Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire The Big Boy is alive!!!!

Big Boy 4014 will be at the Transcontinental 150 year anniversary celebration. https://spike150.org

Grandpa Bill was a "rail" for 52 years, the last nearly 40 as an engineer on the Northwestern Road driving the Leona way freight steam locomotive #1341. He likely hauled lots of the big white pine out of northern Wisconsin from 1899 until 1939 when he retired. Dad said that gramps worked 16-18 hour days six days a week and had lots of stories like jacking up that locomotive when it went off the rails. Bill prided himself that he could spit his tobacco the full length of his steam engine. He died way before I was born, but I'll bet those old railroad guys had some stories to tell. Northern Wisconsin was a pretty wild lawless place the early part of the 20th century. His train crew never went out at night for fear of being "sandbagged".

The Big Boy is Union Pacific.

Back in the late 60s I rode in a train pulled by UP844. My Uncle was the City Passenger Agent for the Union Pacific up in Cheyenne and got tickets for our family on a special train that came down to the National Western Stock show for "Wyoming Day". Had the Governor and various big shots, basically a big rolling party. When the train was off loading near the Denver Coliseum he talked to the engineers and I got to climb up in the cab and get a little tour. Awesome!

John(Dog)