Anticipation: Thousands of train enthusiasts lined both sides of the tracks near the Greeley Train Station. Many of the crowd showed up hours before the arrival of the train in anticipation of seeing the Big Boy No. 4014 locomotive. Photo by Gary Warren

4014 Arriving: After much waiting the anxious crowd spotted the Big Boy No. 4014 locomotive as it rounded a curve and came into view. The sunny fall day was perfect for viewing the locomotive during a stop in Greeley, Colo. The locomotive was actually about 15 minutes early and was stopped for almost 45 minutes before leaving for its final destination of Cheyenne, Wyo. Photo by Gary Warren

By Gary Warren
Photographer
Formerly of Los Alamos

The final leg of the “Heartland of America Tour” took place Oct. 23, 2024 from Denver, Colo. to Cheyenne, Wyo. for the Big Boy No. 4014 steam locomotive. The schedule was to leave Denver at 9 a.m.  Wednesday with a stop in Greeley, Colo. before traveling into Cheyenne where the locomotive is based.

After seeing the schedule online a few days before I knew we had to see this amazing steam locomotive. We left Castle Rock Thursday morning with plans to be in Greeley before the scheduled 12:30 p.m. stop and then immediately leave for Cheyenne after the train pulled out of Greeley. 

I had hopes of seeing the train along the way during the 60 mile trip but that did not happen. By the time we returned to the van and left Greeley the Big Boy was too far ahead of us to catch a view during the journey. We did arrive at the train station in Cheyenne before the train arrived to find much of the area around the station fenced off due to construction.

We could have walked up on an overpass near the station where many were waiting and had a good view from a higher angle. However, it meant I would be photographing the train through a wire fence which runs along the walkway across the overpass. I chose to go a couple of miles up the track at the edge of town and see the locomotive as it arrived in Cheyenne.

Twenty five Union Pacific Big Boy steam locomotives were built and delivered between 1941 and 1945. These engines were work horses in the Rocky Mountain west primarily between Cheyenne, Wyo. and Ogden, Utah. These engines had the power of three traditional sized engines. They were massive in size and weight. Today there are seven stationary Big Boy locomotives in various train museums and one operating Big Boy No. 4014 locomotive stationed in Cheyenne, Wyo.

Big Boy No. 4014 began service in December 1941 and was retired in December 1961 after traveling 1,031,205 miles. The early 1960s spelled the end to the Big Boy fleet and were replaced by the more cost effective diesel-electric and gas-turbine electric locomotives.

To celebrate the 150th Anniversary of the Transcontinental Railroad’s Competition, the Union Pacific Rail Road decided to bring back one of the Big Boy Locomotives and restore it to operating condition. 

Big Boy Locomotive No. 4014 was at the Rail Giants Museum in Pomona, Calif. where it had been on display for 52 years after Union Pacific donated the locomotive to the museum upon its retirement in 1961. Union Pacific was able to re-aquire Big Boy 4014 from the museum in 2013.

The locomotive was relocated to Cheyenne, Wyo. in 2013 and restoration work began in 2014. After five years the restoration was complete and Big Boy 4014 was placed in excursion service in May, 2019. Later in 2019 Big Boy No. 4014 completed a journey to Ogden, Utah. in celebration of the 150th Anniversary of the Transcontinental Railroad’s Competition.

The locomotive has made a few trips since that 2019 trip to Utah. In 2024 Big Boy 4014 traveled on a “Western States Tour” from Utah to California and back. On Aug. 28, 2024 the Big Boy locomotive left Cheyenne, Wyo. on the “Heartland of America Tour”. The tour passed through nine states before returning to Cheyenne Oct. 23.

So how big is a Big Boy locomotive? The Big Boy is 133 feet long and weighs over 1.2 million pounds. In comparison, a 747 aircraft is 232 feet long and weighs 970,000 pounds. The Big Boy is over half the length of a 747 but weighs far more than a 747 aircraft! Today, a traditional locomotive is 74 feet long. The Big Boy is the largest and most powerful operating steam engine in the world!

Departing: Following a stop of about 45 minutes the Big Boy No. 4014 blows the whistle and begins to chug slowly north on the tracks out of Greeley, Colo. Photo by Gary Warren

Rolling On: After easing out of the station area the Big Boy No. 4014 begins to pick up speed a short distance down the tracks. The locomotive had now made its final stop on the ‘Heartland of America Tour’ which began in August. Photo by Gary Warren

Train Crew: A close up of the crew aboard the Big Boy No. 4014 is seen as it moves along the tracks while leaving Greeley, Colo. The crowd of thousands was beginning to disburse the area after seeing the largest steam locomotive in the world. Photo by Gary Warren

Cheyenne: The Big Boy arriving at the rail yard in Cheyenne, Wyo. after an extended tour throughout the heartland of America. The train travels to destinations just north of Chicago, Ill. to Houston, Texas. before returning though Oklahoma , Kansas and Colorado. Photo by Gary Warren