"Big Boy"

Didn't take this myself but was stood right behind the guy that did. Part of a national tour, the recently renovated "Big Boy" locomotive passed within a mile of the house at Old Spring so had to go take a look didn't I!.

Great turn out, had to be a couple of thousand people there despite the atrocious, for Texas, weather and plenty of young children there as well which is always encouraging for the railway preservation community. The George Bush ceremonial locomotive and funeral car was also part of the train.

Great atmosphere and a good morning topped off with a coffee and a couple of shots of Knob Creek Bourbon.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxtur-6b-Lc

Very cool Woody.

When my grandpa died, my mom and her siblings were cleaning out his house as my grandma moved to a condo after his death. He loved trains and had a ton of sets and all sorts of train related memorabilia. They didn’t know the source of his love for trains until they started looking into some files. They found some work documents and turns out that my great grandfather - who died when my grandpa was two years old - worked for the railroads. My grandpa got into trains as a way to connect to his father he barely knew

Nice story mate. Railroad people are certainly a special breed no doubt. I grew up with a large rail yard at the bottom of the street, the sound of the train at night, the continual smell of Sulfur and coal, can't beat it, I was hooked from an early age!

Woody, when you look at the construction of Big Boy you have to be amazed at some of the engineering involved. Some very innovative men about.

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Originally Posted by abbobrom

Woody, when you look at the construction of Big Boy you have to be amazed at some of the engineering involved. Some very innovative men about.

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What always gets me with most foreign locomotives is that everything that is hidden away on British ones is mounted up in full view on the boiler. Our locos certainly look better aesthetically but must be a bugger to maintain in comparison.

Woody, that was terrific! Thanks for posting it. Makes the 'Union of South Africa' look like a refugee from a train set!

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Originally Posted by Woking88

Woody, that was terrific! Thanks for posting it. Makes the 'Union of South Africa' look like a refugee from a train set!

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Not as classy though!