Firing Big Boy: Coal vs. Oil Poster

Exclusively from Trains magazine, take a look inside Big Boy and the differences between firing it with coal or oil.

As built by the American Locomotive Co., the 25 Union Pacific 4-8-8-4 Big Boy locomotives burned coal.  During regular service between 1941 and 1959, the UP converted No. 4005 to burn oil as an experiment.  The test results being unsuccessful, No. 4005 was returned to coal firing.

Contemporary logistics make oil firing a better approach to modern steam locomotive operation.  As a result, when restoring No. 4014 between 2013 and 2019, the UP converted the locomotive to burn No. 5 fuel oil.

With this exclusive poster, you can follow the differences of firing a Big Boy with coal and oil.

This poster is 22" x 17" (folded 11" x 17") and is printed on 100 lb gloss text stock.  Ships folded and flat.