Altoona’s water quality impresses Big Boy crew

Engineer dumps tanks, flushes boiler to fill up in city

When Big Boy's onboard engineer realized the high quality of Altoona's water, he dumped the train's tanks and flushed the engine's boiler to make room for local water.

"Altoona is said to have some of the best water in the country," said Altoona Water Authority assistant treasurer Jack Speece. "When Union Pacific's Big Boy rolled into Altoona for public viewing, arrangements were made through the Altoona Fire Department in July 2026 for filling its tanks."

The process took about 1,100 feet of hose, a hydrant, several personnel and about five hours to complete, said Deputy Fire Chief Michael Hawksworth.

"Originally, we were only supposed to put 20,000 gallons in," Hawksworth said. "They needed a specific hardness and pH to fill their tank to make it run correctly. Ours was right on, so they dumped all the water they had got in another town."

Big Boy ended up having about 86,817 gallons of Altoona water transferred into its tanks, Speece said.

It uses about 200 gallons of water per mile, or up to 12,000 gallons per hour.

"(Big Boy) holds 25,000 gallons of water in its tender, with an additional divided fuel oil tank," Speece said. "The boiler holds another 10,500 gallons. Two additional tenders are added on longer runs, holding 25,000 gallons each."

Hawksworth described Big Boy as "pretty impressive," and its size was amazing.

"Steam locomotives aren't that common around here, so we don't get those requests too often," Hawksworth said. "We see locomotives every day in this town, but when you're standing beside (Big Boy), it was amazing."

Speece said the Altoona Water Authority "still uses the Kettle reservoir that was originally built by the Pennsylvania Railroad." That water supplied the working shops and all the steam locomotives for over a century.

"The engines ran here without any problems or complaints of boiler scale," Speece said.

During the five hours Hawksworth spent waiting for the tanks to fill, the Big Boy crew gave him a personal tour of the train.

"It was pretty neat," Hawksworth said. "It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It was a really neat event for the city."

Mirror Staff Writer Rachel Foor-Musselman is at 814-946-7458.