UPP 4014 4-8-8-4 Big Boy steam locomotive
In order to feed Big Boy's voracious appetite for coal, a large Stoker was used. This was like a cork screw, or auger, that pulled coal from the tender, broke it up, churned it through a large diameter pipe leading from the tender to the Fire Box and shot it into the fire. A fireman could never shovel fast enough to feed the engine. Big Boy ate an average of 122,500 lbs of water (12,500 gallons) and 22 tons (44,000 lbs) of semi-bituminous coal per hour!
UPP 4014 4-8-8-4 Big Boy steam locomotive
In order to feed Big Boy's voracious appetite for coal, a large Stoker was used. This was like a cork screw, or auger, that pulled coal from the tender, broke it up, churned it through a large diameter pipe leading from the tender to the Fire Box and shot it into the fire. A fireman could never shovel fast enough to feed the engine. Big Boy ate an average of 122,500 lbs of water (12,500 gallons) and 22 tons (44,000 lbs) of semi-bituminous coal per hour!