Thank you for sharing these very impressive pictures with us! It is a pleasure! 
The Audiokarma Official Steam Engines Magazine
- Thread starter harman/kardon
- Start date
This is the location of the locomotive "Rhein" in the Rhine river. The 166 years old machine will be raised on October, 21st.
@Ilikevinyl
@Ilikevinyl
Last edited:
Last edited:
I understand that the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum's live Railcams "may be" up again after the amazing thunderstorm wacked the site back in July. The stream was left up for about 2 weeks so you could see how bad the storm was. Over 70 flashes a minute!!! TVRM runs Southern RY #630 and #4501 daily, starting at 10:40am. Both engines were rebuilt and improved in 2015.
Sad update: They did not find the locomotive "Rhein" yet. But they will not give up...
Some off topic (because Diesel locomotives)...
Six Diesel engines from the fifties/early sixties at our railway station today. Never seen something like that before.They are property of a private museum.
Two "212" and four "215".
Some off topic (because Diesel locomotives)...
Six Diesel engines from the fifties/early sixties at our railway station today. Never seen something like that before.They are property of a private museum.
Two "212" and four "215".
Last edited:
You did a good job with those photos, Chris! 
Hope they find the Rhein!
I've seen the videos of the UP 844 and saw that same engine as it passed through Rock Springs, WY and points East. 844 is a "Northern" series engine aka 8444 renamed to avoid confusion with some early diesel electric units with 8xx series numbers. Not sure how they managed to duplicate series numbers at UP but that's the tale and they are sticking to it. The Northern series is a 4-8-4 configuration with 4 leading wheels, 8 driving wheels and 4 trailing wheels.
Seeing it running at top speed East parallel with Interstate 80 really brings to mind the meaning behind the sayings "running with a full head of steam" and "pouring on the coal". When the engineer sounded the whistle coming up on the Point of Rocks crossing, it was all you could hear. All other sound around you vanished.
Then there are the "Big Boy" locomotives.
American Locomotive Company 4000-Class steam locomotive, aka Big Boy, was specifically designed for the elevations and grades found along the routes over the Wasatch Mountains from Ogden, Utah through Green River, Wyomong and East to Cheyenne and Laramie.Initially commissioned in 1941, a total of twenty-five 4000-Class 4-8-8-4 engines were built.
"Big Boy" was not their intended name. According to a Union Pacific executive, this class originally was to have been called the "Wasatch". One day while one of the engines was being built, an unknown worker scrawled "Big Boy" in chalk on its front. With that, the legendary name was born and has stuck ever since.
Engine #4014 was retired in 1959 and eventually found it's way to Pomona, CA and put on static display at a train museum there. UP re-purchased 4014 in 2013 and moved it to the Cheyenne, WY shop in preparation for a full restoration and conversion to an oil burner. The restoration is set to be completed sometime in 2019.
The little kid in me has always been fascinated by these huge, noisy, hot and monstrous beasts.
Seeing it running at top speed East parallel with Interstate 80 really brings to mind the meaning behind the sayings "running with a full head of steam" and "pouring on the coal". When the engineer sounded the whistle coming up on the Point of Rocks crossing, it was all you could hear. All other sound around you vanished.
Then there are the "Big Boy" locomotives.
American Locomotive Company 4000-Class steam locomotive, aka Big Boy, was specifically designed for the elevations and grades found along the routes over the Wasatch Mountains from Ogden, Utah through Green River, Wyomong and East to Cheyenne and Laramie.Initially commissioned in 1941, a total of twenty-five 4000-Class 4-8-8-4 engines were built.
"Big Boy" was not their intended name. According to a Union Pacific executive, this class originally was to have been called the "Wasatch". One day while one of the engines was being built, an unknown worker scrawled "Big Boy" in chalk on its front. With that, the legendary name was born and has stuck ever since.
Engine #4014 was retired in 1959 and eventually found it's way to Pomona, CA and put on static display at a train museum there. UP re-purchased 4014 in 2013 and moved it to the Cheyenne, WY shop in preparation for a full restoration and conversion to an oil burner. The restoration is set to be completed sometime in 2019.
The little kid in me has always been fascinated by these huge, noisy, hot and monstrous beasts.
How old are the 212 and 215 diesels?
There is an old Heisler 2TR just down the road from me. It comes out on nice days and gives rides along the old Tillamook line to the coast.
We have quite a few older steam engines running in the area including an Alco 2-6-2 that makes daily runs up and down the Oregon coast for the benefit of tourists during the summer. It was built for transporting logs to the coastal sawmills.
My favorite is a Baldwin 2-8-2 originally built for Burlington, then retired to a static display in the Willamette valley.
We have quite a few older steam engines running in the area including an Alco 2-6-2 that makes daily runs up and down the Oregon coast for the benefit of tourists during the summer. It was built for transporting logs to the coastal sawmills.
My favorite is a Baldwin 2-8-2 originally built for Burlington, then retired to a static display in the Willamette valley.
Here's a cool video of Saginaw #2 on it's first run after being refurbished. It was built for Polson Logging and now runs on the Oregon Coast scenic railroad.
I am not certain but this may be the same locomotive my great great uncle was the engineer on for some years, running between Portland & the Coast.
She is stored in a blimp hangar just South of Tillamook Oregon.
I am not certain but this may be the same locomotive my great great uncle was the engineer on for some years, running between Portland & the Coast.
She is stored in a blimp hangar just South of Tillamook Oregon.
Thanks. I had no exact estimate, but they looked older to me.
SP 4449
Earlier this year, SP 4449 was back on the tracks for an excursion through the Columbia River Gorge.
SP 4449 is a GS-4 class engine built at the Lima Locomotive Works in 1941. Retired from service in 1956, the engine eventually found its way to a static display at Oaks Park in Portland, Oregon. In 1974 a restoration commenced and in 1976 it was put to use as the American Freedom Train, where it toured the Lower 48 as part of the American Bicentennial celebration.
Since restoration SP 4449 has been providing excursion services and is based at the Oregon Rail Heritage Center in Portland.
Here's a cool video showing SP 4449 running through the gorge this past Spring. At about 7 minutes into the video they pace the engine and you can see the tractive gear doing its thing.
Earlier this year, SP 4449 was back on the tracks for an excursion through the Columbia River Gorge.
SP 4449 is a GS-4 class engine built at the Lima Locomotive Works in 1941. Retired from service in 1956, the engine eventually found its way to a static display at Oaks Park in Portland, Oregon. In 1974 a restoration commenced and in 1976 it was put to use as the American Freedom Train, where it toured the Lower 48 as part of the American Bicentennial celebration.
Since restoration SP 4449 has been providing excursion services and is based at the Oregon Rail Heritage Center in Portland.
Here's a cool video showing SP 4449 running through the gorge this past Spring. At about 7 minutes into the video they pace the engine and you can see the tractive gear doing its thing.
Last edited:
I've been following the UP 4014 Big Boy restoration for awhile.
Here's the latest update.
Here's the latest update.
