The world’s largest operating steam locomotive will roll through Missouri next week as Union Pacific’s Big Boy No. 4014 stops in nearby towns as part of the railroad’s nationwide America250 tour.
The public can see and photograph Big Boy in Hermann and California, Missouri, the two closest whistle stops to Columbia on the route.
Big Boy will make a 15-minute whistle stop at 2:15 p.m. Monday in Hermann before spending the night in Jefferson City, where no public access is planned.
The train will then make a 15-minute stop at 10 a.m. Tuesday in California before continuing to Kansas City Union Station for a viewing that night and two public viewings on Wednesday.
Originally built during World War II to haul heavy freight over the Wasatch Mountains between Wyoming and Utah, Big Boy No. 4014 is one of only eight surviving locomotives of its class and the only one still in operation today.
Weighing more than 1.2 million pounds with its tender and stretching 133 feet in length, the locomotive has become one of the most recognizable symbols of American railroad history.
“It is the largest operating steam locomotive anywhere in the world,” said Aiden Drohr, curatorial assistant at the National Museum of Transportation in St. Louis, home to Big Boy No. 4006, one of the seven remaining static engines. Drohr said the locomotive’s size alone leaves first-time visitors amazed.
Big Boy is expected to draw thousands of spectators across Missouri, continuing a tradition that has followed the locomotive on its nationwide tour from its home in Cheyenne, Wyoming, to Philadelphia for the nation’s 250th Independence Day celebration and then back to Wyoming.
“I think a lot of people are coming out to see it because it is something so gargantuan and so different,” Drohr said. “You get sounds, you get smells that you can’t experience with any other type of machine.”
The locomotive is scheduled to be on display from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday at St. Louis Union Station. On Monday, the train will leave St. Louis and head west, briefly stopping in Pacific and Hermann, overnighting in Jefferson City and stopping in California before continuing to Kansas City.
Union Pacific officials encourage spectators to remain well back from the tracks, obey all railroad signs and barriers, and not trespass on railroad property.
Although Big Boy never operated in Missouri during the years of regular freight service, the state has long played a central role in American railroading. St. Louis and Kansas City remain major Union Pacific hubs, and Drohr said the tour recognizes Missouri’s continued importance to the railroad’s network.
All public viewings and whistle stops in Missouri are free of charge. More information about viewing locations and the locomotive’s complete schedule can be found on the Union Pacific website.
