What to Expect if You’re Spectating the Big Boy Tour
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Union Pacific’s Heritage Fleet is celebrating 250 years of American independence, and shop.trains.com is celebrating the return of the Big Boy No. 4014 with exclusive merch.
At shop.trains.com, we’re gearing up for Big Boy No. 4014’s first-ever coast-to-coast tour. It’s the world’s largest operating steam locomotive, and it’s not often we get a chance to see something like that in motion.
Before Union Pacific’s legendary Big Boy and several passenger cars kick off the tour on March 29 by departing from its home base of Cheyenne, Wyoming, we want to prepare for attending the tour and share that experience with new enthusiasts who might be seeing a steam locomotive in person for the first time.
Tens of thousands of spectators are expected to line the tracks from Wyoming to California and beyond. If you’re planning to be one of them, here’s everything you need to know to make the most of the tour.
Here’s how it goes: you’ll hear the whistle first. Then you’ll feel the rumble in your chest, a low vibration that climbs up through the soles of your shoes. Then, rounding the bend like something out of a time machine, 1.2 million pounds of American steel comes barreling down the line in a cloud of smoke and steam.
If you didn’t catch our last update, Big Boy No. 4014 is one of twenty-five Big Boy locomotives built by the American Locomotive Company during World War II for Union Pacific. They were designed to haul heavy freight over the Wasatch Mountains between Ogden, Utah and Green River, Wyoming, and they were absolute monsters of engineering (roughly 133 feet long including the tender, with a boiler pressure of 300 psi).
Out of those original twenty-five, only eight survived the scrapyard, and No. 4014 is the only one still operational. Union Pacific restored her to running condition in 2019, and her 2026 tour has been widely anticipated ever since.
4014 will be joined by two commemorative locomotives, including the newly numbered No. 1776, carrying the America250 Semiquincentennial Commission emblem.
Public display stops will begin in Roseville, California on April 10-11 and Ogden, Utah on April 18-19. An eastern leg is expected to follow later in the spring. There won’t be any passenger excursions offered on the western leg, but you’ll be able to get up close to view and photograph No. 4014 and Union Pacific’s Heritage Fleet passenger cars during display events.
The 25-Foot Rule
Here’s the single most important thing Union Pacific wants you to know: stay at least 25 feet back from the tracks at all times. That might sound excessive, but unfortunately, spectators have been known to misjudge the width of overhang on some of these massive older machines.
The average train overhangs the track by at least three feet on each side, and Big Boy is wider and taller than anything else on rails you’ve seen up close. And, of course, there are the cylinder cocks, valves that release bursts of steam and hot water at unpredictable intervals. Standing too close means you’re in the splash zone, and that can mean serious injury.
The 25-foot rule also applies to drones, by the way. Keep your aerial photography at a safe distance. Nobody wants to see their $800 quadcopter get swallowed by a steam plume, and Union Pacific doesn’t want drones interfering with train operations.
Never, Ever Trespass
This one cannot be overstated. Railroad tracks, trestles, yards, and rights-of-way are private property. Walking on or near the tracks to get a better angle is illegal and dangerous. Barriers are in place for a reason. Never place items on the tracks (coins, cameras, tripods, nothing), never stand on the ballast for a photo, and never climb on the locomotive or any equipment.
There’s another detail people often forget: just because a section of track looks quiet or unused doesn’t mean it is. Always expect a train. The 4014 tour will share active rail corridors with regular freight traffic, and modern trains are far quieter than you’d think until they're right on top of you.
How to Enjoy the Show
Now for the fun part. Seeing Big Boy in the wild is one of the great spectacles in American railroading, and a little planning goes a long way.
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Start with the schedule. Union Pacific publishes detailed tour information at upsteam.com, including specific times and locations for display stops. Check it early and check it often, as schedules can shift. You can also join the Union Pacific Steam Club for updates, and use their live tracking page to follow 4014 in real time as it crosses their 23-state network.
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Pick good vantage spots. Seasoned railfans recommend a “leapfrog” strategy: catch the train leaving a stop, then drive ahead to a good vantage point along the route and wait for it to pass again. You can repeat this several times in a day and come away with a whole portfolio of different views like the locomotive cresting a hill, crossing a bridge, or rolling through town. Spend time with online maps beforehand to scout locations with good sightlines and safe, legal places to stand.
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Expect crowds. Big Boy draws enormous turnouts. Allow time for crowded display stops, busy parking, and a large motorcade of fellow chasers following the train between towns. Don’t stress out too much, though. The train isn’t going anywhere you can’t catch up to; it tops out around 40 mph on most of these runs.
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Bring the right gear. Ear protection is smart, especially for kids. That whistle is thrilling but genuinely loud. Sunscreen, water, comfortable shoes, and a portable chair are all good ideas for display stops where you might be waiting a while. A camera with a decent zoom lens will serve you better than a phone at 25 feet, though honestly, even a phone photo of something this massive tends to turn out great.
There’s a reason people drive hundreds of miles and stand in open fields for hours waiting for this thing. When Big Boy passes, it’s a whole sensory experience. The heat off the boiler, the thunder of massive driving wheels, and the smell of coal smoke and hot oil are all elements you don’t get from a museum or a model.
Celebrate the Big Boy with Exclusive Merchandise
If you want to commemorate this historic tour with some merch, shop.trains.com has an impressive collection of Big Boy No. 4014 gear. Bring a piece of railroading history home, or bring it with you if you plan to attend any of the tour stops!
Union Pacific 4014 Spot Plate Pin, Big Boy 4014 Locomotive Pin, and Builder’s Plate Pin
These pins were designed to celebrate No. 4014’s restoration in 2019. They feature raised lettering, rubber backing for secure placement/wear, and silver hard enamel. Add them to your jacket, hat, bag or train memorabilia to give them some flair and start conversations.
Big Boy Chalk Writing Mug and Tee
These memorabilia items were designed exclusively for Trains magazine to celebrate the restoration and touring of Big Boy No. 4014, and now we’ll be excited to bring them to see the locomotive in person! Bring home these items yourself and you can rep your favorite magazine on the tour!
Union Pacific's Big Boys (Softcover)
Union Pacific's Big Boys: The complete story from history to restoration covers the who, what, why, and when of the 25 popular 4-8-8-4 steam locomotives. This book gives the historical background on the early 1940s development, explains why they were built, how they were used, and traces their history until they were retired in the 1950s.
This book also covers the much anticipated and well covered restoration of No. 4014 starting when it was recovered in a park in 2013 all the way through to its restoration and tour across the United States in the summer of 2019.
Visit shop.trains.com today to browse the complete collection of Big Boy No. 4014 merchandise and find the perfect way to celebrate this legendary locomotive.
-Written by Matt Herr