#2259 Big Boy 4014

Sometimes random and interesting things happen near my office. What might seem kinda dumb turns out to be pretty cool. That's what happened on Tuesday.

2019 marks the 150th anniversary of the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad. You may or may not know that the crews from the Central Pacific and Union Pacifc that built the railroad met and finished near Promontory, Utah, where a golden spike was driven into the railroad to commemorate the completion of the tracks.

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The Union Pacific Railroad is celebrating the grand event this year. One of the ways they are doing so is by showing off a big ol' steam engine from the 1940s. The engine made a stop at the railroad tracks right across the street from my office on Tuesday.

The Big Boy 4014 steam engine rolled in around 1:30 in the afternoon. For about an hour before it's arrival, cars started parking on the street and near the tracks. I was surprised at how many people turned out to see the train. Because I suffer from FOMO (fear of missing out), I decided I'd go check it out also.

The rumble of the train and the sound of the whistle was a little thrilling, to be honest. The thing was huge!

I'd like to point out that those wheels are as tall as I am. It was massive.

It was parked there for about 45 minutes, and I was out there staring at it for all 45 minutes, along with lots of other people.

I don't know how many people there were, but I'd say hundreds of people of all ages. I couldn't help but think that my dad would have totally loved it. He'd probably know all about the history of the engine and what it was for, so I had to look it up for myself. Here's what I found out: 25 Big Boy steam engines were built in the 1930s and delivered to the UP in the 1940s. They were used to pull big loads over the Wasatch Mountains here in Utah.

Click here to read a little blurb from the UP. I especially like the size comparison of the engine to a 747 jet. Click here to read a longer article from Popular Mechanics magazine that is more about the restoration of the engine or at least look at the pics. Or if you prefer, you can here click to read a quick story and watch a short video from CNN, although it is not about the engine's stop in Salt Lake City.

I really can't say precisely what made me stay out there for 45 minutes. All I know is that I absolutely couldn't pull myself away. We couldn't climb on the train or get closer to it than 25 feet. I was fascinated by the activity around the engine while it was parked there. I saw a couple of men doing something to the wheels. I would say they were greasing the wheels (!) but I don't know for sure.

Finally, the engineer climbed up into the driver's seat (I guess) and started the process of getting that ginormous engine running.

If you watch the video from CNN, this is the guy they talked to!

The amount of steam and noise that came out of the engine as it roared to life was exceptional. Everyone was covering their ears as the steam poured out of the wheel area as it fired up. I have a really cool video of it that I proudly showed to MT that night. I don't know how to post it here though. Sorry. Just believe me when I say that it was awesome!

Then, promptly at 2:15, the train pulled away, chugging down the track to it's next destination in Provo. I felt kind of sad when it left.

I know it sounds geeky and I certainly didn't expect to be as enchanted by it as I was, but I really loved seeing that steam engine.