Where you can see Union Pacific's Big Boy No. 4014 in the suburbs
Are you going to see the Big Boy No. 4014 when it rolls through the suburbs this weekend? Well, we want to see your pictures! Share them with us by emailing them to photos@dailyherald.com. Thanks, and enjoy!
More than 100 train buffs stood along the Minnesota State Highway 123 overpass Monday waiting for the Big Boy No. 4014 steam engine to pass by on a nearby railroad bridge.
Among them was Dave Zeman of Arlington Heights, who traveled north with his friends to see the historic Union Pacific locomotive in action.
The 18-year-old has been photographing trains for years, but nothing compared to the size and power of the 4014, one of only eight Big Boys still in existence and the only one in operation. So when the world's largest steam locomotive crossed the bridge in Sandstone, Minnesota, he said, “it was smiles and high-fives all around.”
“It was one of those amazing moments that my friends and I all shared where we said, 'Did that just happen?'” Zeman said. “There's a thrill with every train we shoot, but the Big Boy is a thrill to a whole new level.”
Train fans can experience that feeling closer to home later this week. The Big Boy No. 4014 is scheduled to depart Friday morning from Butler, Wisconsin, and arrive about 2:30 p.m. in West Chicago. The locomotive will pass through Wadsworth, Northbrook, Des Plaines, Elmhurst and Wheaton on its way to the Larry S. Provo Training Center, 335 Spencer St., where it will be on display through Monday.
The steam engine is expected to depart at 8 a.m. Tuesday, running through Geneva, Elburn, DeKalb and Rochelle on its route to Iowa, Union Pacific spokeswoman Kristen South said.
Like many railroad enthusiasts, Zeman had dreamed of seeing a Big Boy operating since he first learned about the massive steam engines years ago. They're about 133 feet long, weigh 1.2 million pounds and are so large that the frames are articulated to navigate curves.
Union Pacific and Ed Dickens, the railroad's senior manager of heritage operations, “made the dream come true,” Zeman said.
Twenty-five Big Boy locomotives were commissioned in the 1940s to haul heavy tonnage and handle steep terrain between Ogden, Utah, and Cheyenne, Wyoming, South said. No. 4014 made its final run in 1959 and was eventually put on display in Pomona, California.
After acquiring it in 2013, Union Pacific worked to restore the steam engine to its former glory. The 4014 operated for the first time in 60 years this May and is now on its “Great Race Across the Midwest,” drawing crowds from across the country and the world.
No. 4014 and a new multimedia walk-through exhibit, called Experience the Union Pacific Train Car, will be open in West Chicago from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday and Monday. Various groups, including the Illinois Railway Museum and the West Chicago City Museum, also will have coordinating displays.
For Zeman and others immersed in the train subculture, the major treat is seeing the locomotive in motion, he said. After following it through parts of Minnesota this past weekend, he already has designated spots where he plans to photograph No. 4014 as it passes through the suburbs.
“A lot of the hobby is about shooting things before they become history, but this case was history coming back to life,” Zeman said. “We're enjoying every moment with 4014.”
The locomotive's schedule, route and a live GPS tracker can be found at www.up.com/heritage/steam/.