Rich Blake / Photos courtesy of Jerry Blake

I just received a report from my contact in SoCal (code name: “Dad”) that the Union Pacific Big Boy 4014 has been moved from its previous resting place at the L.A. County Fairgrounds in Pomona to the UP yard in Colton, CA. This is the first step in the final goal to relocate the locomotive to UP’s Cheyenne shops for complete restoration to full operational status.

If you haven’t been following this, now is the time. They will be hauling this behemoth over CajonPass pretty soon, so there could be some exciting moments for railfans. You can keep up-to-date on this incredible project here.

There is a good “foamer” video on the loco’s movement so far on YouTube.

Notice in the photos the chain drive for the lubricator, removed piston shafts and much of the “fiddly bits” of the valve gear. Some interesting stuff is temporarily mounted on top of the tender. I would guess those external hoses are for brake control bypass.
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