The following was posted today on the Trains News Wire..... Trains News Wire EXCLUSIVE: Crews preparing Big Boy No. 4014 for rolling test Published: October 22, 2013 POMONA, Calif.– Union Pacific's Big Boy steam locomotive will take its first baby steps toward restoration the week of Oct. 28. The UP steam crew plans to roll the 600-ton locomotive and tender from its resting place of almost 52 years onto panel track to begin loosening up No. 4014 for its return to the main line. The move is tentatively scheduled for next week at the Los Angeles County Fairgrounds in Pomona. Railroad officials tell Trains News Wire that the move will give the Cheyenne, Wyo.-based steam crew a chance to check the wheels, bearings, springs, frame, and other parts. Trains magazine will be on-site Wednesday and Thursday to learn how the steam crew is preparing the locomotive for the tests and to interview Ed Dickens, UP's senior manager of heritage operations. Dickens is in charge of the steam program and the Big Boy. Trains subscribers will get full access to the interview and video of the preparations. To begin its move to UP's steam shops in Cheyenne, Wyo., the No. 4014 will travel over panel track across a parking lot for about 5,000 feet to reach a live track for an expected nighttime move onto Metrolink. That move is expected to take place in November. Once on live rails, the locomotive will travel to UP’s shop at West Colton, Calif., for inspection and public display. The engine’s 1,200-mile trip to Wyoming is expected to take place in daylight on a published schedule with display stop later this year. No. 4014 was an integral part of the RailGiants display at the fairgrounds, operated by the Southern California Chapter of the Railway & Locomotive Historical Society. According to the organization's website, the museum will be open again to the public for the weekend of Nov. 9 and 10. UP’s 25 Big Boy locomotives, built in 1941 and 1944 for fast freight service and last operated in 1959, were among the largest steam locomotives ever built at 133 feet in length. Seven others survive on display in Scranton, Pa.; Green Bay, Wis.; Omaha, Neb.; St. Louis, Mo.; Frisco, Texas; Denver, Colo.; and Cheyenne, Wyo.
