Big Boy No. 4014, Union Pacific's Great Race

Last week a friend posted that a huge steam engine was moving eastward on the Union Pacific's railroad, making a tour of the country.  And he showed pics.   So, naturally I looked into it and found that the Big Boy No. 4014 was headed towards New Mexico and that if we wanted to see it up close, we either drove to Lordsburg which is about 50 miles from where we are staying, or wait until this morning when it would stroll through Deming, not stopping for any period of time.  We opted to drive to Lordsburg yesterday and glad we did.

Window of opportunity to see it - very few choices

Comparison of 747, Big Boy, regular engine, bus, car, man

Crowd began to gather - 1 hour before Big Boy scheduled to come in

And here it comes 

The conductor took a break - this is a young man learning with expert behind him

There were 25 Big Boys built exclusively for Union Pacific Railroad during World War II, the first delivered in 1941.  The Big Boy locomotives were 132 feet long and weighed 1.2 million pounds.  Due to their great length, the frames of the Big Boys were hinged or articulated, to allow them to negotiate curves.  They had a 4-8-8-4 wheel arrangement which meant they had 4 wheels in the leading set of pilot wheels which guided the engine, 8 drivers, another set of 8 drivers, and 4 wheels following which supported there rear of the locomotive.  These massive engines typically operated between Ogden, Utah and Cheyenne, Wyoming.

Huge

Support cars behind - sleeping, eating, dignitaries, etc.

That big black thing behind locomotive - filled with diesel fuel

Seven Big Boys are left, and are on display in various locations around the country.  Big Boy 4014 was delivered to the UP in 1941, and retired in 1961. Union Pacific reacquired the locomotive in 2013 and relocated it back to Cheyenne where it began a multi-year restoration process.  In May 2019 it returned to service to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Transcontinental Railroad's Completion.

Folks wanting their picture taken - standing on LIVE tracks, yikes!

Pretty impressive to see up close, and massive.  The whistle when it blew when it came into town to stop was something I will not forget - the sound was very nostalgic.  Also, when it passed the campground this morning and blew its whistle again, how very cool was that.

From our campground, heading east to El Paso, TX

Bye - bye!

Glad we went to see it.  I am kinda a mechanical geek so I really enjoyed seeing the Big Boy.
Big Boy No. 4014 is touring the country and will eventually return to Cheyenne.  It will pass through Utah, Nevada, California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado and then return to Wyoming.  Left Cheyenne on May 4th, and will return back to Cheyenne on November 27th.