Your Stop
These locomotives were not built for passengers or scenic routes. Union Pacific commissioned all 25 Big Boy locomotives for one purpose: hauling impossibly heavy equipment over the Rocky Mountains. When the first one rolled out of the factory in 1941, it was already the largest steam locomotive the world had ever seen — and nothing has matched it since.
No. 4014 is the only Big Boy still in operating condition. Its coast-to-coast journey began April 10 in Sacramento, California — the very city where construction of the nation's first transcontinental railroad broke ground in 1863. The route is a living tribute to the workers and engineers who connected a continent.
Big Boy No. 4014 — Then and Now
- 1863 — Transcontinental railroad construction begins in Sacramento
- 1941 — First of 25 Big Boy locomotives delivered to Union Pacific
- Apr 10, 2026 — No. 4014 departs Sacramento to begin America250 coast-to-coast tour
- Monday — 10:45 a.m. — Kit Carson stop — Young Street Carson crossing
- Monday — 3:45 p.m. — Strasburg stop — Monroe Street Crossing
- Jul 28 — 1:15 p.m. — Greeley stop — 10th Street Crossing
- After Jul 28 — No. 4014 returns home to Cheyenne, Wyoming
How Much Do You Know About Big Boy No. 4014?
Four questions. Test what you know about the locomotive rolling through your state this week.
What was the original purpose Union Pacific had in mind when commissioning the Big Boy locomotives?
- Carry passengers across the Rockies — Big Boys were built for freight, not people. Union Pacific commissioned all 25 specifically to haul heavy equipment — the kind of loads that other locomotives couldn't handle over mountain grades.
- Haul heavy equipment over difficult terrain — Correct. Union Pacific needed something powerful enough to pull extreme loads. The Big Boys were purpose-built freight haulers, not passenger locomotives — which is part of why they look so dramatically different from anything else on the rails.
- Set speed records on flat plains routes — Speed was not the goal — raw hauling power was. At 1.2 million pounds, these were workhorses, not racehorses.
- Replace diesel engines on wartime supply lines — While the first Big Boy was delivered in 1941 — the year the U.S. entered World War II — they were commissioned by Union Pacific for freight work, not specifically as a wartime diesel replacement.
Where did Big Boy No. 4014 begin its America250 coast-to-coast tour, and why is that city significant?
- Omaha, Nebraska — the eastern end of the transcontinental railroad — Omaha was indeed a key hub, but No. 4014's tour started in Sacramento — the western end of the transcontinental line, where construction began in 1863.
- Cheyenne, Wyoming — Union Pacific's home base — Cheyenne is where No. 4014 will end its tour, returning home after the Colorado stops — but the journey began on the opposite end of the country.
- Sacramento, California — where the transcontinental railroad's construction started — Correct. No. 4014 left Sacramento on April 10. That city is where workers broke ground on the first transcontinental railroad in 1863 — making it the perfect symbolic starting point for an America250 tribute tour.
- Denver, Colorado — the historic gateway to the West — Denver is not where the tour began — Sacramento holds that distinction as the birthplace of the transcontinental railroad construction in 1863.
Big Boy No. 4014 is 133 feet long. To put that in perspective, which of these is closest in length?
- A standard city bus — A standard city bus runs about 40 feet — roughly one-third of No. 4014's 133-foot length. The Big Boy is in a completely different category.
- Four standard city buses end to end — Close to correct. At 133 feet, No. 4014 stretches roughly the length of three to four city buses placed end to end — a useful sense of just how much machine is rolling through Colorado this week.
- A Boeing 737 commercial aircraft — A 737 runs about 110 feet — significantly shorter than the 133-foot Big Boy. The locomotive is actually longer than the most common commercial jet in the sky.
- Half a football field — Half a football field is 50 yards — 150 feet. The Big Boy at 133 feet comes very close, but four city buses is the tighter comparison.
The America250 Semiquincentennial Commission, whose emblem appears on a commemorative locomotive traveling with No. 4014, was established by which body?
- The Smithsonian Institution — The Smithsonian is a research and museum organization — it did not establish the America250 commission. The Commission was stood up by a legislative act.
- Union Pacific Railroad — Union Pacific is the railroad partner making this tour possible, but the America250 Semiquincentennial Commission itself was created by Congress to lead the country's 250th birthday celebration.
- Congress — Correct. Congress established the America250 Semiquincentennial Commission specifically to lead the celebration of the country's founding 250 years ago. A special commemorative locomotive carrying its emblem is traveling alongside No. 4014 on this tour.
- The National Park Service — The National Park Service manages historic sites but did not create the America250 Commission — that was Congress's doing.
How to See Big Boy No. 4014 in Colorado
- Pick your stop — Kit Carson (Monday 10:45–11:15 a.m.), Strasburg (Monday 3:45–4:15 p.m.), or Greeley (Wednesday July 28, 1:15–2 p.m.). Each window is exactly 30 minutes.
- Arrive early — Each stop is only 30 minutes long. Crowds are expected, especially at Strasburg — the stop closest to the Denver metro.
- Stay 25 feet back — Union Pacific requires all spectators to remain at least 25 feet from the railroad tracks at all times. This is a non-negotiable safety rule.
- Look for the second locomotive — A special commemorative locomotive carrying the emblem of the America250 Semiquincentennial Commission — the body established by Congress to lead the 250th celebration — travels alongside No. 4014.
After Greeley, Big Boy No. 4014 heads north to its home base in Cheyenne, Wyoming — closing out a journey that began on the opposite side of the continent. The tour was designed to mirror the path of American expansion, connecting the Pacific Coast origin of the transcontinental railroad to the heartland communities that grew up alongside it.
Colorado sits at the center of that story. The state's plains and mountain corridors were shaped by rail lines that moved cattle, coal, and people in ways that automobiles and highways wouldn't replicate for another century. When No. 4014 rolls through Kit Carson, Strasburg, and Greeley, it's not just a mechanical spectacle — it's a working piece of the infrastructure that made modern Colorado possible.
Plan Your Visit
- Kit Carson — Monday: Young Street Carson crossing. 10:45 a.m. to 11:15 a.m. Eastern Colorado plains.
- Strasburg — Monday: Monroe Street Crossing. 3:45 p.m. to 4:15 p.m. Closest stop to the Denver metro area.
- Greeley — Wednesday, July 28: 10th Street Crossing. 1:15 p.m. to 2 p.m. Final Colorado stop before the locomotive returns to Cheyenne.
- Safety Rule: All spectators must stay at least 25 feet back from the railroad tracks at all times. Union Pacific will enforce this at every stop.