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The only one of the eight remaining units still in operation, the 40.5-meter machine travels through several states on its first coast-to-coast journey, attracting crowds to the tracks during the country’s 250th anniversary celebrations
At 40.5 meters long and 544 tons, the Big Boy 4014 crosses the United States on a transcontinental journey that celebrates the country’s 250th anniversary and attracts crowds along the tracks.
Big Boy 4014 makes first coast-to-coast journey
According to the source smithsonianmag, the locomotive passed this month through Valley Forge National Historical Park, Pennsylvania. According to reports, the vehicle moved through the area with the bell ringing and the steam whistle sounding.
After staying in Philadelphia on July 4 and 5, the Big Boy continued its journey through Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, and Colorado. At the end of the month, it is expected to return to Wyoming.
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According to Jim Vena, CEO of Union Pacific, this is the locomotive’s first coast-to-coast journey. The route can be followed online.
Manual operation requires care inside the cabin
All movements of the Big Boy are controlled manually. Ed Dickens, senior manager of historical operations at Union Pacific, stated that there is no automatic system in the locomotive.
“Every sound, every movement it makes, is controlled by human hands. It’s pure 1940s technology,” Dickens told NPR.
During the passage through western Pennsylvania on July 11, the professionals in the cabin used ear protection and safety glasses. The furnace temperature required regular hydration.
The noise also made communication between workers difficult. Therefore, the team used hand signals during the operation.
Locomotive could pull 120 cars
The No. 4014 was one of the 25 Big Boy locomotives built by the American Locomotive Company between 1941 and 1944. The vehicles were designed by Union Pacific to transport supplies between Utah and Wyoming, crossing the Wasatch Mountains.
Equipped with additional wheels and larger cylinders, these locomotives could pull freight trains with 120 cars and 3,800 tons at a speed of 64 kilometers per hour.
Currently, eight units remain. Most are on display in museums, while No. 4014 is the only one in operation.
Restoration returned the machine to the tracks in 2019
The Big Boy 4014 was retired from freight transport in December 1961, after traveling more than one million miles.
In 2013, Union Pacific reacquired the locomotive from the RailGiants Train Museum in California and began its restoration.
The machine returned to operation in 2019, during the celebrations of the 150th anniversary of the first transcontinental railroad. Now, at almost 85 years old, it travels the tracks again in front of crowds gathered to witness its passage.
