Steam & Excursion > A shot of UP 4014 climbing Cajon

I was digging around the archives this afternoon and found this image that hadn't made it out of the RAW file yet. 
UP Big Boy 4014 climbing the ex-SP rails through Silverwood during its 2019 visit to SoCal.  It takes an angle like this to show just how long that particular iron horse is, an impressive machine if there ever was one.
Regards,
- Kit
 

Kit Courter
Menefee, CA
LunarLight Photography

---

Worthy of a center spread in a magazine!
Bob

Damn nice image, Kit-!  Thanks for digging UP 4014 up.  Maybe you can catch the Big Boy in California this summer.

Wow, check out the clean stack, gee I wonder why? 

Out 

callum_out Wrote:
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> Wow, check out the clean stack, gee I wonder
> why? 
>
> Out 

'Cause they are not overfiring the locomotive?  Or are we making sarcasm?

Mary McPherson
Dongola, IL
Diverging Clear Productions

callum_out Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Wow, check out the clean stack, gee I wonder
> why? 
>
> Out 

They forgot to put more smoke fluid down the stack

callum_out Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Wow, check out the clean stack, gee I wonder
> why? 
>
> Out 

To quote a hero of mine…

“High heat low smoke firing…”

It’s what dreams are made of. And there isn’t ANYONE that can say “oh they weren’t working the engine…” I stood along the mainline at the bottom of the hill…I felt the ground move and heard every exhaust stroke that magnificent machine was putting out.

I agree. Great shot.


- Coldwater

Posted from iPhone

Yah well as someone who saw Big Boys leaving Cheyenne West with over 80 cars and no diesels and as someone
who watched it go West thru Ivanpah I can tell you that "magnificant machine" wasn't putting out anything near what
it did in years past. Ed has done a decent job in the years after that trip to get it to steam better and he deserves
credit for that. But that trip up Cajon in the fifties with that train would not have needed two high TE diesels as
helpers.

Out 

callum_out Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Yah well as someone who saw Big Boys leaving
> Cheyenne West with over 80 cars and no diesels and
> as someone
> who watched it go West thru Ivanpah I can tell you
> that "magnificant machine" wasn't putting out
> anything near what
> it did in years past. Ed has done a decent job in
> the years after that trip to get it to steam
> better and he deserves
> credit for that. But that trip up Cajon in the
> fifties with that train would not have needed two
> high TE diesels as
> helpers.
>
> Out 


It also wouldn’t have made track speed either…

Posted from iPhone

Excellent perspective! I remember that day well.
GK

I gotta say that's an awesome shot at Silverwood!

MaryMcPherson Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> callum_out Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Wow, check out the clean stack, gee I wonder
> > why? 
> >
> > Out 
>
> 'Cause they are not overfiring the locomotive? 
> Or are we making sarcasm?

Same people Mary same engine am glad that Ed got it running so we can enjoy seeing it On the Rails. Am hoping it comes north thru Klamath Falls and our little town of Chilouqin home of Train Mountain Railroad this year. 

Congrats on IOD! I had a feeling that would happen...;-)

Cheers, Dave

Great photo! Congrats on the IOTD

Posted from iPhone

We listened to the two engine crews on the radio that day.  The diesels did 90% of the work, the 4014 was steamed up for show and a nice whistle.  Not being a critic, just saying the facts.  

hotrail Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> We listened to the two engine crews on the radio
> that day.  The diesels did 90% of the work, the
> 4014 was steamed up for show and a nice whistle. 
> Not being a critic, just saying the facts.  

Not only that but, if 4014 was really working all that hard, why isn't the Fireman using the Elesco Exhaust Steam Injector?

Darned nice photo anyway!

Running in a heat-saturated stream generating mode
( steam temp = temp of water that boiled it), it's no wonder
that he's dragging 3 tenders of water.

At low throttle settings flame temps are too low once they 
enter the boiler tubes.   The return bends of the superheater 
tubes are 18" to 24" short of the rear tube sheet, so there's a lot 
of cold water sucking heat from the warm firebox gasses.

The extended combustion chamber ( volume of space 
above the top of the brick-arch to the rear tube sheet) 
means that with low fuel delivery, that the flames are well 
cooled by the time they even get to the boiler tubes...

You consume 3-times the quantity of water, vs. 
when running at superheat generating drafts...
Therefore,  3 tenders of water.

So, with the intended mileage to meet the schedule,
it makes sense to only make enough steam to blow
the whistle.  Also, it keeps the pistons wet with 
hot water...

There's too low steam-temps to take advantage of valve oil
being delivered off of the 'spoon' delivery pipe in the steam path,
just before each of the 'spool' valves  ( at each piston)....so, valve oil 
dribbles down the walls of the steam passages leading to the pistons.

At low steam consumption rates you're not going to be adding
boiler water in a continuous manner.  So,  maybe the fire-boy
is unfamiliar with adjusting the 'water' valve, for low delivery rates -
-- maybe he's using  the "on/off" manner with the 'gun'...?

​W.

(Hey, HotWater, high in the cab of the 4012 at Steamtown, there's a 2 or 3-feed,
 hydrostatic lubricator .... what do you suppose it's feeding?  
Pivots in the steam delivery pipes to the front engine?  ---- W.)



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 02/10/24 09:45 by wcamp1472.

Stoker engine?

Wes,

1) If the 4014 was actually "working hard" the Fireman had better NOT been using the Elesco Exhaust Steam Injector "on-and-off"! Been there many times with 3985, and you better be simply adjusting the water input with the tumbling shaft "pin-wheel" to keep the injector engaged, when working hard. Which was NOT what was happening in that photo, above.

2) I have no idea what those hydrostatic lube supplies would have been, since the 3985 didn't have those. Thus, maybe stoke engine lube supply on a coal burning 4000 class.

Thanks...
I appreciate the replies.

​W.