Photos published on Facebook news groups showed Union Pacific steam shop crews on Tuesday lifting the smokebox and boiler with side sideboom tractors and sliding the rebuilt front engine (the 4-8 in 4-8-8-4) under the boiler. The photos also show what appears to be an almost completed boiler with only the steam dome cover and smokebox inspection hatches missing and a complete backhead with valves, piping, waterglasses, and other controls.
Wheeling the locomotive is another major step forwarding in the restoration of the massive 1941 locomotive that is set to run in May as part of the celebration of the 150th anniversary of the transcontinental railroad completion. UP says it plans to send both No. 4014 and 4-8-4 No. 844 to Ogden, Utah, for the celebration. No Big Boy locomotive has run under its own power since 1959, and its restoration is unprecedented in the annals of American steam locomotive preservation.
Meanwhile, a notice published in the federal register Thursday shows that UP has asked the Federal Railroad Administration for waivers on Positive Train Control compliance for steam locomotives Nos. 844, 4014, and Challenger 4-6-6-4 No. 3985, which is stored out of service in Cheyenne.
