COLORADO NEWS

‘Big Boy,’ largest operating steam train, scheduled to roll through Colorado this fall

Jun 20, 2024, 4:15 PM

The world’s largest operating steam locomotive, Union Pacific’s ‘Big Boy’ No. 4014, will grace Coloradans with its presence this fall in its second tour of the year as it passes through the state. The last time the train saw the Mile High City’s skyline was during a visit in 2022.

The tour, dubbed the “Heartland of America Tour,” will commence on August 29 in the train’s home base of Cheyenne, Wyoming, and will make its trek to nine states throughout: Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Omaha and Texas. The tour will wrap up in late October. Unlike in previous years, the train will not stop for public display in the state, but Denverites can still view a Big Boy up close, as No. 4005 has its home in the Forney Museum of Transportation.

The journey will include whistle stops in Rochelle, Illinois; Houston and Ft. Worth, Texas.

This won’t be Big Boy’s first road trip of the year. The locomotive will have already ventured to the west in its “Westward Bound Tour,” during June and July, where it is scheduled to visit Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, California and Idaho.

During World War II, 25 of its kind were manufactured, although only eight survived. Clocking in at 1.1 million pounds and measuring almost half of the length of a football field, the steam-powered locomotives were specifically designed to haul heavy freight through mountainous regions. While in operation, Big Boys typically stayed between Ogden, Utah, and Cheyenne, Wyoming. Although the other seven are on public display throughout the country, No. 4014 is the only still in operation. The other seven can be found in St. Louis, Missouri; Dallas, Texas; Omaha, Nebraska; Denver, Colorado; Scranton, Pennsylvania; Green Bay, Wisconsin; and Cheyenne, Wyoming.

Big Boy no. 4014 was delivered to Union Pacific in December of 1941, and, after putting in 1,031,205 miles, retired in 1961 after 20 years of service. It was in the RailGiants museum in Pomona, California, when Union Pacific once again took possession in 2013. The train was moved to Cheyenne, where it underwent a restoration process and was able to operate once again to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Transcontinental Railroad’s completion in May of 2019.

Specifics on the tour, including route and time, will be released by Union Pacific as the tour draws closer. Big Boy’s whereabouts will be tracked here.

WATCH: A Tesla Cybertruck competed at a Colorado tractor pull event

Colorado News

Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images...

Shawn Patrick

The late, great Demaryius Thomas goes into the Denver Broncos Ring of Fame on Sunday

Through the Tim Tebow and Peyton Manning years was thing was always there for the Denver Broncos… Demaryius Thomas. One of the best receivers the team ever had, and an […]

19 hours ago

Photo by Anthony Devlin/Getty Images for Sky...

Shawn Patrick

These are the 10 most haunted places in Denver

Spooky season is upon us, and there are a few of you brave souls out there who seek out a real spooky experience in the form of the paranormal. Then […]

19 hours ago

(Photo by Kayana Szymczak/Getty Images)...

Shawn Patrick

When’s the last time it snowed on Halloween in Denver?

Growing up in Colorado, it felt like it always snowed on Halloween, but it turns out it’s pretty rare, at least in Denver! Based on National Weather Service records, it has only […]

19 hours ago

(Photo by Hyoung Chang/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images)...

Shawn Patrick

WATCH – Trains at DIA run with the doors open

If you’ve flown out of Denver International Airport, you’ve almost certainly ridden the train that goes from the terminal to the concourses and back. It isn’t slow…so having doors on […]

20 hours ago

(Photo by Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images)...

Shawn Patrick

WATCH – Video of Adam Sandler playing pick-up basketball in Colorado goes viral

Never in my life have I been so sad that I wasn’t in a random gym in Colorado playing basketball…I say this because the greatest actor of them all (in […]

2 days ago

Photo By MediaNews Group/Reading Eagle via Getty Images...

Shawn Patrick

Weinermobile to make Denver return for multiple events this October

It always felt like a rare occurrence when the Oscar Mayer Weinermobile rolled into to Colorado when I was younger. Nowadays it feels like it’s here more, but I still […]

2 days ago

‘Big Boy,’ largest operating steam train, scheduled to roll through Colorado this fall