Big Boy No. 4014, shown at Pomona, Calif., in November 2013, is hot once more.
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Union Pacific said Wednesday steam shop crews lit a fire in Big Boy 4-8-8-4 No. 4014 for the first time in 60 years on April 9. It was the first time the engine was fired up as an oil burner.
The locomotive, which has been under rebuild since 2016, will undergo further testing before its debut on a trip on Ogden, Utah, on May 4 to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the first transcontinental railroad.
The railroad also said tickets will go on sale April 15 for a one-way May 12 trip from Ogden to Evanston, Wyo., with No. 4014 doubleheading with 4-8-4 No. 844. This would be the first opportunity for any of the public to ride behind No. 4014.