It wasn’t the Polar Express; however, it was another one-of-a-kind train that people flocked to see at the old Limon train station, which is part of the Limon Heritage Museum and Railroad Park.On Saturday, Nov. 23, the clock was turned back to the Golden Age of railroading as the world’s largest steam locomotive, Union Pacific’s Big Boy No. 4014, pulled into the station hissing from steam, blasting a whistle and clanging a bell. Many members of the large crowd lining the track were armed with cameras.At the throttle was engineer Ed Dickens, a 27-year veteran with Union Pacific and manager of the railroad’s vintage equipment. He said driving a steam locomotive is not as complicated as people think. ìIt’s easy to do,î he said. But the steam engine is more complicated to operate than a modern diesel electric locomotive because everything is manually operated, Dickens said. He compared driving a modern locomotive to driving a car.Dickens became involved with steam locomotives because, as he said, ìI just like them.î He called the Big Boy the railroad’s public relations ambassador.It takes a crew of 11, including Dickens and fireman Curt Clark, to operate the Big Boy. The locomotive was pulling five vintage passenger and baggage cars plus 10 modern grain cars to provide added weight for braking.There were 25 Big Boys built exclusively for the Union Pacific. They were used to haul freight between Ogden, Utah, and Cheyenne, Wyoming. Only eight are known to still be in existence; No. 4014 is the only operating Big Boy.The Big Boy is 17 feet tall and has two sets of 68-inch driver wheels. Most steam locomotives have one set of smaller driver wheels. At 132 feet long, the Big Boy is articulated or jointed to make going around curves easier. A plaque on the No. 4014 states that it was built by the American Locomotive Company in Schenectady, New York, in November 1941. In the mid-20th century, steam locomotives were replaced by modern diesel electric locomotives. The 4014 was retired from service in 1961, with 1,031,205 miles; and ended up in the RailGiants Train Museum in Pomona, California. In 2013, the No. 4014 was re-acquired by the Union Pacific and spent 2 1/2 years being overhauled at the Union Pacific steam shop in Cheyenne. Originally, the Big Boy burned coal. However, as part of the restoration, the fuel was changed to oil. As head of vintage equipment, Dickens supervised that restoration.It was a thrill for this reporter to climb into the cab and sit in the engineer’s seat. Numerous valves took up the front wall of the cab. In front of the engineer on the right and the fireman on the left was an impressive array of levers and gauges. The cab of a steam locomotive is noisy and dirty. No wonder railroad workers wear overalls and gloves. It was exhilarating to lean out the engineer’s window and gaze down the length of the monstrous Big Boy.The Big Boy is on a 60-day tour billed as ìThe Great Race Across the Southwestî to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the completion of the transcontinental railroad.ìWeighing in at 1.2 million pounds, the Big Boy makes a big impression in communities it visits reminding us of bygone days and the important role the railroad continues to play in the global economy,î said Scott Moore, Union Pacific’s vice president and chief administrative officer, in a press release.
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| On Nov. 23, the world’s largest steam locomotive, Union Pacific’s Big Boy 4014, was on display at the Limon train station, which is part of the Limon Heritage Museum and Railroad Park, on Nov. 23. Photos by Pete Gawda | When the world’s largest steam locomotive, the Union Pacific Big Boy 4014 pulled into the old Limon Train station in November, the locomotive pulled five vintage passenger and baggage cars plus 18 modern grain cars added on the end to provide additional weight for braking. |
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| The crowd waited inside the old Limon train station for the Union Pacific Big Boy to arrive. | Fireman Curt Clark helps bring the Union Pacific Big Boy No. 4014 into the old Limon train station. |
