The Big Boy No. 4014’s 2024 is scheduled to begin August 28. It will start in Cheyenne, Wyo. and rumble through nine states.
The Union Pacific Railroad, Engine 4014 was built in the 40s. It was one of the 600-ton “Big Boys” engines and was considered a stateof- the-art machine for the time period it was created. Today, Big Boy No. 4014 is the only running steam engine. The rest are sitting in museums.
The eight-week tour will go through Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas and will end in October.Therearemorethan three dozen whistle-stops scheduled in communities across the route.
The schedule shows Big Boy visiting Oklahoma after departing Ft. Worth in October. It will leave Ft. Worth October 13 for McAlester, Okla. on October 13. It will be in Durant around 1:15 on the same day.
The engine will then leave Durant’s Louisiana St. Crossing around 1:45 p.m. and head to McAlester. After McAlester, it will stop in Muskogee and Claremore on October 14.
The last time Big Boy has rumbledthroughDurantwas in 2021 and 2019.
Union Pacific Steam Club said that anyone who is interested in seeing the Big Boy to keep 25 feet back from all rails and never climb locomotive equipment. When it comes to drones, Union Pacific Union Pacific Steam Club is all for photos and video recordings but said that the 25-foot rule applies to all cameras, including drones. The club said that they have had past incidents of drones crashing into the train.