Steam locomotive 'Big Boy' will chug toward Roseville again

Big Boy is going on tour again in 2026. Union Pacific Railroad announced the 4-8-8-4 Steam Locomotive No. 4014 will begin celebrating 250 years of American independence and innovation in March, headed for a return to Roseville. The first leg of the Big Boy tour starts Sunday, March 29, with the locomotive departing Cheyenne, Wyoming, pulling several historical passenger cars from Union Pacific's Heritage Fleet, according to traintrips.biz. The train is due to arrive in Roseville on April 8 and is scheduled to stay until April 13, when it departs for Ogden, Utah. Major public display days are scheduled for Friday and Saturday, April 10-11, in Roseville and Sunday, April 19, in Ogden, according to traintrips.biz. Big Boy should pull into Cheyenne on Friday, April 24. Passenger excursions will not be offered on the first leg of the tour, traintrips.biz said. Union Pacific said a daily schedule with station stops and a route map will be released closer to the tour's launch. Once the full schedule is known, Trains and Travel International will offer a number of options to follow Big Boy between Cheyenne and points west into California and return to Wyoming for the purpose of trackside photography, according to traintrips.biz. An eastern tour leg is expected in late spring, which will see the train running on Norfolk Southern Railroad lines. Big Boy No. 4014, the world's largest operating steam locomotive, will be joined by two commemorative locomotives, including Union Pacific's newest, No. 1776 – America 250, which pays tribute to the signing of the Declaration of Independence and founding of the nation, according to traintrips.biz. People flew from as far away as Australia, Germany and the Netherlands to Roseville in July 2024 to see Big Boy in person, Union Pacific Spokesperson Robynn Tysver told Gold Mountain California News Media at the time. Eight Big Boys remain today from the 25 built especially for Union Pacific in the 1940s. The others were retired as Union Pacific looked for machines that could carry cargo more efficiently and with more power over the Wasatch Mountain Range in Utah. Seven of the remaining eight are on display in museums across the United States. Traintrips.biz says on its website it again plans to offer several options for rail fan photographers to follow the train tour once UP releases the itinerary for the 2026 tour. Visit https://www.traintrips.biz/1-union-pacific-big-boy-steam-locomotive.php for more information.