The Union Pacific 4014 BigBoy rules the rails

My wife and I drove north to Rawlins Wyoming on the 15th to see the rebuilt Union Pacific 4014 BigBoy and UP 844 Pacific come through town the next day.  On the 16th, we went west of Rawlins to stand near the tracks while they rolled through.  Brought tears to my eyes to see history resurrected and rolling with gusto.  The 844 (extra blip) was behind the 4014 as well double-heading.  The diesel behind it was there for emergencies and to add dynamic braking as needed.  The train is the UP's excursion/business train.  Spotless.

The blips were taken the next day, the 17th, as the train left Rawlins and came through Sinclair WY.  There is a UTube video of the train on the 16th at this address:

https://youtu.be/7xGXgYNrkdc

Rawlins was an 8 hour drive north but worth every second.  It is great to see these machines as they were meant to be seen - rolling, whistling, spitting steam, and rocking and rolling.  If you enlarge the blip, you will see the chalk mark that was put on the first BigBoy in the 1940's by a builder - guess he thought that was an appropriate name.  Given it weighs more than a 747 full of fuel and people as it tips the scales at 1,250,000 pounds, and is 132 feet long with tender it makes a lasting impression.

What a couple of special days for a rail fan. The Big Boy in N scale was what lit the model railroading fire again 30 years ago.