Iconic ‘Big Boy’ Draws Big Crowd

  • After a 30-minute stop in Gothenburg on May 28, Union Pacific’s Big Boy steam locomotive fired back up, blew it’s iconic whistle, and began making its way east. The train is currently on a celebrate America’s 250th tour across the country. (Leader photo by Ellen Mortensen)
    After a 30-minute stop in Gothenburg on May 28, Union Pacific’s Big Boy steam locomotive fired back up, blew it’s iconic whistle, and began making its way east. The train is currently on a celebrate America’s 250th tour across the country. (Leader photo by Ellen Mortensen)

    A living legend passed through Gothenburg last week, stopping for a photo opportunity and for locals to get a sense of the enormity of an 80-year-old workhorse of a train engine, arriving at the crossing at Highway 30 and Lake Avenue at about 10:30 a.m. on May 28 with its iconic whistle.

    Big Boy #4014 is one of only eight steam locomotives known as “Big Boys” existing in the world today, and the only one that is still in operation. Originally, 25 Big Boys were commissioned by the Union Pacific Railroad and served solely for UP during the years of 1941-1961 to help haul heavy loads over the treacherous, hilly passes from Ogden, Utah to Cheyenne, Wyoming.

    At 133 feet, they are nearly twice as long as a modern locomotive, which measures 74 feet. Originally, they ran by coal power, and carried u…