Restored Union Pacific ‘Big Boy’ locomotive travels through the area

Big Boy No. 4014 traveled through Julesburg mid-day on Sunday, July 2. The 132-foot-long locomotive weighs in at 1.2 million pounds. It was delivered to Union Pacific in December 1941 to begin its 20 years of service. The locomotive was retired in December 1961, having traveled 1,031,205 miles. Union Pacific reacquired No. 4014 from the RailGiants Museum in Pomona, California, in 2013 and relocated it back to Cheyenne, Wyoming, to begin a multiyear restoration process. It returned to service in May 2019 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Transcontinental Railroad’s completion. The steam engine was returning to Cheyenne from the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska, on Sunday.