Steamtown??

no, i got the pic from a train book

that's a pretty cool color tone.

it looks good, better than b n' w

Union Pacific 4000 class "Big Boy" Total production came to i believe 25 units. These things are beastly and i'd love to see one in action but sadly, there are none curently in operating condition

yes there is, i saw it on the history channel

I'm not sure. there is some speculation that one was fired up for a ceremony a few decades ago but as of 1998 the closest thing to a 4000-class restoration was a rumour of a preliminary proposal. And it was connected with a film.
If you saw something like this running it MAY have been a Challenger, a similar albeit smaller design. The Challenger had a 4-6-6-4 wheel arrangement with two free axles on the lead bogie, two separate drive trucks with three axles each, and a trailing bogie with another two free axles. The 4000-class had a 4-8-8-4 arrangement.

The problem with restoring a 4000-class is a rather complex one. There are several obstacles, not the least of which is the unit's sheer size. There are only i think two places on the UP's rail network that are big enough to turn a 4000 and they're relatively close to each other. There's also a design snag to be overcome. The 4000 were designed to burn semi-bituminous coal from southern wyoming. A conversion to oil burners was attempted on one back in the mid-50s but was unsuccessful. While many of the 4000s are cosmetically restored and a few even in good core physical condition, the amount of capital required to complete a full, operation-ready restoration is staggering as it would most likely require construction of new infrastructure to service the highly unusual nature of the unit and most most probably involve a private party. Its also not feasible due to the purpose of the beast. The 4000s were heavy freight haulers unlike most of the restored steamers out there, which were general-use (freight AND passenger service) and are in service pulling nostalgia tours and the like. Hooking a 4000 up to ten or even twenty pullman cars would be a horrifying waste of fuel since, as you said, they were capable of pulling five miles of freight. As much as i love history and especially vintage transportation, the case of the UP 4000s is one instance in which i believe they are best left as well-kept museum pieces, used for education and inspiration.

A 5 mile long frieght train... at 80 mph no less!
560 tons of Raw Power
Burns 2 TONS of coal in an hour
Horsepower, depending on speed, between 6,000 to 8,000!

This locomotive was a MONSTER!!@!

and the last steam loco ever made.....

Ah... Actually the last steam loco was that of a Northern type I belive. A 4-8-4 for the C&O in the mid 1950s if I recall corectly.

Nice big boy shot like the old timer look you made the picture look like.

its from a train book

Oh ^^;; well nice find any way.

My Grandaddy worked on a Big Boy

Ah the good old Big Boy. Shame these leviathans aren't running anymore.