CHEYENNE — Little Weston Gall of Colorado pumped a fist high to the sky as Big Boy 4014 pulled into the historic Union Pacific Cheyenne Depot.
It was a magic moment for Weston, perched high on his dad’s shoulder, as the big, black steam engine arrived in a giant puff of swirling steam and a thunderous chuffing sound.
“Big Boy is here!” a shrill voice could be heard shouting over all that sound.
It was Adam Shumacher, also from Colorado, adding as much full-bodied excitement as he possibly could muster to the scene.
Shumacher has been a train fanatic since the age of 2, his mother Lori Shumacher told Cowboy State Daily. So when she heard Big Boy was going to be in Cheyenne on Sunday to kick off its America 250 tour, she knew they had to be there, no matter what.
People came from all over for the occasion — Colorado, Montana, and even Denmark.
And many of those who were in Cheyenne for the send-off chased Big Boy on to Laramie as well.
They’re well aware this is a historic first for the world-famous steam locomotive, which will be making its first coast-to-coast tour. And they want to be part of that history.
Happy Birthday America
Big Boy’s summer tours are always one part engineering feat and one part nostalgia, but this year it’s also a 6,000-horse-power birthday card to America.
Union Pacific has organized the first coast-to-coast Big Boy tour as a salute to America’s 250th birthday.
Traveling with Big Boy are two historic locomotives, Lincoln Locomotive No. 1616 honoring Abraham Lincoln’s role in uniting the nation via rail, and the America250 Locomotive No. 1776, which carries large, flowing flag motifs on both sides.
One version has 13 stars representing the original colonies, while the other depicts the modern national flag.
“Union Pacific is honored to take part in the 250th anniversary of this great nation,” Union Pacific CEO Jim Vena said in a statement. “Each of these commemorative locomotives symbolizes important moments in the history of Union Pacific and the U.S.
"Our shared history shows the vital role railroads have played and will continue to play for generations to come.”
The first leg of Big Boy’s tour passes through several Wyoming towns, including Laramie, Medicine Bow, Rawlins, Wamsutter, Rock Springs, Green River and Evanston.
After that, there are stops in Salt Lake City as well as several towns in Nevada and California.
Big Boy will be on public display for two days in Roseville, California, before heading back to Wyoming by way of Ogden, Utah, where it will also be on public display for two days.
It arrives back in Cheyenne at 4 p.m. on Friday, April 24 for multi-day locomotive maintenance. The complete schedule is available at Union Pacific’s Steam Program.
The eastern leg of the tour will resume May 25, with public display days planned in Omaha, Nebraska; Chicago, Illinois; Buffalo, New York; Scranton, Pennsylvania; and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Additional display days are anticipated for Altoona, Pennsylvania, as well as St. Louis and Kansas City, both in Missouri.
People stood up on tables and tiptoes to film Big Boy's departure from Cheyenne on its America 250 tour. This year, Big Boy will make a coast-to-coast journey, returning to the East Coast for the first time in its history. (Renee Jean, Cowboy State Daily) 
Weston Gall, perched on his dad's shoulders, raise his hat as high as he can as Big Boy 4014 arrives in Cheyenne. Gall came up with his parents from Colorado, but he wasn't the one who traveled furthest. There was a couple from Denmark who specifically came to Cheyenne to see Big Boy off. (Renee Jean, Cowboy State Daily) 
Union Pacific Heritage Operations Manager Ed Dickens visits with people about Big Boy ahead of its departure from Cheyenne. (Renee Jean, Cowboy State Daily) 
A Union Pacific worker films a fellow worker affixing an American flag to Big Boy ahead of its departure from Cheyenne. (Renee Jean, Cowboy State Daily) 
Big Boy takes off with an American flag and a Wyoming flag affixed to its front for its America 250 tour. (Renee Jean, Cowboy State Daily)
Not About Bigger Is Better
Big Boy is one of 25 super locomotives built during World War II.
It’s a marvel of mid-century America, but it wasn’t just a “bigger is better” mentality. The company could foresee a time when it might be called upon to haul heavy equipment from the East Coast to the West Coast.
Standing between it and the West Coast, however, were the Wasatch Mountains. To conquer those, Union Pacific knew it needed a much, much bigger engine.
At 133 feet, Big Boy was designed to be as long as possible and still navigate the curves along the way. It was also as wide at 11 feet and as tall at 16 feet as the tunnels and bridges of the day would allow.
Big Boy weighs more than 1 million pounds when it’s fully loaded with fuel and water, and its power is a physical presence that arrives with its own wind and its own thundering sound.
Heat pours off the train as it comes in and, with eyes closed, it feels almost like standing inside a giant storm cloud.
It’s that sensation which draws thousands of spectators wherever the engine goes.
Carey Moose Hosterman wife Amy Ken Kafka and Ken Verhost. (Photo by Carey Moose Hosterman) 
A crowd gathered in Medicine Bow too to see Big Boy off on his America 250 tour. (Photo by Carey Moose Hosterman)
Going The Distance
It was worth a cross-country trip all the way from Denmark, Mariann and Martin Mickelson told Cowboy State Daily.
“The fascinating thing about steam trains specifically is that you can see all the moving parts,” Martin said. “On an electrical train, there’s nothing to see. It just drives along. But on a steam train, you can easily understand what it does.”
After Cheyenne, he and his wife planned to drive to Salt Lake City while taking in a few more train sites along the way, as well as taking in the landscape and nature.
“Hopefully, we’ll get some pictures of the stars,” Martin added. “Which should be very ideal here, because we are high and it's a dry atmosphere.”
Artist Carey Moose Hosterman, meanwhile, had to make special arrangements to catch Big Boy in Medicine Bow.
“It’s just an amazing machine,” he told Cowboy State Daily, explaining why he had to be there, helping to send Big Boy on tour. “Every time I get close to that thing, when it starts pulling up next to you, it just gives you kind of a knee jerk reaction going, ‘My God, this thing’s huge.’
"I mean the wheels and everything as it rolls up, it’s just amazing. I mean, how can you not like something like that?”
It’s more than a locomotive to Hosterman, who also sees a moving sculpture in all its working parts.
“It’s an architectural art piece just because of how everything goes together,” he said. “All the moving parts, the steam, and it takes a lot to get that thing going.
"Today’s locomotives are all covered up. You don’t see the engines or nothing. With Big Boy, you get the steam, the smoke, the black smoke, the whistles, everything. You have to love the sound of the Big Boy.”
Renée Jean can be reached at renee@cowboystatedaily.com.
