While these massive locomotives are universally known as "Big Boys," that wasn't their official project name, nor was it the nickname Union Pacific management intended for them.
Question: How did the name "Big Boy" actually originate?
Leave a comment with your answer.
Cindy got it first! An unknown worker wrote it on the door, and the nickname stuck.
The name “Big Boy” originated accidentally when an unidentified ALCO worker chalked the words “Big Boy” on the smokebox of the first 4‑8‑8‑4 locomotive while it was still under construction. This informal bit of shop‑floor graffiti stuck, overriding Union Pacific management’s intended name, the “Wasatch” class.