The world’s largest steam engine is returning to Boone during its coast-to-coast tour.
The Union Pacific Big Boy No. 4014 is taking a historic tour as part of the nation’s 250th anniversary, journeying to the east coast for the first time this summer. The eastern leg of the tour begins on May 25, traveling through Wyoming and Nebraska before coming to Boone.
Big Boy will stop in Carroll at 1 p.m. on Sunday, May 31 – roughly 50 miles to the west – before arriving in Boone. The steam engine will depart Boone at 9 a.m. on Monday, June 1, though Union Pacific has not yet specified where the train will station. There will be no public access.
The train’s first stop on June 1 will be at 11:15 a.m. in Tama.
Big Boy returns to Boone two years later
The Big Boy train last visited Boone during its Heartland of America Tour in 2024, stopping overnight and taking a route through Ames.
Engineer Ed Dickens said the last tour was nice to remind everyone of the important role railroads play.
“Railroads are kind of trickling along in the background of your life,” Dickens said. “I don’t think people really remember how important the railroad is. Everything that comes into your life at one point or another is by the railroad.”
Where is the Big Boy steam engine stopping in Iowa?
The Big Boy steam engine will visit Denison and Carroll on May 31 and Boone, Tama and Belle Plaine on June 1. The train will leave the state on June 2 after making stops in Cedar Rapids and Grand Mound.
The full tour schedule can be found on Union Pacific’s website.
World’s biggest steam engine is more than 80 years old
Twenty-five Big Boys were built exclusively for the Union Pacific Railroad, the first of which was delivered in 1941. The locomotives were 132 feet long and weighed 1.2 million pounds.
Big Boy No. 4014 was delivered to Union Pacific in December 1941. It was retired in Dec. 1961, having traveled 1,031,205 miles in 20 years of service.
In May 2019, Big Boy No. 4014 returned to service to celebrate the 150th Anniversary of the Transcontinental Railroad. After a 58-year retirement and three-year restoration project, the engine regained its title as the world’s largest operating steam locomotive.
How does a steam engine work?
One of the basic parts of a steam engine is the boiler, into which coal is shoveled. The boiler operates at very high temperatures to boil water, producing high-pressure steam.
The steam expands and exits the boiler through steam pipes into the steam reservoir. The steam is then controlled to push the locomotive’s piston, which turns the drive wheel, ultimately creating the locomotive’s motion.
“This is all by the seat of your pants, and it takes a lot of nuance,” Dickens said in September 2024. “This is old-fashioned technology; it takes years of apprenticeship to understand and make it work successfully.”
Big Boy No. 4014 uses 7,000 horsepower. At 600 tons—or 1.2 million pounds—the steam engine weighs about as much as three traditional locomotives.
Celia Brocker is a government, crime, political and education reporter for the Ames Tribune. She can be reached at CBrocker@gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: World’s largest steam engine, Big Boy, returns to Boone. Find out when
Reporting by Celia Brocker, Ames Tribune / Ames Tribune
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
