G9150 BIG BOY UNDECORATED W/O DEFLECTORS
G9151 BIG BOY UNDECORATED W/ DEFLECTORS
G9152 BIG BOY #4005
G9153 BIG BOY #4006
G9154 BIG BOY #4019 WITH DEFLECTORS
G9155 BIG BOY #4024
Ogden to Pocatello, Idaho and from Granger, Wyoming to
McCammon, Idaho, but they were not used on those lines.
Because Cheyenne was their home shop for heavy work, the
Big Boys regularly ran from Ogden to Cheyenne for shop-
ping. When released from the shop, it was customary to
use the Big Boy as a helper for Sherman Hill for a few runs
before releasing it back to the freight pool. Before long, the
run from Ogden to Cheyenne was the normal Big Boy operat-
ing area. Each Big Boy ran about 7,000 miles each month
throughout their careers. Producing about 6,000 horsepower,
the Big Boys were very well suited to hustling hot Pacific Fruit
Express trains over the grades of Wyoming.
Big Boys had been cleared to run the LA&SL to Los
Angeles from the beginning with some speed restrictions
on the tighter curves found in several areas. .None ran into
Nevada or California, but during World War Two, traffic on
the LA&SL route to Southern California was near the line’s
peak capacity. Several Big Boys operated for a while from
Salt Lake City to Milford, Utah to see if their power could ease
the traffic crunch. Since the LA&SL used oil instead of coal,
a clamshell coal loader was used at Lynndyl, Utah to supply
coal to the Big Boys. The biggest problem encountered was
the lack of water and very poor quality of the water found in
the desert.
Another experiment was the conversion of number 4005
to an oil burner just after the end of World War Two. The
experiment was not a success as only one burner was installed
and it heated just one spot of the crown sheet so much that the
crown sheet leaked considerable amounts of water into the
firebox. After a short period of testing, the 4005 was convert-
ed back to coal. Without dieselization, it is probable that more
Big Boys would have been acquired including oil burners for
the LA&SL.
Despite the influx of diesels following World War Two,
the Big Boys and Challengers remained the prime power on
the Overland Route from Ogden to Cheyenne. Helpers were
used on Sherman Hill including double-headed Big Boys.
They also saw service as helpers, leading gas turbines and
diesels over Sherman Hill. They remained active on through
the 1950s, not being retired until the early 1960s.
Jack Pfeifer Collection
Dave Martindell photo,
Clayton Tinkham collection
UNION PACIFIC
