On Monday, UP No. 4014 and 4-8-4 No. 844 continued their homeward journey with a 112-mile sprint from Evanston, Wyo., to Rock Springs, Wyo., where the train and crew will stay for two days.
The trip to Rock Springs, at times at a leisurely pace across the Evanston and Rawlings subdivisions, featured a slightly longer train than No. 4014 had last week — 12 cars, including the “Experience the Union Pacific” exhibit car. Despite the few extra cars, the Big Boy hardly broke a sweat for much of the run. One of the highlights though was the climb up Peru Hill west of Green River. The train arrived in Rock Springs over an hour late after making a longer-than-expected stop at Granger.
While traffic on nearby Interstate 80 was nothing compared to that on Sunday — when No. 4014 made a spectacular run through Weber and Echo canyons — dozens of chasers followed the Big Boy east. Despite it being a Monday, the locomotive still attracted crowds in Granger, Green River, and Rock Springs.
No. 4014 and No. 844 will be on display Tuesday and Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 501 North Front Street in Rock Springs. The train will continue east on Thursday to Rawlins and Friday to Laramie. The train will stay in Laramie for a day before making a triumphant return to Cheyenne on Sunday.
How does one sprint at a leisurely pace?
Looks like the correspondent could use a couple of days rest also.
You mean continue on east, right? Back towards Cheyenne.
A few comments…first, Peru Hill is west of Green River, not to its east.
Next, I used to be Assistant Roadmaster in Green River, and my wife worked as an engineer filling underground coal mines with sand to stabilize them in the Rock Springs area. She used to eat lunch in the park near the UP station, and would come home most days complaining that the UP hog train was on-time for its noon trip through town. Nice little park there.
Not many trees in Rock Springs, so long views are available. This was a coal mining town and most locals aren’t into vegetation. In Green River, my yard was colored stone with no grass.
I used to go 4-wheeling in the old mining camps north of town along the line up to Atlantic City. Lots of interesting rail to explore in the Green River-Rock Springs area, so enjoy.