It’s the summer of 1958. At Cheyenne, Wyoming, Union Pacific 4-8-8-4 Big Boys are being readied for their last months of service. Dave Gross was there to save these wonderful moments on 16mm color film as those mighty mammoths of the steam age are prepared for the battle up Sherman Hill. You’ll see the once proud passenger hauling 4-8-4 800’s as they finish their last days in freight service on the Nebraska mainline. The 4-6-6-4 Challenger 3700’s storm up Archer Hill east of Cheyenne and across the high wind swept plains.
Track-side footage captures excursions pulled by magnificent 8444. Famed railroad artist Howard Fogg��narrates this all-steam program.
Steam King –
This program features an amazing amount of big Union Pacific steam – including quite a few Big Boys. All are shown as they weer working, in regular service, in the 1950s. Nice sound too.