Talk:Union Pacific Big Boy

message: There are a couple of unsupportable statements:
"Their performance in moving a huge volume of war material throughout WWII was repeatedly cited and the Big Boys are generally acclaimed as having made a huge contribution to the war effort."
Strictly that may be correct if they are acclaimed.  However, there were only 25 of them! The Germans built 7000+ Kriegsloks.  25 locos did not make a huge contribution to the war effort.
Secondly:
"However, in overall performance and reliability, among all the "heavy iron" prototypes the Big Boys were unsurpassed."
The article is honest in flagging that it is difficult to identify a category in which the Big Boys can be called the "largest" loco.  However, the performance and reliability claim needs some susbtantiation to move beyond a subjective view.
I stumbled upon this page having been sent a picture of the museum display notice for 4006 which claims this achieved 1,064,625 miles by retirement in 1961, the highest for the class.  To me, this seems extraordinarily low, perhaps 60,000 per annum and undermines the statements above.Crantock (talk) 21:01, 20 October 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Unsupportable comments 

message: Can we get some better pictures of this train?  Neither of these pictures shows a side view of the train which is necessary for appreciating it.  You can't see the double set of wheels or anything.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.71.94.227 (talk) 13:51, 19 September 2010 (UTC)
replies: text: I suspect with the tour of 2019 there will be a lot of better pics available. I have a few from today (11-6-2019) but will wait to upload. FB and the rest of the WWW is absolutely flooded with pics, some are very suitable for this article. Ken (talk)  —Preceding undated comment added 02:50, 7 November 2019 (UTC)
thread_title:  Better Pictures? 

message: This article says maybe!
Union Pacific studying Big Boy restoration project Trains Magazine
Anyone want to add this to the page?
B4Ctom1 (talk) 04:08, 8 December 2012 (UTC)
thread_title:  Big Boy Return to service? 

message: The 'Preservation' section is marked as needing a source.  I think this article should serve nicely, but doing the actual editting is outside my wheelhouse.
http://trn.trains.com/Railroad%20Reference/Hot%20Spots/2012/12/Where%20are%20the%20Union%20Pacific%20Big%20Boys%20now.aspx
Benthatsme (talk) 22:08, 16 February 2014 (UTC)
thread_title:  A citation for the 'Preservation' section 

message: Could someone add a section on the article about Big Boy #4005's wreck on April 27, 1953? There's a link below me that will tell about the wreck and I will have a brief dissolution how the wrech as well.
On April 27, 1953, Union Pacific #4005 was pulling a fright train through southern Wyoming jumped the switch track at 50 miles per hour (MPH), throwing the engine onto its left side and derailing its tender and the first 18 freight cars of the 62-car train. Two people (the engineer and fireman) were killed insistently on impact, and the brakeman would later die in a hospital a few days later from his injuries. The cab of the locomotive was destroyed by the tender and the loads from the 18 derailed cars were littered everywhere! Scattered about the scene was the train’s load: tractors, dead hogs, typewriters, sewing machines, and other merchandise. Some domestic pigs that survived the wreck regained consciousness and with a terrific grunt would take off running through curious bystanders. After this incident, 4005 was repaired by Union Pacific at its Cheyenne facility. It is possible a different tender was used in the rebuilding. The Big Boy shows very little evidence of the wreck damage today. It was likely that the accident was caused either by the 500 ton locomotive going too fast over the switch or from the switch not being set properly. 
Here is the link. I hope it is souceful infomation: http://forneymuseum.org/News_BigBoyWreck.html
--75.68.122.13 (talk) 13:53, 22 June 2015 (UTC)
thread_title: Big Boy #4005 Wreck of 1953/Edit Request 6/22/15

message: So we have surviving tender numbers for all Big Boys except 4005. Rumor has it that the number fell off years ago, but someone else was able to figure it out. Does anyone know the story on 4005's current tender? Davidng913 (talk) 18:12, 20 April 2023 (UTC)
thread_title:  Surviving Tenders 

message: Fan Railer has changed the infobox photo to one that is, in my view, markedly inferior. It is much farther away from the locomotive and of lower quality. Fan Railer undid my revert with the edit summary "Opinion on quality is subjective; newer photos provide wider perspective and include visible stack exhaust. Not every photo needs to be taken 5 inches from the locomotive." Notwithstanding that the "5 inches away from the locomotive" part is nonsense, I am concerned that Fan Railer is attempting to add their own images regardless of if they are the best fit or not. Trainsandotherthings (talk) 15:34, 1 May 2023 (UTC)
replies: text: It depends on a bunch of things. On many occasions, the photos he has taken are indeed of high quality and actually do provide a good view of the engine. But in other cases like this one, a pic of the whole train does not always work. Fan Railer is a good person, and many of the pictures he has uploaded are (mostly) of great quality, but sometimes what he chooses as a infobox picture is not the best. Just go with your gut and stand by what you believe and why you stand by it. But beware: his replies may be rough if you really piss him off. Davidng913 (talk) 15:44, 2 May 2023 (UTC)
thread_title:  Infobox photo 

message: Okay, I don’t know why but Grachester says that the Big Boy is a Mallet. A Mallet is a compound articulated locomotive, not a simple articulated locomotive. Big Boy is simple articulated, not compound articulated therefore it is not a Mallet. Fact, not my opinion. Aitraintheeditorandgamer (talk) 10:08, 1 June 2023 (UTC)
replies: text: He says that because the Big Boy is a Mallet articulated (as opposed to a Garrett or any of the other systems of articulation used with steam locomotives).  It is, and has been for decades, common practice to call locomotives using the Mallet system of articulation "Mallets".  Your uneducated opinion is not fact.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.229.227.37 (talk) 19:32, 16 August 2023 (UTC)
thread_title:  Big Boy is (Not) a Mallet