LOS ANGELES — Union Pacific’s quest to return one of its famous 4-8-8-4 Big Boy locomotives to steam began about two years ago and soon focused on No. 4014. That rebuild could take five years or more to complete, as Trains News Wire learned in a wide-ranging interview with UP’s steam chief. He says the […]
Railroad: Union Pacific
Union Pacific Big Boy: The rebirth of a legend NEWSWIRE

Union Pacific 4-8-8-4 Big Boy No. 4014 on display at the Los Angeles County Fairgrounds in Pomona, Calif., in December 2012. David Lustig Through the 1940s and 1950s, Union Pacific’s 25 4-8-8-4 Big Boys symbolized powerful, big-time railroading in the wide-open American West. Now, Union Pacific is bringing one of these legendary locomotives, No. 4014, […]
Union Pacific freight station drawings

Check out these plans for the Union Pacific Glendale freight depot from Model Railroader magazine. Union Pacific built this modern-looking freight station midway along the 1.25-mile Glendale Branch that once was part of the former Glendale & Montrose Ry. The post-World War II structure was built of brick with large windows for natural light, and […]
Big Boy story began in 1940

No. 4014 climbing Wyoming’s Sherman Hill, behind helper No. 4021, on June 25, 1949. R.H. Kindig When Union Pacific 4-8-8-4 Big Boy No. 4014 takes to the rails again following restoration by Union Pacific, admirers of the huge machine would do well to remember two names: Otto Jabelmann and William Jeffers. It was Jeffers who, […]
Athearn N scale Challenger and Big Boy with SoundTraxx DCC

Athearn N scale Challenger and Big Boy steam locomotives Back on N scale rails, the Athearn Genesis 4-6-6-4 Challenger and 4-8-8-4 Big Boy each feature a revised sound system that includes a SoundTraxx Digital Command Control (DCC) decoder with a new array of realistic sound effects. The models use the same tooling as the MRC-DCC-equipped […]
Union Pacific confirms plans to restore Big Boy steam locomotive NEWSWIRE

No. 4014 at Pomona David Lustig OMAHA, Neb. – Union Pacific confirms today it will purchase and restore a 4-8-8-4 Big Boy steam locomotive. The railroad has reached an agreement with the Southern California Chapter of the Railway & Locomotive Historical Society in Pomona, Calif., to transfer ownership of No. 4014 back to Union Pacific. The […]
Union Pacific No. 844, “Centennial” No. 6936 to pull Cheyenne special NEWSWIRE

Nos. 844 and 6936 pull a 2009 “Frontier Days” excursion near Speer, Wyo. Chip Sherman CHEYENNE, Wyo. – Union Pacific 4-8-4 No. 844 and “Centennial” DDA40X No. 6936 will pull a special train for the “Denver Post Cheyenne Frontier Days” and a fundraising special for the Cheyenne Depot Museum this month. No. 844 will lead […]
Flying high

Union Pacific SD70M No. 4312 leads a train across Redding Trestle in Redding, Calif., in June 2008. Some of the local wildlife seems to be following the train’s lead. Photo by John Roskoski […]
Rochelle, Ill.

Rochelle, Ill., is known as the Hub City for good reason. Main lines of both BNSF Railway and Union Pacific cross on the west side of town. Because of this, and the heavy rail traffic they bring, the city of Rochelle started the Rochelle Railroad Park in 1998. As many as 120 trains a day […]
BNSF, UP trains collide near Tehachapi Loop NEWSWIRE

Auto racks on a derailed BNSF train near Walong, Calif. Phil Cornyn BNSF and UP locomotives involved in a collision near Walong, Calif. Phil Cornyn Cars derailed in a collision near Walong, Calif. Phil Cornyn BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – Early this morning, a BNSF Railway train rear-ended a Union Pacific freight in Southern California, about 40 miles […]
Humping at North Platte

Union Pacific NW2 No. 1091, with extra ballast and low-speed gearing, shoves the last cars of a freight train up the hump. Behind the diesel is the new yard’s car-inspection station. Wallace W. Abbey photo […]
3D Track Plan: The HO scale Coloma Plan

Having trouble viewing this video? Please visit our Video FAQ page 3D Track Plans take designs found in the pages of Model Railroader magazine and explores them in depth. This episode looks at Perry Amicangelo’s design for his HO scale Coloma, Wisconsin 9 x 13 foot layout. […]