Steam engine Big Boy #4014 returns to Greeley on July 28th and 30th

An 80-year-old steam locomotive will stop in Greeley on July 28-30 during a round-trip service between Cheyenne, Wyoming and Denver as part of a celebration of the Union Pacific Railroad’s 160th anniversary.

Union Pacific’s Big Boy No. 4014 is expected to be at the 10th Street railroad crossing east of downtown Greeley Thursday from 11:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. and Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 10:15 a.m., according to a union press release from the Pacific region.

The massive engine has been a regular visitor to Greeley for the past three years. Big Boy’s final stop on September 7 was the final stop as part of a 35-date tour of the United States

Big boy #UP4014 travels to Denver later this month and will be on display in Denver on July 29. On Saturday, July 30th, the Big Boy will draw one @UPRRmuseum Fundraising field trip from Denver to Cheyenne. Public ticket sales begin next week.

— UP Steam (@UP_Steam) July 1, 2022

The engine is traveling to Denver for public viewing at the city’s Union Station on Friday. The locomotive will be available at the station from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., along with Union Pacific’s “Experience the Union Pacific’s Rail Car,” a walk-through multimedia exhibit detailing the history of modern railroading.

Admission to the exhibition on Friday is free.

Big Boy #4014 will depart Denver at 7:10 am Saturday to return to Cheyenne for the 2022 Museum Special – a special passenger journey hosted by the Union Pacific Railroad Museum. The museum is located in Council Bluffs, Iowa.

This field trip is the annual fundraiser for the non-profit museum. Passengers must be at least 18 years old to ride. Tickets are $650 and $1,100 for the Classic Dome Bus Experience on the Challenger and $750 and $1,200 for the Premium Dome Diner Experience on the Colorado Eagle.

There are seven Big Boys on public display in various cities across the United States: St. Louis, Missouri; Dallas; Omaha, Nebraska; Denver; Scranton, Pennsylvania; Green Bay, Wisconsin; and Cheyennes.

According to the railroad, 25 Big Boys were built exclusively for the Union Pacific Railroad to haul heavy goods during World War II.

Big Boy #4014 is the only working Big Boy engine in the world. It was delivered to the railroad in December 1941.

The locomotive was retired in December 1961 having clocked more than 1 million miles in 20 years of service. Union Pacific acquired #4014 in 2013 from the RailGiants Museum in Pomona, California. The engine was moved back to Cheyenne to begin a multi-year restoration process. It returned to service in May 2019 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad.