HOUSTON — Union Pacific’s historic Big Boy No. 4014 steam locomotive is making its way to College Station.
Watch the video of its departure above or on YouTube right here.
The train arrived in Houston late Wednesday and was on display near downtown on Thursday. Air 11 was overhead as Big Boy left town, passing by the famous "Be Someone" bridge Friday morning.
Twenty-five Big Boy locomotives were built for Union Pacific in 1941. They were made to handle steep terrain between Cheyenne, Wy. And Ogden, Utah.
Today, No. 4014 is the only operating Big Boy of the eight still in existence. It is also the only one Union Pacific still owns.
After a restoration project that took more than 2 years, No. 4014 took an upper Midwest tour and a trip to Ogden to celebrate Union Pacific’s 150th anniversary. During that stop, the Big Boy and historic steam locomotive Living legend No. 844 met nose-to-nose to create the image taken May 10, 1869, when the last spike was put into place at Promontory Summit. That moment marked the creation of America’s first transcontinental railroad.
No. 4014’s map and tour schedule can be found here.
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