07/14/2026
Big Boy No. 4014 is the world’s largest and one of the U.S.’s last operating steam locomotives. From the Union Pacific website:
“Twenty-five Big Boys were commissioned exclusively for Union Pacific Railroad, the first of which was delivered in 1941. These massive locomotives were built to haul heavy equipment in support of the war effort, normally operating between Ogden, Utah, and Cheyenne, Wyoming. The Big Boys are 133 feet long and weigh 1.2 million pounds. Due to their great length, the frames of the Big Boys are ‘hinged,’ or articulated, to allow them to negotiate curves. They have a 4-8-8-4 wheel arrangement, which means they have four wheels on the leading set of ‘pilot’ wheels to guide the engine; eight drivers on the first engine; another set of eight drivers on the second engine; and four wheels trailing that support the rear of the locomotive.”
The locomotive was retired in 1961, reacquired in 2013, and after a long restoration process, returned to service in 2019.
The man behind the helm is Ed Dickens. He is the primary engineer of Big Boy No. 4014 and senior manager of Union Pacific’s Heritage Operations. He and his team were the ones behind the train’s six year long restoration process.
In celebration of America’s 250th birthday, Big Boy No. 4014 is touring the United States and visiting Ohio for the first time. It came to Rocky River on Monday, July 14th. Massive crowds gathered to see the world’s largest operating steam locomotive as it made its way through Rocky River, witnessing a piece of American history doing exactly what it was built to do more than 80 years ago.
More information about Big Boy No. 4014 can be found here:
https://www.up.com/about-us/history/steam/big-boy-4014
https://www.up.com/about-us/history/steam/schedule
https://www.cleveland.com/news/2026/07/one-last-look-thousands-line-tracks-for-big-boys-return-to-northeast-ohio.html
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/who-drives-the-biggest-train
https://www.wkbn.com/news/local-news/struthers-news/nearly-brought-to-tears-big-boy-engineer-praises-struthers-stop/
