Big John's Salvage

Big John's Salvage is a location in the Commonwealth in 2287.

Background
This area includes a shop, salvage yard, and family home owned by John Miller before the war.

Layout
The location has been transformed by raiders to include platforms and walkways between them. In the salvage yard is a train car with a bunker. It appears that previously, a battle was fought here between super mutants and raiders, with the former coming out on top and claiming residency.

Inside the tipped train car is a hatch leading to a bunker. To open the hatch, follow the wires leading from it to a generator nearby and activate it. The bunker is the broadcast location for the Miller family radio signal and the remains of its residents can be found inside. The bunker contains Big John's safe key which can be used to open the Master safe on the second floor of the nearby house and the safe under the register at the front desk of the shop.

Notable loot

 * Railway rifle - In the Millers' bunker. It is located in a blue railway carriage just behind and to the right of his house, beyond the wire fence behind the house. A wire runs through the junkyard, leading to it. It also respawns as soon as the location itself resets.
 * Tales of a Junktown Jerky Vendor issue #1 - On the small table with the lantern, inside the caravan perched atop the containers, adjacent to the steamer trunk.
 * Mini nuke - In the same hut as the skill magazine, in an open refrigerator and between the orange storage container and the yellow forklift.
 * Super mutant arm guards - In the same hut as the skill magazine.
 * To the south, there is an unmarked destroyed military checkpoint with a Mr. Gutsy patrolling the area. A power armor frame can be found near the guard scaffolding waving the flag.
 * Bottlecap mine - On a table on the top floor of the store.
 * Big John's safe key - Next to the radio in the shelter (could be lying on the floor behind the radio).
 * Suicide note - Next to a skeleton west of the salvage.

Related quests

 * Quartermastery: Scribe Haylen has identified the location of a piece of technology she wishes to retrieve and catalog. She asks the Sole Survivor for help in bringing back the technology in one piece.
 * Randolph Safehouse: The Railroad agent Mister Tims will leave dead drops in the form of six holotapes for the Sole Survivor, containing information about possible hazards to the Railroad's escort and escape of synths out of the Commonwealth. They can assist in these efforts by clearing out the location of hostiles.
 * Kidnapping: Concerned settlers will ask the Sole Survivor to help them rescue a fellow settler that was kidnapped for ransom by nearby hostiles, hoping to have them freed without harm.
 * Cleansing the Commonwealth: Knight Rhys gives the Sole Survivor an assignment to clear the location of what he calls "abominations" to further the aims of the Brotherhood of Steel.
 * Hypothesis: To aid in one of his experiments, Doctor Holdren of the Institute's BioScience division asks the Sole Survivor to obtain a tissue sample from a particularly tough super mutant and return it to him.
 * Lost Soul: Doctor Carrington has a lead on a synth that's in danger and sends the player character to save them.
 * Leading by Example: Lancer Captain Kells requests the Sole Survivor's help in training a Brotherhood squire by allowing him to accompany them on a mission.
 * Diamond City's Most Wanted: A bounty board in the Diamond City market gives the Sole Survivor a target to handle in exchange for caps.

Appearances
Big John's Salvage appears only in Fallout 4 and is mentioned in Fallout: Wasteland Warfare.

Bugs

 * Turning the generator on before attempting to open the bunker could cause the glitch mentioned above, but before actually entering for the first time.
 * Reloading the game to a point before activating the generator, then attempting to open the bunker first before activating the generator may solve this issue.
 * The bunker may become sealed again after exit. The generator has already been switched on, so there is no way to enter the bunker besides using console.
 * On PC, the console command will teleport the player character into the shelter.