Daniel Boone VI
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UP 484
Boone, assisted by Nat Howell, built a 3 inch scale model of a Union Pacific 4-8-4. It was offered in an auction by Barrett-Jackson in late 2018.
- This train was handcrafted in the 1960s by Daniel Boone VI, a direct descendant of the legendary Daniel Boone who has many iron works featured in Appalachia and historical Williamsburg, VA, including the Governor's Palace. It took a total of five years to complete the train, which was featured in several magazines at the time, including Popular Mechanics and National Geographic. Every single piece was hand-wrought in Daniel Boone's forge. It sat dormant for a number of years after being used as an amusement ride in Maggie Valley and Burnsville, NC, until it was purchased at an estate sale in 1989. Its paint was carefully and painstakingly removed, and the entire train was cleaned and taken to bare metal. It was completely restored in a state-of-the-art body shop and remains in a temperature-controlled environment in good condition. It is a fully functional scale model of a Union Pacific 484 Baldwin Engine plus four Pullman cars that weigh 400 pounds each. It can pull 36 people with its fully functional coal-burning steam engine. The total train length is approximately 52.5 feet.
From Farm Collector Newsletter, March/April 1963:
A picture of Daniel Boone's train that he built himself. He lives at Burnsville, N.C. The weight of the locomotive and tender is 2,916 lbs., overall length, 14', 8'. All ball and roller bearings. Daniel Boone at the throttle.
