CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Union Pacific Big Boy No. 4014 and the railroad’s diesel honoring Abraham Lincoln will make a round trip between Cheyenne and Denver in July, with a public whistle-stop appearance in Greeley, Colo., in each direction. The railroad will also auction off four cab rides to support the Union Pacific Railroad Museum in Council Bluffs, Iowa.
The trip will be the railroad’s traditional Cheyenne Frontier Days special.
In an email to the railroad’s Steam Club members, the railroad said the locomotives will travel from Cheyenne to Denver on July 17 and return to Cheyenne on July 19. The July 17 trip will depart Cheyenne at 10 a.m., with a whistle stop in Greeley between 11:30 a.m. and 12:01 p.m. On the return trip, the stop in Greeley is scheduled between 8:30 a.m. and 8:50 a.m., with the train reaching Cheyenne about 10:30 a.m. The railroad says there will be no public access to the locomotive in Cheyenne or Denver because of security and safety concerns.
The cab rides will be offered on the July 17 trip, with two available from Cheyenne to Greeley and two from Greeley to Denver. Riders must be 18 or older; other requirements are available on the auction website. The auction will run from June 2 to June 23, although registration is available now.
The trip appears to be the only one scheduled for No. 4014 this year. UP’s email says that while this year’s schedule is limited, “the Big Boy will return to the rails in a big way in 2026 to celebrate America’s 250th anniversary.”
Union Pacific did a truly remarkable job of reacquiring No. 4014 from the RailGiants Museum in Pomona, California, in 2013, and relocating it back to Cheyenne to begin a multi-year restoration process. Let’s recall that the legendary steam giant returned to service in May 2019 to celebrate the 150th Anniversary of the Transcontinental Railroad’s Completion.
Dr. Güntürk Üstün
A bona fide, historic rail event that can only happen in America…
Dr. Güntürk Üstün
There are two reasons why they are only doing one excursion this year. One both big boy and 844 are down for maintenance and two Big Boy and 844 have been selected to pull the central leg and also the Pacific Northwest lag of the 50th anniversary edition of the American Freedom Train next year all the steam locomotives are going to be out pulling this train as it crosses of America from Washington DC to the Pacific Northwest and then down to California. to get ready for it every locomotive is in final assembly or in the process of being prepared for their inspections. This is a big tour so Big Boy and 844 need time to get ready for it.
I’m gonna need a source on that. It wouldn’t surprise me if they’re spending time preparing 844 for service again next year (would certainly match “something big”) but I haven’t heard anything about another American Freedom Train.
Puzzlement at first about the headline since Lincoln (NE) diesel shop is a major maintenance facility. :-)–Jerry Pinkepank
Puzzlement at first about the headline since Lincoln (NE) diesel shop is a major maintenance facility. 🙂