CHICAGO — Imagine if the two Class I railroad steam stars of this year — Canadian Pacific 4-6-4 No. 2816 and Union Pacific Big Boy 4-8-8-4 No. 4014 — showed up at the same place at the same time and shared the same stage.
It just might happen one day.
Union Pacific CEO Jim Vena on Wednesday told a shipper conference that he’d like to see both steam locomotives appear together.
UP’s Big Boy is currently scheduled for a swing from the steam shop in Cheyenne, Wyo., to Northern California beginning June 30. Also planned: A trip to Chicago and Texas on dates this fall that have yet to be announced.
The 2816, meanwhile, on April 24 embarked on its barnstorming trip across the Canadian Pacific Kansas City network from Calgary, Alberta, to Mexico City in celebration of the one-year anniversary of the CP-Kansas City Southern merger. It’s scheduled to be back in Canada for a June 30 appearance in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Vena emphasized the importance of the UP steam program in general and the Big Boy in particular.
“It’s a great emblem of who we are and the history of what we’ve done. So for us it’s important to connect with our communities, connect with our customers, and connect with our employees,” Vena says. “And we will use that steam engine, we’ll have it out over the railroad this year. And hopefully at some point we’ll have it at the same place as CPKC. I’d love to have both of them together.”
Vena spoke at the North American Rail Shippers annual conference.
Anyone have updates on the special’s progress across Wisconsin?
A meeting with MILW 261 should be a lot easier to arrange and would recognize the MILW role in the evolution of CPKC in the USA.
2816 will have to pass over Uncle Pete’s ROW between Beaumont and Rosenberg. Sending 4014 or 844 to pilot the train over this stretch would send a message as to who really has the sizzle and who has the steak.
Yes, because UP always thought BIG (and fast) in the days of steam while CP was happy to be smaller, always in the shadow of CN. Nowadays, UP is still BIG (and fast) while CPkc is still the smallest of the Class one’s, making promises to shippers they can’t keep and then blaming the competition when they are exposed. Then, like Ancora in reverse, they price services so low the competition must respond, which they have done, but not by dropping prices to match but by offering more direct routings in less time to Mexico that even CPkc can’t match. Oh well, like the yappy chihuahua that is always nipping at others heels, eventually Mr. Creel and his buddies will figure out that if you want to run with the Big Boys (no pun intended) then you have to invest in your plant like the big boys and quit depending on them to do it for you. CN, BNSF and UP all have their own North South and East West rails in the US… Maybe its time you figured that out as well. And while you are at it, why don’t you start painting your trains and loco’s and giving KC(S) some credit for all you are trying to accomplish.
Yea UP is big but only as fast as it wants to be. When they have to compete on speed to maintain or get customers they’ll do that. But if they DON’T have a competitor (in many markets they don’t) UP is about as fast as MOLASSES running up the tree in the middle of winter.