Pittsburgh Independent Hi-Railers

06/03/2026

A reminder that the Big Boy will be coming through Ohio, Erie, and Western NY next week. You can see the entire planned route on the new and improved tracking page:

Steam Locomotive Tracking - Follow Union Pacific’s Big Boy No. 4014 on Tour

06/03/2026

06/03/2026

Several of us have NASA rocket trains. :)

No. 4547 Celebrates America’s 250th Anniversary and is the Third in Presidential Locomotive Series

05/29/2026

Age of Steam Roundhouse Museum is an easy day trip from Pittsburgh. And if you go early and plan accordingly, you can visit the Ernest Warther Museum & Gardens (check it out, it is awesome!) on the way back.

05/28/2026

PLAN AHEAD: When the Union Pacific Big Boy comes to town this July 8-11, the Pennsylvania Game Commission has announced that they will be "heavily patrolling" any publicly owned (City Watershed) or Game Commission wooded area along the Norfolk Southern main line from Altoona to Gallitzin for safety reasons, stopping those who violate the closure of said land.

Access roads that lead to nearby railroad tracks will be closed by the Pennsylvania Game Commission, who will be monitoring the wooded areas beginning the day before the July 8th arrival in Altoona.

PGC is expected to have backup help from neighboring county wardens along with state and local police.

05/28/2026

05/28/2026

On Monday, the Union Pacific Railroad's Big Boy #4014 departed Cheyenne, Wyoming on its first ever East Coast tour. Western PA residents will have three opportunities to catch it on the move. On Tuesday, June 9 it will be running from Conneaut, OH, through Erie to Buffalo, NY where it will be on display Wednesday. The second opportunity will come on Saturday, July 11 when it moves from Altoona to Conway (West of Pittsburgh). It will be running on the Norfolk Southern tracks and will be going through Derry, Latrobe, Greensburg, Jeannette, etc. Our sources tell us that it will travel down Turtle Creek and cross the Mon via the NS Port Perry Bridge and take the Mon Line to the other side of Pittsburgh and cross the Ohio River where it will stop briefly in Leetsdale before arriving in Conway for the night. The third opportunity will be Sunday morning when 4014 leaves Conway heading NorthWest towards Conneaut, OH with a brief stop in Struthers, OH. Important links will be shared in the comments, but in the mean time, check out this video of 4014 from Monday:

On May 25, 2026 Union Pacific Big Boy 4014 started the incredible journey East on its "Coast to Coast" Tour in celebration of America's 250th! We were able t...

05/25/2026

Please take a moment today to remember the reason for the holiday -- the sacrifices made by those who, in Abraham Lincoln's words, "gave the last full measure of devotion" for our nation.

05/21/2026

Awesome!!! 🇺🇸❤️🇺🇸

05/18/2026

Altoona preparing for a Big Boy...

5/2026 - Preparations underway at Altoona Yard to accommodate the UP Big Boy steam locomotive....
Two new switches were installed for the track known as "10 at Brush" and the MW tracks near 4th street. In this shot, the NS 3011 is sitting on 10 at Brush. Note the panel track extending into the background for the MW tracks. This area is where the Big Boy will spend some of its time in Altoona.
AltoonaWorks.info