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Class 4000 "Big Boy"
The steep ascents with inclines of up to 17.7 ‰ on
the route between Ogden / Utah and Cheyenne /
Wyoming put the Union Pacific to considerable
operating expense at the end of the 1930s. Up to
4 steam locomotives had to be coupled in line
together in order to pull the heavy goods trains
along this mountainous section of track.
The American Locomotive Corporation was therefore
charged with building a steam locomotive that could
convey these 3600-tonne trains along this route on
its own. The result was the Class 4000, taken into
service in 1941 and soon known across the world
under its nickname of "Big Boy". With its performance
details and dimensions, this 4-8-8-4 axle locomotive
put everything before it in the shade and is still today
the largest steam engine in the world.
Specifications:
Total length of locomotive:
Length of tender:
Total weight:
Output:
Coal reserve:
Water reserve:
Top speed:
Travelling speed:
40.51 m
13.90 m
540 t
5884 kW (7000 PS)
25.4 t
94.75 m
3
112 km/h
64 km/h
3
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