Big Boy Steam Locomotive #4023 in Kenefick Park, Omaha

From Wikipedia:

"Kenefick Park is located at 100 Bancroft Street in South Omaha, Nebraska. Located next to the Lauritzen Gardens, Omaha's botanical gardens, the park features "two of the greatest locomotives ever to power Union Pacific Railroad."

It features a display of Union Pacific Big Boy #4023 and Union Pacific Centennial #6900 locomotives. It is named in honor of former UP Chairman and CEO John Kenefick."


Click to see the album Big Boy Steam Locomotive in Kenefick Park, Omaha

Kenefick Park is open to the public with no admission charged. Free parking is available at Lauritzen Gardens, and a sidewalk and stairway lead visitors from the parking lot to the park.

"Centennial No. 6900 is the largest and most powerful diesel-electric locomotive ever built. Big Boy No. 4023 is the world's largest steam locomotive.

The Big Boys were specifically designed to meet the need to pull a 3,600 short ton (3300 metric ton) freight train over the long 1.14% grade of the Wasatch Mountains in Utah and Wyoming.

The Big Boys rendered important service in the Second World War, especially since they proved so easy to fire that even a novice could do a fair job. Since many new men who were unsuited to combat service or exempted were hired by the railroads to replace crewmen who had gone to war, this proved advantageous. During the war, after German agents filed reports that the Americans had giant steam engines that were moving huge trains full of vital war material over steep mountain grades at high speed, their reports were dismissed as "impossible". Their performance in moving a huge volume of war material throughout WWII was repeatedly cited and the Big Boys are generally acclaimed as having made a huge contribution to the war effort."

Related:
Kenefick Park on Flick.
Kenefick Park at Lauritzen Gardens
Photo Coverage of the Moves of Big Boy UP4023 and Centennial UP6900 To Lauritzen Gardens
and the Kenefick Park near the Omaha Zoo.
Map of the Gardens
Trains from Krakomobila's photostream on Flickr.
Related:
Trains in Russia. EnglishRussia.com.
Image source: Wikipedia.

Updated: 10/05/2008