Union Pacific’s Big Boy Plans Ohio Whistle Stops

Union Pacific’s Big Boy is scheduled to pass through Northeast Ohio as part of a coast-to-coast journey marking America’s 250th birthday.

During the tour, Big Boy No. 4014 will make two whistle stops in the region on Monday. The locomotive is one of only 25 Big Boy engines ever constructed⁠, and it remains the only one still in operation.

Big Boy No. 4014 on the America 250 tour

The engine’s scale matches its name. Big Boy measures 133 feet in length and weighs 1.2 million pounds.

The coast-to-coast tour⁠ began in April in Sacramento, California, and is set to arrive in Philadelphia on July 4, the date of America’s birthday.

Speaking while traveling aboard Big Boy, Maureen Halbur, Union Pacific’s General Director of Executive Services, said the locomotive has not been in Ohio for more than 80 years. She said she hopes the visit gives people a shared moment around the train, whether they attend a whistle stop or watch it pass.

“You’ll see families come out, and it’s all types of individuals, right?” she said. “You will find various people standing next to each other and having conversations about the historical value of this, or they knew somebody who was in the transportation business. You see grandpas talking to their grandkids about it.”

Union Pacific’s Big Boy stops in Northeast Ohio

The Monday whistle stops in Northeast Ohio will give visitors about 15 to 30 minutes to view the locomotive up close.

Union Pacific lists the first stop for around 11:15 a.m. in Lorain⁠, near West 11th Street and Reid Avenue. The second stop is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. in Euclid, near the Chardon Road crossing north of Euclid Avenue.

Those who do not see Big Boy during this part of the tour will have another opportunity after the locomotive returns from the America 250 celebration in Philadelphia.

A further whistle stop is planned in Rocky River on Monday, July 13.