Big Boy 4014, only operational among 25 of the massive steam locomotives built in the 1940s to open a vital route for wartime logistics, will steam across 10 states this spring and summer to commemorate America’s 250th anniversary.
The Semiquincentennial tour marks Big Boy’s first journey across the Mississippi River and into the Ohio Valley since it was built in Schenectady, New York, and delivered to Union Pacific Railroad in 1941, the company said in a statement.
The Union Pacific Big Boy locomotives, often called “Giants of the West,” were 25 massive steam engines built in the 1940s to haul heavy freight over the steep Wasatch grades between Utah and Wyoming. Weighing 1.2 million pounds and stretching 133 feet, they were a symbol of American industry.
The eastern leg of the coast-to-coast tour brings Big Boy onto Norfolk Southern tracks with more than 50 whistle-stops and display days across eight cities.
A highlight of the 10-state tour is a July 4-5 stop in Philadelphia, the birthplace of America, the Union Pacific Railroad announced Monday. Other major events in Pennsylvania are scheduled in Scranton from June 15-16 and Altoona from July 9-10.
Whistle stops — 15- to 30-minute stops where people can line up to see the historic steam engine — are planned in several other Pennsylvania locations.
As part of the tour, the Union Pacific Museum will be selling tickets to ride in vintage passenger cars pulled by Big Boy through the Poconos Mountains in Pennsylvania on June 14. Interested riders can purchase tickets here.
Traveling behind the historic steam engine on the coast-to-coast tour will be several historical passenger cars from Union Pacific’s Heritage Fleet, along with two commemorative locomotives:
Other major stops for Big Boy 4014 are:
The time and location for each whistle stop – and instructions for ticketed events – can be found at UP.com.
Nebraska
Iowa
Illinois
Indiana
Ohio
New York
Pennsylvania
Missouri
Kansas
Colorado
Wyoming
The western leg of the Big Boy coast-to-coast tour concluded on April 29.
The eastern portion of the tour will operate across the Norfolk Southern network, marking a historic collaboration between two of the nation’s storied railroads and bringing the legendary locomotive back to communities that helped power America’s industrial rise, Union Pacific said in a
“This tour celebrates our company’s rich 164-year history, our nation’s amazing story and the people who have helped build our great country and our railroad,” Union Pacific CEO Jim Vena said in a statement.
The route through the Ohio Valley, Pennsylvania and the Northeast reflects the historic role railroads played in shaping America’s economic heartland, connecting factories, ports and population centers and fueling the nation’s growth across generations, the railroads said.
For nearly 200 years, Norfolk Southern and its predecessor railroads have served these corridors, helping move the people and goods that built the modern United States.
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