[4K] Union Pacific Big Boy - Giant of the West

The Union Pacific "Big Boy" is one of the most iconic steam locomotives in the history of American railroading. A total of 25 of these 4-8-8-4 giants were delivered to the UP in two batches in 1941 and 1944. The Big Boys were originally built to handle the strenuous demands of wartime freight traffic over the Wasatch grade between Ogden, UT and Evanston, WY, but after 1944, their operating territory was extended east to Cheyenne, WY.

After WWII, the Big Boys continued to roll up the revenue service miles hauling endless carloads of peacetime freight on the Overland Route. The 1950s were well known as the time of transition for American railroads, and the Big Boys, despite their power, were still threatened by inevitable dieselization. The Big Boy’s last revenue runs were on July 21, 1959. A total of eight Big Boys made their way into preservation, donated to museums and parks across the country.

For decades, the question was asked, "would a Big Boy ever be seen in operation again." It wasn't until 2013 that all changed, when Union Pacific reacquired Big Boy 4014 for restoration. The locomotive would go from Pomona, CA back to Cheyenne, where Union Pacific steam crews restored it to run on the Union Pacific mainline in May 2019.

You’ll see the Big Boy 4014 in its first year of operation doubleheading with UP 844, as well as running over Cajon Pass, through Arizona, and across Kansas into Missouri. In 2024, the 4014 made a journey to Northern California as part of its Westward Bound Tour. Near complete coverage from 12 different cameras follow the Big Boy into Portola, through the Feather River Canyon, and then east over Donner Pass in a spectacular display of raw power!

The 8mm footage for this program is from the cameras of five different railfans and photographers, and come from the Western Railway Museum, and the collections of Hunter Lohse and Dick Donat.

Music in this video is used through Creative Commons