News & Reviews News Wire Union Pacific Big Boy: The rebirth of a legend NEWSWIRE

Union Pacific Big Boy: The rebirth of a legend NEWSWIRE

By Angela Cotey | August 23, 2013

| Last updated on November 3, 2020

The world's largest steam locomotive returns to the rails

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4014 Pomona Lustig
Union Pacific 4-8-8-4 Big Boy No. 4014 on display at the Los Angeles County Fairgrounds in Pomona, Calif., in December 2012.
David Lustig
Through the 1940s and 1950s, Union Pacific’s 25 4-8-8-4 Big Boys symbolized powerful, big-time railroading in the wide-open American West. Now, Union Pacific is bringing one of these legendary locomotives, No. 4014, back to steam.

No. 4014 has been on display at the Los Angeles County Fairgrounds for 51 years, but it will leave soon to begin a multi-year restoration that will return it to steam.

Join us for extensive coverage of a Big Boy on the road to restoration!

Watch these two Big Boy videos, provided by Classic Trains magazine!

Union Pacific Big Boys and Challengers in action
Watch some of the 16mm films of Big Boys and Challengers Stan Kistler took during his 1956 trip, excerpted from the DVD program Union Pacific Classic Collectors’ Series, produced by Pentrex.

Video Extra: UP Big Boys and Challengers
See Union Pacific Big Boys and Challengers in action from the DVD program “Glory Machines, Volume 1,” available from Herron Rail Video.

Union Pacific Railroad Museum
A retouched Union Pacific publicity image from the early 1940s features Big Boy No. 4019. The original Kodachrome photograph has far less smoke and steam.

Steam locomotive references:

Big Boy story began in 1940
The world’s largest steam locomotives received an accidental nickname
By Steve Glischinski

How a steam locomotive works
Fire + water = steam
By Robert S. McGonigal

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