CHEYENNE, WY. ‒ Under wide blue skies, the world’s largest operating steam locomotive has begun chugging east toward Philadelphia and the nation’s 250th birthday celebrations.
Union Pacific’s “Big Boy” is pulling a small train of cars as it heads east of the Mississippi, a rare journey to the eastern United States for the locomotive born to haul heavy materials across the Continental Divide between Wyoming and Utah. Preceded by the sound of its iconic steam whistle, the 133-foot-long locomotive will make multiple public stops during its trip, timed for July Fourth semiquincentennial ceremonies.
“A steam locomotive is an amazing machine from a bygone era,” said Ed Dickens, a locomotive engineer and Union Pacific’s senior manager of steam operations. “You don’t have to be a rail fan for it to capture your imagination.”…