PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The world’s largest operating steam locomotive, Union Pacific’s Big Boy No. 4014, is coming to Philadelphia on July Fourth as part of its first-ever coast-to-coast tour to celebrate America’s 250th anniversary.
“It was an iconic machine even when it was built in 1941,” said Union Pacific spokesperson Robynn Tysver. “At that point in time, it was called Union Pacific’s miracle.”
Big Boy stands at nearly 17 feet tall, weighs 1.2 million tons, and has 7,000 horsepower. It carries about 75,000 gallons of water.
“It operates on steam,” Tysver said. “It has a boiler. It boils the water to create the steam that runs the machine, and it also powers the steam whistle.”
The world’s largest operating steam locomotive, Union Pacific’s Big Boy No. 4014. Union Pacific
Big Boy started its coast-to-coast tour from Sacramento, California, on April 10. The journey features major display events in eight cities, including a stop in Philadelphia on July 4 and 5.
You won’t be able to board the locomotive, but you can view it from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Intrepid Avenue and League Island Boulevard at the Philadelphia Navy Yard.
The tour also features 50 whistle stops in 10 states, including stops for the first time in Indiana, Ohio, New York and Pennsylvania. It is the first time Big Boy has steamed across the Mississippi River and into the Ohio Valley since it was built in Schenectady, New York, in 1941, Union Pacific said.
The tour ends in Cheyenne, Wyoming, on July 29. You can track Big Boy’s journey in real time at up.com.
