EVANSTON, Wyo. — Union Pacific Big Boy No. 4014 is four days into its “Westward Bound” tour, preparing for a Fourth of July move from Evanston to Salt Lake City after travel from Cheyenne, Wyo., to Evanston in three days of travel, with an off-day Tuesday in Rock Springs, Wyo., for an employee event.
The first two days, between Cheyenne and Rock Springs, with a layover in Rawlins, were notable as the first time since its restoration — other than a recent test run out of Cheyenne — that the 4-8-8-4 has operated unassisted by diesels. A diesel was added today to assist in switching moves, as were needed this afternoon in Evanston, and to provide dynamic braking on Thursday’s trip through Utah’s Echo Canyon.
Atypically, the Big Boy is hauling freight cars (though it probably technically qualifies as a mixed train because of the passenger cars that are part of its support equipment). This is because the UP passenger fleet is in use elsewhere. The train’s length has been determined in large part by the length of the tracks where it will lay over during its trip.
Today’s schedule includes a 30-minute “whistle stop” in Morgan, Utah, scheduled for 11:30 a.m. to noon at the depot in Morgan, 98 Commercial St. The Big Boy is slated to arrive in Salt Lake City at the city’s Central Station at 2:55 p.m., departing at 4:30 p.m. As always with these trips, schedules are subject to change. Online tracking is available here, and the full schedule for the trip to Roseville, Calif., is available here.
They’ve already made one change…the original plan only had the diesel running in the California portion of the trip, so adding it for Echo Canyon is a adjustment.