WASHINGTON — Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern have asked the Federal Railroad Administration to waive cab-signal requirements that otherwise would restrict where UP’s 4-8-8-4 Big Boy No. 4014 could operate on its historic eastern swing this summer.
In Feb. 10 letters to the FRA, the railroads sought permission to operate the Big Boy in cab-signal territory across Pennsylvania and Ohio as part of the locomotive’s planned coast-to-coast trip in celebration of America 250.
The waiver request from NS seeks permission for the locomotive to operate over cab-signal territory between Harrisburg, Pa., and Cleveland — a route over the former Pennsylvania Railroad main line that includes Horseshoe Curve.
The trip tentatively is set to run between May 25 and July 29 following No. 4014’s March and April foray from its home base at Cheyenne, Wyo., to California and return.
The Big Boy is equipped with positive train control, which the railroads say eliminates the need for cab signals.
“This waiver provides an equivalent or better level of safety as compared to the status quo for operations on this tour as Big Boy No. 4014 is fully equipped with PTC, PTC provides real-time enforcement of speed limits, movement authorities, and work-zone protections, delivering safety capabilities that significantly exceed those of traditional cab signal technology,” UP wrote to the FRA. “Additionally, Norfolk Southern maintains established and validated operating procedures, instructions, and rules. Big Boy will operate in full compliance with these requirements, together with any supplemental or special instructions that Norfolk Southern prescribes for the movement.”
The Big Boy’s cab signal equipment was removed when PTC was installed on the locomotive in 2021 for diesel-assisted PTC operation. In 2024, UP upgraded the Big Boy to a “fully self-contained PTC system” that handles the signal and speed-control functions that cab signals historically provided.
The trip to the east will be No. 4014’s first since leaving the Alco plant in Schenectady, N.Y., in December 1941.
“At its core, the purpose of this nationwide journey is to honor the nation’s 250 years of growth, innovation, and unity — values Big Boy itself symbolizes. As Union Pacific prepares to mark this milestone, the 2026 Heritage Excursion Tour is intended to showcase the engine as a moving ambassador of American engineering, heritage, and pride, traveling across multiple railroads and regions to unite communities in a once-in-a-generation celebration,” UP wrote.
In their merger application, UP and NS said they plan to remove the cab signals between Cleveland and Harrisburg in order to provide the combined railroad with more flexibility in locomotive assignments. Although 98% of the NS fleet is equipped with cab signals, UP locomotives are not.
The railroads said, in their Dec. 19 merger application, that a small pool of cab-signal equipped locomotives will remain in service to handle assignments in Pennsylvania and New Jersey on Conrail Shared Assets, Amtrak, and Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority corridors.
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