DENVER (KDVR) — “Big Boy,” a 1.2 million-pound locomotive, is back in Colorado after being restored to the world’s largest operating steam locomotive — and there’s one more chance to see it this weekend.
Big Boy No. 4014 was one of 25 locomotives built during World War II. According to Union Pacific Railroad, they were 132 feet long, weighed 1.2 million pounds and were over half the length of a Boeing 747 airplane.
‘Big Boy,’ the 1.2M pound locomotive, still operates like it did in the mid-1900s
The locomotives slowly went out of service, including No. 4014, which ran in 1941 and retired after travelling over a million miles in 20 years. Some still sit in museums around the country, including No. 4014, until Union Pacific began its multi-year restoration process.
No. 4014 was restored to run nearly the same as it did in the 1940s and ’50s, and it finally hit the railroad in 2024 after being out of commission. It stopped in several places across the country, including a stop in Denver and Greeley.
Big Boy, the 1.2M pound locomotive, is coming back to Colorado
Less than a year later, it’s back to Colorado on a limited 2025 excursion, and this time, another locomotive is on the journey as well. It’s known as the No. 1616 Lincoln Locomotive, which Union Pacific said “honors Abraham Lincoln’s role in uniting the nation through rail and laying the foundation for America’s freight rail network.”
They arrived on Thursday, and there’s still one more chance to see it.
1.2M pound locomotive in Colorado this weekend
Big Boy came from Wyoming on Thursday and arrived in Greeley Thursday afternoon for a whistle stop. Here’s the Colorado schedule:…