Big Boy of the Rails

by Gene Walls

Title

Big Boy of the Rails

Artist

Gene Walls

Medium

Photograph - Photograph

Description

At 132 feet long with almost 7,000 horsepower, this is truly the "Big Boy" of steam locomotives. It is the biggest, most powerful steam locomotive ever built!

These enormous engines were specifically designed to carry the heaviest loads over the highest mountains, from coast to coast. This model is "articulated", with a hinged section in the middle, to allow it to navigate the tight turns on narrow mountain passages.

The Union Pacific 4012 Big Boy was an essential contributor to America's war effort during WWII. The Big Boys transported the tanks, big guns, trucks, supplies and soldiers from all across the country. It delivered the supplies and personnel to the ships that carried them into the war zones.

There were twenty-five Big Boys produced between 1941 and '44. The #4012 is one of only eight that remain intact today. This is one very impressive machine!

This Union Pacific No. 4012 is currently on static display at Steamtown, USA, in Scranton, Pennsylvania, USA. This site is a National Park that is dedicated to the preservation of America's incredibly significant Railroad Train history.

This photograph was captured in the morning of November 11th, 2013. It was taken with a Canon 5D DSLR, through a Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L lens at the 29mm focal length. The shutter speed was 1/200 sec, with an aperture of f/8, ISO 100. The camera was mounted on a Manfrotto tripod, with a Manfrotto 222 Pistol Grip head. A remote shutter release cable was also used.

Three bracketed exposures were used for this image. The frames were gently merged in Photomatix Pro v 4.1.3.

© 2013 Gene Walls

All copyright and reproduction rights are retained by the artist. Artwork may not be reproduced or altered by any process without the express written permission of the artist. This includes my image and the 100% original text that describes the work. A copyright watermark is embedded within the image to guarantee successful prosecution, in the event of any violation.

Uploaded

November 13th, 2013

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