DENVER – Union Pacific 4014, perhaps better known as Big Boy No. 4014, will travel from Wyoming to Denver on Thursday to honor the company’s 160th anniversary.
The round-trip tour will begin in Cheyenne, Wyoming and travel south on July 28 to Denver, where it will be on display at Union Station on July 29 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The following day, July 30, the Union Pacific Museum will host a special Big Boy passenger ride from Denver to Cheyenne as part of the nonprofit museum’s annual gala fundraiser. Passengers, who must be 18 years of age or older, will return to Denver by bus.
“(This) is a rare opportunity for the public to ride this historic piece of heritage equipment,” Union Pacific said.
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Big Boy’s tour was expected to continue through the West Coast this summer, but it was canceled so Union Pacific could focus on improving “network fluidity and customer service amid ongoing supply chain challenges,” it said. the company.
Twenty-five Big Boy locomotives were built for Union Pacific during World War II and while eight have been preserved, No. 4014 is the only functional one. They are all 132 feet tall and weigh approximately 1.2 million pounds.
Big Boy No. 4014 was delivered to Union Pacific in December 1941 and would travel more than one million miles before being retired in December 1961. It returned to service in May 2019 after a multi-year restoration process, Union Pacific said.
“Both the communities of Denver and Cheyenne have a rich history that goes back almost as far as the founding of the Union Pacific Railroad,” said Scott Moore, senior vice president of corporate relations and chief administrative officer for Union Pacific. “We’re disappointed we can’t have our longest Big Boy tour this year, but rekindling our great history with the Denver and Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo will give us an opportunity to share #4014 with the public in 2022 .”
You can click here to find Big Boy’s schedule as it travels from Cheyenne to Denver and click here to track the locomotive.
