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Sometimes during Cheyenne Days, not to be confused with Frontier Days, they open the UP shop where they store and work on that Big Boy. You get on a bus downtown Cheyenne and they take you across all the tracks to the UP shop in the middle of the train yard.

For us gearheads seeing first hand where they have worked on these engine for the last 100 years is a treat.
The last time I was in there this Big Boy was having cylinder maintenance done.

These are engineering and mechanical marvels
 
IMG_1023.jpeg
4014 is back in Cheyenne
 
I just went to the Ely train museum. It was neat. The steam locomotives were cool all torn down.
20240918_123743.jpg
20240918_123756.jpg


They even had a steam powered snow blower car
20240918_124137.jpg

and was surprised how thin the front boiler cap was on this engine
20240918_130341.jpg
20240918_123601.jpg

i also think we would all be fairly envious of the old school machine shop
20240918_123429.jpg
 
non-OP said:
I just went to the Ely train museum. It was neat. The steam locomotives were cool all torn down.
20240918_123743.jpg
Click to expand...
I got a similar view a few years back at the Western Pacific Railroad Museum in Portola, CA. Not suggesting a 6 hour trek from Ely, but only an hour away from Reno if you're in western Nevada & jonesing for old train porn.

WPRM Home
 
non-OP said:
and was surprised how thin the front boiler cap was on this engine
20240918_130341.jpg
Click to expand...
Thats the front of the smokebox. The front boiler sheet is actually in between the smokebox and rest of the boiler. The engine actually generates a vacuum in the smokebox when it is running in order to create a draft in the firebox and pull the hot burning gasses through the boiler tubes. This makes the engine more efficient. The vacuum comes from the steam exhaust from the cylinders shooting up the stack. A venturi effect.
 
non-OP said:
I just went to the Ely train museum. It was neat. The steam locomotives were cool all torn down.
20240918_123743.jpg
20240918_123756.jpg


They even had a steam powered snow blower car
20240918_124137.jpg

and was surprised how thin the front boiler cap was on this engine
20240918_130341.jpg
20240918_123601.jpg

i also think we would all be fairly envious of the old school machine shop
20240918_123429.jpg
Click to expand...
I thought this crane was cool. July 2023
IMG_3500.jpeg
 
non-OP said:
I just went to the Ely train museum. It was neat. The steam locomotives were cool all torn down.
20240918_123743.jpg
20240918_123756.jpg


They even had a steam powered snow blower car
20240918_124137.jpg

and was surprised how thin the front boiler cap was on this engine
20240918_130341.jpg
20240918_123601.jpg

i also think we would all be fairly envious of the old school machine shop
20240918_123429.jpg
Click to expand...
Don't they do rides in the steam powered train out of there? It's been a few years since I made it all the way to Ely, and I was too busy on that trip to do any exploring, but I feel like I saw a billboard about it.
 
Ghetto Fab. said:
Thats the front of the smokebox. The front boiler sheet is actually in between the smokebox and rest of the boiler. The engine actually generates a vacuum in the smokebox when it is running in order to create a draft in the firebox and pull the hot burning gasses through the boiler tubes. This makes the engine more efficient. The vacuum comes from the steam exhaust from the cylinders shooting up the stack. A venturi effect.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info. I was hoping that I was wrong.

Chicken Corners said:
I thought this crane was cool. July 2023
IMG_3500.jpeg
Click to expand...

It's still there but the lighting was so bad at the time I was there due to the sun and the overhead windows I couldn't get a good picture. Got one, but it was hard to make out.

300sniper said:
Don't they do rides in the steam powered train out of there? It's been a few years since I made it all the way to Ely, and I was too busy on that trip to do any exploring, but I feel like I saw a billboard about it.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I missed it though. Would have been cool to take a ride. I think it had just come back as the big steamer was lightly venting in the house while I was there.
 
SomeGuyFromOlympia said:
just think, all natural energy
coal/wood and water

cant get any more green:grinpimp:
Click to expand...
I refer to running the wood stove as "converting renewable biomass into clean thermal energy while simultaneously freeing atmospheric carbon to support the regeneration of renewable biomass".

Braindead greenies that don't actually pay attention to the meanings of words are invited to engage in fierce and destructive carnal self-relations at their earliest convenience, in the interest of the greater good :laughing:
 
The grand canyon railway operates Steam locomotive No. 4960 out of Williams to the South Rim the first Saturday of the month. We got to see her pull into the depot. She isn't a big boy but still sits 15 ft up.
 
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