Big Boy!

Life is always full of choices, right? I can't do nearly all the things I'd like to in this summer of the 250th Anniversary of the USA. But here's what I did choose.

The Big Boy engine is the largest steam engine ever built. 25 of the engines were built between 1941 and 1946. Eight still exist, and one is running, the 4014. It was purchased by the Union Pacific in 2017 and refurbished for the 150th Anniversary of the Transcontinental Railroad connection.

How big is big? It's 133 feet long. It's articulated (has a joint in the middle so it can negotiate curves in the rail). The drive wheels are 4 inches higher than I am tall (65 inches). It weighs 1.2 million pounds.

It's on a transcontinental tour, and this is the closest place I could see it. Me and about 2000 other people. It was pretty amazing how many people showed up on a corner in the middle of Indiana wheat fields to watch it!

There was a good police and safety personnel presence. Good thing- I can not believe how stupid people were acting.

I'll let the video speak for itself. I should have taken the tripod, but it's not bad for handheld. After the whistle blows, if it sounds like a kid crying... it is. That whistle was viscerally loud when you were right beside it. They warned parents to cover their kids' ears, but I guess someone didn't. (And yes, there are some helper diesel engines for dynamic braking and safety.)



Train personnel waved to us, and I was pleased to see there was at least one female staffer. She seemed excited that so many people came to see the train.

This is a quintessential and beautiful Indiana sight in the summer. And it's on the road where we saw the train.

I got there 75 minutes early and had to walk about a half mile. People who arrived later than that had to walk as much as a mile from where they could park. There were a drone and a helicopter, and at least two small planes in the sky.

Pretty darned awesome. I've now seen the two biggest steam engines ever made. Link below has a pic of the Yellowstone (not running) in a museum in Duluth. It is a tiny bit smaller, but it had more power and traction to haul iron ore on the Duluth, Mesabi, and Iron Range line in Minnesota. Its driving wheels are only an inch higher than I am tall.

Drove in torrential white-out rain coming home, but at least we weren't waiting for the train in that!

I would have LOVED to see this train cross the Letchworth Gorge Bridge in New York, but I understand the park already has so many people who have reserved entrance that it's already totally closed to more people on that day, June 11. It's also going to be in Philadelphia for the 4th of July celebration. Wouldn't that be something! But I'm content that I got to see it in action somewhere.

Miles walked in 2026: 174.8

See the Yellowstone engine