Welcome to TrainBoard! I never got to see one in person. There used to be a nice VHS done by a company named Video Rails. The sound track was quite interesting. VR was bought by Pentrex, so I don't know what happened to that footage. i should have bought a copy. I did get to see the DD35A and DDA40X units. BIG. Boxcab E50
Welcome to TrainBoard. We kind of like it here and I'm sure you will too. Those Big Blows, never did catch my eye in the same way the Big Boys and Challengers did. Those Big Boys, the articulation along with the Challengers were an awesome sight to see. My actual memories of these big guys is sketchy at best. 1955 pretty much marked the end of steam. My memories of those stoves are slightly out of focus snap shots in my memory bank. I was just a little guy at the age of 5 with a child's eye on all the action. I used to spend time with my granddad, grandma, uncle, cousins and parents down at the Barstow Harvey House, watching the trains come through. According to family we all stood and watched the big Boys and Challengers parade through on their last outings. Soon to be torched and replaced by those screaming diesels. Today, every now and then UP will bring out their Challenger and you can once again refresh the memory banks with new footage. Incidentally the "Big Blows" referred to the turbines and not the Big Boys or Challengers. turbines were ok but never would replace the stoves. The steamers aka stoves were awesome!
Big Blows the Turbines Me thinks you are right. Just adding some clarification. The ex-mortician in my noted the Requiem Mass thing and I had to give a shout out.cool:
Boxcab, I know the video you are talking about. It has some really great footage. Gave me a whole new appreciation for these beast. You can still get it from Pentrex. they have it on DVD now http://www.pentrex.com/vr045dvd.html
Here's a couple more: All were/are featured on my UP Connection website but currently the site is down. Hopefully I'll get it back on line sometime later this year.
I got photos of the one in Ogden, before during and after it was restored, well on the out side anyway. http://rides.webshots.com/album/32791461aEIUPR Enjoy.
I never got to see one in person, but I worked with a fellow who grew up in Green River, Wy. His father was the stationmaster and he told me stories about the turbines along with the Big Boys & Challengers. He told me that all the kids use to go up on the bridge over the tracks and when the turbine came by, it would lift them off their feet with the exhaust blast!
