Oct. 12—With the return of the world’s largest steam locomotive to McAlester on Sunday, Union Pacific officials want to remind everybody that safety is a top priority when it comes to viewing the Big Boy No. 4014.
Mike Jaixen, a spokesperson for Union Pacific, said visitors must stay at least 25 feet away from the train during its stop in McAlester and only interact with crew members if they’re not busy.
He also asks those who plan to set up along the tracks to observe the 25-foot rule as well.
Besides safety, Jaixen said people should observe this rule because the train is so big that close-up photos can’t quite capture it.
Jaixen said people who’ve never seen Big Boy before have never seen — or heard — anything like it. He said the steam that powers the engine also fires off the whistle, which has an “enjoyable musical sound” unlike train horns heard every day.
Big Boy No. 4014 left Cheyenne, Wyoming on Aug. 28 and will make stops in communities across Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Kansas, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas and Wyoming as part of “The Heartland of America Tour.”
One of those stops will be an overnight stay in McAlester near the intersection of North Main Street and East Krebs Avenue on Oct. 13 at 4 p.m. before leaving Oct. 14 at 9 a.m.
Jaixen said the stops are important to keep the train running.
“Back in the day of the steam … if something went wrong, we’d pull it off and put another steam locomotive on,” Jaixen said. “We don’t have another operating Big Boy, and if it breaks down, then everybody down the line is going to be disappointed.”
Plans call for shops in the Old Town District to be open on Sunday from Noon to 7 p.m. with food trucks and other vendors also setting up shop in the area.
The McAlester stop will be a “viewing only” stop, which is a location where people can view the Big Boy only, with no tours.
Weighing in at 1.2 million pounds, the Big Boy, built in 1941, is the largest, heaviest, and most powerful operational steam locomotive in the world, according to Union Pacific. The Big Boy stands 17 feet tall and is 133 feet long — 99 feet less than a Boeing 747.
Twenty-five Big Boys were built exclusively for Union Pacific to haul freight during the war efforts. Only eight remain today, with the other seven held in static displays in museums at Cheyenne, Wyoming; Denver, Colorado; Frisco, Texas; Green Bay, Wisconsin; Omaha, Nebraska; Scranton, Pennsylvania; and St. Louis, Missouri.
According to Union Pacific, No. 4014 was retired in December 1961, traveling a total of 1,031,205 miles in its 20 years in service.
Union Pacific reacquired No. 4014 in 2013 from the RailGiants Train Museum in Pomona, California after the train spent 52 years at the museum. The company spent the next six-years restoring the train to operational condition prior to the 150th anniversary of the Transcontinental Railroad.
“This is not your typical train,” Jaixen said. “This is a reach back to what railroading was like 70, 80, and 100 years ago. It’s almost like a rolling history thing.”
Jaixen said Union Pacific hasn’t made any plans for tours beyond 2024, but there also are no plans to stop touring with Big Boy.
A map showing No. 4014’s location and route is available online at www.upsteam.com.
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