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Union Pacific "Big Boy" 4014
A Brief History Of This Engine
Donated by Union Pacific Railroad in December 1961, locomotive number 4014 was the most famous locomotive in RailGiants Train Museum’s impressive display of locomotives during its 52 years here. Union Pacific No. 4014 is a Big Boy class steam locomotive having a 4-8-8-4 wheel arrangement. They are the heaviest single expansion steam locomotive ever built, weighing about 1,200,000 pounds. Big Boy locomotives are hinged (or articulated) because of its great length. Its forward pony trucks and drive wheels swivel independently of the boiler and rear drivers when rounding curves. The Big Boy class was designed for transporting heavy freight trains, without assistance from helper locomotives, primarily on the Wasatch Mountains between Ogden, Utah, and Green River, Wyoming. In their later years of service, Big Boy’s service territory was extended east to Cheyenne. Big Boy No. 4014 was retired in 1959 after 18 years of service. Number 4014 arrived at the Los Angeles County Fairgrounds on January 8, 1962.
In the summer of 2013, Union Pacific reacquired Big Boy No. 4014 to restore it as an operating steam locomotive as part of its Heritage Locomotive fleet. Big Boy No. 4014 departed RailGiants Train Museum on November 14, 2013, when it began its gradual journey across the fairgrounds parking lot. It departed the Los Angeles County Fairgrounds at 2:45 am on January 26, 2014, and arrived at Union Pacific’s West Colton facility in Bloomington, California, about 1 pm that afternoon.
Big Boy No. 4014 departed Bloomington, California, at 9:15 am on April 28, 2014, to begin its 11 days, 1250 mile journey across four states. Thousands of people watched it being towed by SD70 locomotives UP No. 4014 and UP No. 4884 and visited Big Boy No. 4014 while on public display in Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, Ogden, and many other cities and towns along the way.
Number 4014 arrived in Cheyenne, Wyoming, on the afternoon of May 8, 2014. Its restoration was completed five years later. On May 4, 2019, restored Big Boy No. 4014 was christened in Cheyenne, Wyoming, and began its first tour to Ogden, Utah, to participate in Union Pacific’s celebration of the driving of the Golden Spike, which transpired 150 years before in nearby Promontory Summit. By the end of 2019, No. 4014 toured more of its new home on the Union Pacific System throughout the Upper Midwest, Southwest United States, and Southern California.
| Engine Stats, at retirement | ||
| Total Weight: 600 Tons, 1.2 million lbs | Built: Alco, 1941 | Horsepower: 6,290 |
| Length: 132 ft, 9.875 in. | Fuel: Coal | Top Speed: 70 mph |
| Steam Pressure: 300 psi | Full Capacity: 28 Tons | Drivers: 68 in. |
| Click here for: Big Boy backhead interactive diagram |
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The True King Of The Rails
Though only 25 Big Boys were built, eight still exist today. The Big Boys are located at these locations:
| • 4004 - | Holliday Park Cheyenne, Wyoming |
| • 4005 - | Forney Transportation Museum Denver, Colorado |
| • 4006 - | Museum of Transportation St. Louis, Missouri |
| • 4012 - | Steamtown National Historic Site Scranton, Pennsylvania |
| • 4014 - | Union Pacific Steam Shop Cheyenne, Wyoming |
| • 4017 - | National Railroad Museum Green Bay, Wisconsin |
| • 4018 - | Museum of the American Railroad Frisco, Texas |
| • 4023 - | Lauritzen Gardens Omaha, Nebraska |
Bar none, Alco’s Union Pacific Big Boy articulated engines were, in their time, the true kings of the rails, and most railfans to this day, still believe it is. In total, 25 Big Boys were built in two groups of twenty and five locomotives, respectively. All were coal burning, with large grates to burn low-quality Wyoming coal from mines owned by the railroad. One locomotive, number 4005, a conversion to fuel oil was attempted as an experiment but was not completed. This attempt was motivated by a threatened coal workers labor strike. When this threat disappeared, the conversion efforts were no longer needed.
Big Boy locomotives rendered important service in the Second World War, especially since they proved so easy to fire that even a novice could do a fair job. Since many men were unsuited for combat service or otherwise exempted from military service, they were hired by the railroads to replace crewmen who had gone to war. This proved advantageous for the military and the railroads. During the war, U.S. railroads hauled countless servicemen, a huge volume of vital raw materials, war cargo, and essential military equipment around the country. When Union Pacific required expansion of their locomotive fleet to haul additional tonnage, U.P. requested permission from the U.S. Government to procure diesel-electric locomotives. The resources required for diesel-electrics could not be spared. However, raw materials were approved to build five additional Big Boy steam locomotives. Their performance in moving a huge volume of war material throughout WWII was repeatedly cited and the Big Boys are generally acclaimed as having made a huge contribution to the war effort.
Postwar increases in the price of both coal and labor and the efficiency of diesel-electric and gas-turbine motive power foretold a limited life for the Big Boys, but they were among the last steam locomotives taken out of service. The last revenue train hauled by a Big Boy was on the evening of July 21, 1959. Most were stored operational until 1961, and four remained in operational condition at Green River, Wyoming until 1962. Their duties were gradually taken over by diesels and turbines.
Click on the PDF icon to open your copy of our Union Pacific #4014 Brochure.
Union Pacific #4014 Brochure
