Union Pacific’s Big Boy is hitting the tracks. See when it comes to Kansas City
The world’s largest operating steam locomotive is hitting the tracks to celebrate America’s 250th anniversary, and its tour will make its way through the Kansas City area.
Union Pacific’s Big Boy No. 4014, coming in at 133 feet long and weighing 1.2 million pounds, is taking a journey to the East Coast for the first time ever. On its way back to its home in Cheyenne, Wyoming, it’ll stop in Kansas City.
You can see the train for free at Union Station, 30 W. Pershing Road, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, July 22. The train departs from Kansas City at 9 a.m. Thursday, July 23. After that, it’ll make stops in Topeka, Salina and Hays, Kansas.
The locomotive was put into service in 1941 and was built to haul heavy equipment to support World War II efforts, usually operating between Ogden, Utah, and Cheyenne. The train was retired in 1961 after traveling 1,031,205 miles, and returned to the tracks in 2019 to celebrate the 150th Anniversary of the Transcontinental Railroad’s Completion.
The tour begins Monday, May 25, in Cheyenne, and it features Fourth of July celebration in Philadelphia, display events in eight cities, and more than 50 whistle-stops in 10 states.
One of the display events takes place Sunday, July 19, in St. Louis, and it’s from there that Big Boy travels through Missouri and Kansas. The train will make quick stops in cities like Hermann, Jefferson City and California before it gets to Kansas City.
This is the only Big Boy still on the tracks. The seven other trains are on display in:
- Cheyenne
- Dallas
- Denver
- Green Bay, Wisconsin
- Omaha, Nebraska
- Scranton, Pennsylvania
- St. Louis
Followers can track Big Boy’s location online. Union Pacific says that if you are going to see the train at any of the public stops, you should stay back at least 25 feet from all railroad tracks.
Big Boy was last in Kansas City in October 2024.
