Chasing the UP 4014 'Big Boy' in Iowa and Texas (2019), and Nebraska (2021 and 2023)
Video From Nebraska, 2023
Sandra has again done the hard work, and put together a video from our various cameras in use on
11 June 2023, near Schuyler, Nebraska. As we have done in the past, we found a quiet
rural crossing not far from town, and set up our cameras. It was grey
and windy, but we got some good images.
We spent a day "chasing" the Union Pacific steam locomotive #4014,
as it pulled a small train across Iowa.
This engine was taken
out of service in the late 1950's and sat in Pomona, California
(my home town) for 50+ years. Recently, Union Pacific got
possession, hauled it back to Cheyenne, Wyoming, and
restored it to full operation.
Union Pacific ran this train through the MidWest during
July-August 2019, and we were fortunate to see it
in static display in Des Moines, and then along
the tracks as the locomotive sped by.
Awesome experience.
Our best vantages were rural crossings, where we could park
our vehicle, set up cameras, and wait for the train, all
without large crowds. When the train made scheduled
stops in towns, there were too many people around for
a clear capture. Some enterprising
photographers were taking pictures from highway bridges,
which looked interesting. However, you only get 30 or so
seconds to capture video and photos of the train
passing by.
The sound of the steam whistle is amazing, and we had goose
bumps ("chicken skin" they say in Hawai'i) just
from the sound. We've also added links to a video
of the pass-by of the train in Iowa.
About Our Texas Visit
The Big Boy made a run through Texas later in 2019. We
were fortunate to be in D'Hanis, Texas on November 4, 2019
for another pass-by. We'd been in this lovely small town
a few years back, and knew that there would be good viewing.
Even better, the schools had bussed the children over
to the old downtown area, and you can see them
waving American Flags, as the train rolled by.
We have added a video of the Texas pass, along with another
whistle sound file.
About Our Nebraska Visits
We found out about the August 2021 trips from the
UP steam website.
Fortunately, we were able to drive down to southern Nebraska
on Sunday 8 August 2021 from Sioux Falls, SD. We checked times and locations
using online maps, and found a rural crossing near Fairview,
Nebraska. Fortunately, there were very few other
photographers at that location, and we were able to set
up in time to catch a great pass-by.
While the 2019 train had special passenger cars, this train
(so far) contained only maintenance cars for the crew,
and several hopper cars with heavy rock gravel (for balast).
The good news was that there was a very nice UP caboose on
the end (with FRED). (Later videos online show that the
train was enhanced after our visit, to include special passenger cars.)
