The move onto the main line starts tonight. Trains.com will start streaming video at 11 PM PST/2 AM EST. There should plenty of folks out there at the LA Fairplex, taking pictures. Mark
Boxcab, this is just moving it to the mainline, so they can haul it to Cheyenne to get it ready to steam. Should take about two years once they get it to Wyoming...
I didn't get out in the "middle of them night" since I'm 2500 miles away. However, I did watch the live video feed at various times during the day. My most tearful moment was when 4014 was just passing the Trains.Com live feed camera in Colton Yard and whoever was in the Right Seat blew that GORGEOUS HORN....sigh.
Ah, Hank. We call them whistles round here. They hooked up compressed air and were blowing the Big Boy steam whistle. I bet it will sound better when they can blow live steam through it. Something about compressed air just does not give the deep rich sound as good old boiled water.
I just now heard about this on the news and dropped by to see if anybody posted anything about it. I also hope someone get a chance to post some videos or even photos.
After they got to about the Los Angeles River and onto the line going out to Colton, they hitched on a string of sand filled covered hoppers and two more locomotive at the very end to provide more breaking and better train handeling. At that point 1996 was following the 4014, 4884 was leading and they were all pointed in the right direction.
Cool! Now here is a railroad which REALLY understands the meaning of public relations! BNSF could take a few lessons from UP.
Amen to Live Steam Whistles. My brain says a Horn blows only a single tone, whereas a Whistle is quilled. We would always know who was in the right-seat by how a teakettle's whistle was quilled. Each engineer had his own hand and wrist action. Still and all, tears came to my eyes when 4014's "whistle" was sounded as she entered Colton, I haven't heard that deep throated moan for 40-50 years.
If you zoom in on this tracking map you can see how they first did a backup move from Covina west bound until they were on the main heading east to Colton. http://www.up.com/aboutup/special_trains/steam/trace.cfm
It will stay in the Colton yard for the next few weeks while they get it ready for the long move to Cheyenne. Don't know what all they have to do but probably make sure all the bearings are still OK after the short move. Maybe install some sensors at critical points to monitor things? The Feds may require that the brakes are working on it. I don't know if they have been overhauled yet. It will be on display for the public both next weekend and the following there at Colton. They moved it yesterday from the park as far as Covina where it spent last night.
