Did you witness the passage through Morrison, IL, of the Union Pacific Railroad’s 800 Class, steam locomotive, “Big Boy?”
Number 4014 roared through town on Tuesday, July 30, 2019, heading west at track speed. Big Boy’s return to the rails was the product of more than two years of meticulous restoration work by the Union Pacific Steam Team. No. 4014 is the world’s only operating Big Boy locomotive.
The engine had not been in service for seven decades. At that time, the historic Big Boy was touring the Union Pacific system throughout 2019, to commemorate the transcontinental railroad’s 150th anniversary. The trek was called “The Great Race Across the Midwest,” but it was not a competition. A dedicated Steam Team crew rode together across the Country, operating the locomotive. The engine burned fuel oil.
Aptly named Big Boys were the largest steam locomotives in the world, and they were the most modern and powerful. Starting in 1941, 25 such engines were built for Union Pacific. They were 132 feet long and weighed 1.2 million pounds. To allow long locomotives to navigate turns, their frames were articulated, like a child’s pull toy.
Massive 4014 again is crossing America. On Saturday, August 28, 2021, Big Boy will make only one, short stop in Illinois, from 2:15 to 2:50 p.m. The train will stop at Rock Bridge Road and Water Street, Chester, IL.
To see this behemoth requires a bit of driving for railroad fans. Chester is in the southwest corner of the State, on the Mississippi River, in Randolph County.
If you make a family road trip there, note that Chester is the official home of Popeye the Sailor.