AMERICA – The Union Pacific’s Big Boy No. 4014, the world’s largest operating steam engine, will barrel through upstate New York this June as part of its Coast to Coast Tour in celebration of the semiquincentennial of our nation’s independence. 

Big Boy No. 4014 will undertake an epic tour that begins its Eastern leg at its homebase in Cheyenne, Wyoming, on May 25. It will travel to Omaha, Nebraska, before visiting Chicago, Buffalo, Scranton, and Philadelphia, where a special Fourth of July celebration is planned. This will be the inaugural East Coast trip for the steam engine, which will make stops in New York and Pennsylvania for the first time.

Big Boy will not pass through Sullivan County directly, but earnest fans can travel to Steamtown National Historic Site at 350 Cliff St. in Scranton, Pennsylvania, where the train will stop for ticketed viewing sessions on Monday, June 15, and Tuesday, June 16, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. (tickets and parking information available from the National Park Service). 

From June 17-30, the train will be undergoing maintenance and will also be available for distant viewing at the same location from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Additionally, the nonprofit Union Pacific Museum is selling tickets for rides in vintage passenger cars pulled by Big Boy through the Pocono Mountains in Pennsylvania on June 14; if you’d like to feel the sheer power of Big Boy’s engine, tickets are available at www.UPtrainTix.org.

Big Boy No. 4014, a train built in 1941, is the only operational steam engine of the eight that are still in existence. It is an articulated steam locomotive 133 feet long that weighs 1.2 million pounds, stands over 16 feet tall, and carries 6,000 gallons of fuel oil. Big Boy was originally in a fleet of 25 steam engines manufactured by the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) in the early 1940s to haul cargo between Utah and Wyoming. Big Boy No. 4014 retired in 1961, but after extensive restorations, it reenlisted as a traveling museum in 2019.

The Democrat caught up with Big Boy while on a stopover in Cheyenne to learn more.

SIDEBAR: 

Interview with Big Boy No. 4014

D: Are you excited for your first trip to New York?

BB: Oh yeah, I’m excited. America is celebrating the 250th anniversary of its independence and my trip to the East Coast will send a message of unity across our great nation and provide a family-friendly event for locals to view my passage, take pictures, and eat hot dogs.

D: How does a steam engine work, anyway?

BB: Basically, I burn a fuel source (coal, wood, or oil) and the heat created is used to boil water, which creates high-pressure steam. This steam travels to a cylinder where it pushes pistons back and forth, and this reciprocating motion is converted to rotary motion by rods to turn the wheels of my train. Pretty simple!

D: Favorite fuel?

BB: I used to eat up 30 tons of coal on every trip, but now my tastes have settled on #5 fuel oil, it’s a delicious blend of #6 fuel oil and #2 fuel oil- a perfect medium-viscosity oil that requires preheating to 170-220 degrees F for proper combustion. It’s also popular among my buddies that are Naval ships, and I have a cousin that’s a power plant who absolutely devours the stuff.

D: Does it say ‘Big Boy’ on your birth certificate?

BB: It’s a funny story. The name Big Boy originated from an unknown ALCO worker who etched “Big Boy” in chalk on the front of No. 4000’s smokebox door. After that, the name stuck, what can I say? There are worse nicknames to have…

D: How do you let people know you’re coming?

BB: I’m equipped with a Hancock long-bell 3-chime “steamboat” whistle. It’s famous for its melodic and resonant tone, so people can hear me coming from miles away!

D: Can I ask about your retirement?

BB: After traveling my first 1 million miles, that was around Christmas time back in 1961, I decided I’d earned a break. I’m a family train, so it was nice to spend some quality time with the wife and kids. After a few decades of retirement, though, the rails started calling to me again, so I renewed my contract with Union Pacific in 2019 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Transcontinental Railway. On that day I reclaimed my title as the most powerful steam locomotive in the world!

D: Why is your coast to coast tour an appropriate celebration for the nation’s semiquincentennial?

BB: The development of the railroads was a transitional time for our nation as industrialization took over the world and mass production of goods in factories became the norm. Before car travel became more common, passengers bustled aboard trains at the opportunity to travel far distances. Perhaps more importantly, the implementation of a national rail system perpetuated the spread of ideas. This was before the internet, so the chance to learn about what people were talking and thinking about in another part of the country was an enticing incentive for folks back then to hop aboard. The rails also transported goods across vast distances in a relatively short amount of time. I’m hoping that my first trip to the East Coast will inspire pride in our country’s history and highlight the technological advances that have made our modern society thrive!