The destination is the journey

I've had a rough couple of years. I can't get into every reason why, but I've left my job after more than a decade, and I've had a hell of a time trying to find a new one. (I've been looking for a while). The world is messed up, and it's hard to see the good in things.

In support of my own sanity, I decided to take some time off, from job hunting, from home life, from ... everything. My awesome wife is supporting me in this endeavor, and to that end: I've decided to go see every Big Boy locomotive, along with a few other things as well.

I technically started on June 4th (yesterday, as I'm writing this). The family and I went to The Museum of the American Railroad in Frisco, TX. This is a fantastic museum that spans back to Fair Park in Dallas in the 1960s. They moved to Frisco in 2013 where they have a lot more space for display. Funding takes time, but in the last few years they've built a small shop for refurbishing equipment (which we got to tour!).

The best part of course is Big Boy 4018.

The Big Boy locomotives ran over Sherman Hill in Wyoming, pulling heavy freight trains at speed. (Imagine this thing passing you at 60 mph, or 100 kph.) It's the world's most powerful steam locomotive. Twenty-Five were built starting in the early 1940s. They came late in the steam era, and had relatively short service lengths due to diesel-electric locomotives becoming more reliable, and being far cheaper to operate.

According to the museum website, it was in service as of 1957. I couldn't find it's original service dates. It was retired in 1962 before being donated in 1964.

In the late 1990s, there was discussion of trying to restore 4018 to operational status. Unfortunately, the pistons were cut, and the boiler is in bad shape. The effort didn't go anywhere, and so it's still on display in Frisco.

Tomorrow I'll be seeing Big Boy #4006 at the National Museum of Transportation in St. Louis. Watch this space for more on my journey. I'll also post full videos to my YouTube channel.