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An excellent example of why Mack should have never discontinued the 800 series heavy haulers!

I followed the reports of these moves at trainorders.com. Though the moves were only a few miles they took all weekend, expecially when a trailer bogie broke while crossing some rough railroad tracks. Besides the Big Boy they also moved one of the last remaining examples of the largest diesel locomotive ever built, the UP Centennial. This was essentially two GP40s on one very long frame, with two 16 cylinder diesel engines and two four axle bogies. Both locomotives are now on display at UPs museum.

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From the pictures I saw on trainorders.com it looked like the RD800 may have pushed and pulled at different spots on the route. That's not unusual in heavy haulage, where sometimes multiple trucks are used to push and/or pull the load. I suspect that the wheel loader was used for pushing also.

BTW, that RD800 with a high rail conversion would make one heck of a street legal switching locomotive...

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the centennial was an empressive diesel engine but not practical. I am guessing thats why it and the Big Boys were retired and we never saw another example like them again. I heard the Centennials had drive shaft problems between both engines?

It is sad that the 800 sieres is gone along with the whole R family. Last summer I passed up a heavy haul company on eastbound I-80 just past salt lake city. On the low boy was 3 axel RD or DM800 with huge tires and a fancy paint job.

I chatted with the driver for a few miles as we pulled over the hill and he said it was going to move a genarator. and some mineing stuff. he was a driver for both the pete lowboy rig and mack 800. he said if the mack could go faster than 40 MPH he would pull the pete on the lowboy and drive the MACK :lol:

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lucky that train was not going fast. I wonder sometimes what people are thinking when driving!!!!!!!!!! I look both ways when walking across a hallway at work LOL

how do people forget todo it over a RR track??? :(

I beleve The last big boy moved under her own power wsa back in the late 50s early 60s soon after there reteriment. I think there is a UP challenger that is in operation for yerly shows?

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hey randy thats an rd 800 not an dm thou.

Chad

Thanks Chad, I have been looking into The RD series macks and didn't know what a RD800 looked like. I have a mid 90's operators manual for the R's and there is no pictures of the 800. Just info as RD800--heavy duty frame, construction-type bumper and a sheet metal hood. Now there is a face to the name. Randy. :D:mack1:

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:D

Trent, those are some great pictures. The 800's were some awsome trucks. Trucks and trains, what a combination! Tim :thumb:

The dollies underneath the steam engine were self propelled, there is a seperate diesel engine that was hung on the side of the locomotive to power the dollies. It was quite a sight to see, the company i work for had the rubber tired loader to help push when needed and we done the sight preparation for the locomotives. Terry

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  • 3 weeks later...

Great photos! Where is the location?

The "UP" derived from Union Pacific is responsible for the moniker "Unlimited Power". UP has always gone for big stuff in a big way conquer Sherman Hill out in WY. They owned some of the largest rigid frame steam locomotives, the 9000 class, 4-12-2s as well as a large group of massive articulated locomotives like the 4-8-8-4 Big Boys and their smaller brothers, the 4-6-6-4 Challengers. The C&O RR's 2-6-6-6s are slightly heavier and have higher driver axle loadings. Several Big Boys were saved from the scrappers torch when UP pulled the plug on main line steam operations in the late '50s but none are operational. The UP still rosters a 4-6-6-4, the 3985, for excursion work, the only operational articulated locomotive in the country. I've seen in in operation and it is really something

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