, OR.  This test trip was also mentioned to me by the RF I interviewed (the two don't know each-other, which seems to add credibility to the story).  Also have been looking to confirm this through RR documents and/or newspaper accounts/photos but haven't turned anything up yet.  

Take care,

Mark