Union Pacific’s Big Boy Locomotive Returns in 2021 With 10-State Tour; Stops in Kansas and Overnights in Kansas City, Missouri

Big Boy No. 4014, the famed Union Pacific steam locomotive built in the 1940s to conquer mountains while carrying equipment during World War II, is on a 10-state tour that includes seven stops in Kansas and two nights in Kansas City, Missouri. Big Boy will be in Kansas and Kansas City, Missouri, between Aug. 9-11.

On Monday, Aug 9, Big Boy will be making four whistle-stops in Kansas:

· 12 p.m. CDT – Onaga, Leonard Street Crossing

· 2 p.m. CDT – Topeka, Great Overland Station, 701 N. Kansas Ave.

· 3:30 p.m. CDT – Lawrence, 402 N. 2nd St.

· 5:15 p.m. CDT – Edwardsville, S. 4th St. Crossing

The locomotive will arrive at the Kansas City Union Station, 30 West Pershing Road, at about 7 p.m. CDT on Aug.9. It will be on public display all day Tuesday, Aug. 10 and will depart Kansas City at approximately 8 a.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 11.

On Wednesday, Aug. 11, Big Boy will make two additional whistle-stops in Kansas, before stopping for the night at Parsons, Kansas, at about 4 p.m. CDT:

· 11:15 a.m. CDT – Paola, West Peoria St.

· 1:45 p.m. CDT – Moran, N. Chestnut St. and E Randolph St.

Big Boy left its home base at the Union Pacific Steam Shop in Cheyenne, Wyoming, on Aug. 5 and will travel south across Oklahoma and Texas on the first leg of its tour, which ends Sept. 7 upon its return to Wyoming.

This is the first time Big Boy has gone on tour since its post-restoration debut in 2019 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the transcontinental railroad’s completion. It is returning in 2021 with brief whistle-stops in more than 90 communities and one-day public display events in five major cities: Fort Worth and Houston, Texas; New Orleans, Louisiana; St. Louis, Missouri; and Denver, Colorado.

Train enthusiasts of all ages will get a chance to hear, smell and see the train when it passes through their town. Depending on the schedule, Big Boy will be in town for about 45 minutes for each whistle stop. This will give participants plenty of time to see or talk to the steam team, as well as take a “selfie” with the world’s largest steam locomotive, one of 25 of its kind built and the only one operating today.

Fans can share their photos on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter and use the #BigBoy2021 hash tag for a chance to win a Big Boy T-shirt. Fifty winners will be selected throughout the tour. Union Pacific reminds all participants to be safe and stay 25 feet back from the tracks when taking a picture. (Big Boy is so big that putting a little distance between you and this mighty locomotive makes for a better photo.)

Big Boy No. 4014 was delivered to Union Pacific in December of 1941. This powerful machine was built to cross the Wasatch Mountain Range east of Ogden, Utah. It was retired in 1961 after traveling a little over a million miles, reacquired by Union Pacific in 2013 and restored to service in 2019.

A complete schedule of Big Boy’s 2021 multi-city tour, along with a map tracking its journey, can be found at http://upsteam.com.