Union Pacific 4014 - Front Range Steam Special [4K]

On July 17th & 19th, 2025, ‪@chendersonrailproductions704‬, and myself would find ourselves out west in Colorado. The occasion? Union Pacific was running a special excursion to and from Denver and none other than the famous UP #4014 "Big Boy" would be doing the honors. Also along for the trip behind the Big Boy would be recently repainted and renumbered UP EMD SD70M #1616 "Abraham Lincoln" as well as a hefty 18-car consist.

On the morning of the 17th, we would make our way up to Cheyenne to catch the Big Boy's departure. Upon arriving at our first spot, we had a good bit of time before the train departed, so we scouted out a decent angle, got set up, and waited. Just after 10am, running only slightly behind schedule, UP #4014 would makes its grand departure from Cheyenne on its journey to Denver. I don't think I've ever heard #4014 chuff as loud as it did at that moment. After the last car passed, we would catch it again at Carr & Nunn before its first stop in Greeley. After a longer-than anticipated wait in Greeley, we would catch the Big Boy departing just south of the downtown area before heading for the Denver suburb of Commerce City for our final shot of the day. Afterwards, we spent the rest of the day up on the UP Laramie Subdivision before heading back to our hotel to rest up for the next day's outing at the Georgetown Loop Railroad.

Early in the morning on the 19th, we would catch the Big Boy departing UP's North Yard in downtown Denver. We would then leapfrog up to another crossing in Commerce City where we would catch it accelerating out of the city with the Denver skyline in the background. Big shoutout to the gentleman with the classic Chevy for positioning it for a shot! Just north of Platteville, we would see the Big Boy again on a nice, sweeping curve before heading to a spot just north of downtown Greeley on a decent grade. Running a bit behind at this point, the crew wasted no time getting up to track speed with the 18-car train, putting on a spectacular show in the process. After Greeley, we opted to try a different route to get to the famous spot at Terry Ranch Road just south of Cheyenne to get our final shot. Little did we know, we would get caught behind slow drivers and some traffic lights. However, we were determined to try and get ahead, so we got on the interstate and booked it up towards Terry Ranch Road. Unfortunately for us, we knew we wouldn't make it to the spot in time, so we opted for an alternative angle just north of Terry Ranch Road. It wasn't our ideal shot, but it worked out nonetheless. Afterwards, we would catch #4014 right where we started on the 17th as it cruised back into the yard. Marking the end of this epic adventure.

I hope y'all enjoy!

Southbound:
0:00 Cheyenne
2:05 Carr
3:33 Nunn
4:23 Greeley
5:41 Commerce City

Northbound:
6:43 Denver
11:48 Commerce City
12:37 North of Platteville
13:25 Greeley
14:27 South of Speer
17:22 Cheyenne

#unionpacific #colorado #wyoming #steamlocomotive #steamtrain #railfanning #railroad #railfan #bigboy #historical