The new Sherman Hill line in 1953 was Union Pacific’s latest improvement over the massive undertaking of building and maintaining a transcontinental railroad begun about 90 years earlier. Since the first surveyors ventured into the uplands west of Cheyenne in 1865, the Union Pacific has been waging intermittent war against the geography of southeastern Wyoming. […]
Train Topic: Union Pacific Big Boy
Union Pacific Big Boy 4014’s trip through Louisiana in 2021
In August 2021, Union Pacific Big Boy 4-8-8-4 No. 4014 ventured south to New Orleans, Louisiana, in a run through the mid-South. Join Trains contributor Steve Smedley as he takes video of the famed steam locomotive through small towns and over the massive Huey P. Long bridge. Only from Trains.com. […]
Union Pacific Big Boy 4014’s trip through Louisiana in 2021
In August 2021, Union Pacific Big Boy 4-8-8-4 No. 4014 ventured south to New Orleans, Louisiana, in a run through the mid-South. Join Trains contributor Steve Smedley as he takes video of the famed steam locomotive through small towns and over the massive Huey P. Long bridge. Only from Trains.com. […]
Chasing Big Boy 4014 to Las Vegas
Crowds for Big Boy 4014’s 2019 and 2021 tours have been immense. I haven’t taken part in any concerted effort to chase for these tours, but I got a taste of the madness back in 2014 when Big Boy moved from Southern California to Cheyenne, Wyo., for restoration. I covered it for two days with […]
Big Boy Mississippi crossing, August 2021
The Union Pacific Big Boy Mississippi River crossing is one for the history books. So far as Trains editors know, this is Union Pacific Big Boy 4014’s first foray to the “Big Easy,” New Orleans! Join Trains contributor Steve Smedley for this portion of Big Boy’s 2021 tour through Texas and the Mid-South with […]
Big Boy in Texas and Mid-South photo gallery, August 2021
Trains contributors Steve Smedley and Sol Tucker present some of their choice images from chasing Union Pacific Big Boy in Texas and the Mid-South. Big Boy’s 2021 trip from Cheyenne, Wyoming, to New Orleans and back is the locomotive’s first excursion since 2019. For more information, see the Union Pacific steam schedule online. Also, […]
UP updates plans for Big Boy display in New Orleans
NEW ORLEANS — Union Pacific is adjusting plans for Saturday’s display of Big Boy No. 4014 in New Orleans in light of local COVID-19 guidelines. The railroad has announced the locomotive will be on display from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Audubon Riverview Park, 6500 Magazine Street. However, the “Experience the Union Pacific” rail […]
News Photo: Big Boy departs Houston
HOUSTON — After a display day on Tuesday, Union Pacific Big Boy No. 4014 resumed its 2021 tour on Wednesday, resuming its trek toward New Orleans. The 4-8-8-4 and its train is show here leaving Houston on Wednesday’s move to Beaumont, Texas. Today, it is scheduled to continue to Livonia, La., where it will lay […]
Big Boy Hot Spot: Dexter, Mo.
BIG BOY HOT SPOT Location If you’re for Union Pacific Big Boy Hot Spot this summer, don’t miss the Dexter, Missouri, community. Dexter is situated in the rural southeast corner of Missouri in Stoddard County, about halfway between St. Louis and Memphis. It is surrounded by fertile soil, vast row-crop farmland, and straight, high speed […]
Big Boy excursion from New Orleans nears sellout
NEW ORLEANS — Limited tickets remain for the Aug. 22 excursion from New Orleans to Plaquemine, La., to be pulled by UP Big Boy No. 4014. The excursion, the only one planned on this year’s Big Boy tour, is a fundraiser for the Union Pacific Museum in Council Bluffs, Iowa. The trip along the Mississippi […]
News photo: Big Boy begins 2021 tour
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — The Big Boy has begun this year’s Big Trip. Union Pacific Big Boy No. 4014 left its Cheyenne headquarters today, heading east to Sidney, Neb., on the first leg of a month-long, 10-state journey that will take it to New Orleans and back. Union Pacific offers both a detailed schedule and live […]
Big Boy etiquette: How to see Union Pacific Big Boy 4014 safely
Before you head out to watch the world’s largest steam locomotive in August 2021, here are Big Boy etiquette tips you should know. Big Boy on the move Union Pacific Big Boy 4014 will set out eastward from its homebase in Cheyenne, Wyo., bound for New Orleans. This is the first time for the locomotive […]
