![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/img_up_steam_2024_heart_map_m-300x225.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Total change of track today – y’know, when much of what you write about is dickheads, losers, and\u00a0 liars, you start to think everyone is a The Big Boys were the biggest steam locomotives ever built, weighing in at a svelte 1,200,000 pounds each. The Union Pacific built 45 of them in the early ’40s and kept them in service until 1964. How big, you say? Their drive wheels had to be split onto two separate trucks to be able to negotiate standard curves, so they are 4-8-8-4 configured – four wheels on the leading truck, two 8-wheel driving wheels, and a four wheel firebox truck (all per Wiki, I am not a train wonk but love any big complex machinery that works.)Wiki <\/a><\/p>\n Back in 2014 the UP decided to restore number 4014 and it annually does a tour so people can see a big (132 feet long!) piece of our history. Well, this year’s fall schedule has been announced and for once the heartland, the REAL Americans, the folks in flyover country, get the lovin’.<\/p>\n Big Boy No. 4014 will depart on the “Heartland of America Tour” on Wednesday, Aug. 28 from Cheyenne, Wyoming, and travel across nine additional states: Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas. The eight-week tour concludes in late October. No. 4014 will be on display in the following locations:<\/p>\n These are the only stops with access to #4014 – but she STOPS for public viewing at a boatload of other places.<\/p>\n Me, I’m stoked ‘cuz one of her stops is about 5 miles from the casa. Our town has one of those live RR cams that you can tune into to watch the trains (I suspect many, if not most, of the stops were chosen for that reason to maximise publicity.)<\/p>\n Now there’s the National Transportation Museum west\u00a0 of St. Louis at which you could climb all over the engines, stand in the cab, envision the great plains going by, feel the throttles and outrun those pesky outlaws! (in your mind of course) but for a kid, that was an all time high. I just pulled up their web site and amazingly enough they are still open (an uncomfortable number of years later) and you can actually still climb on some of the engines! I’m shocked that the lawers haven’t sued THAT bit of fun to oblivion. Bucket list item for sure, now. Sadly, that’s a long way from here…but 5 miles – that I can do. And intend to when #4014 chugs into town.<\/p>\n I know in the past there have been some train junkies who hung out around here, but I haven’t seen many comments lately from some of them. Hopefully (as seems to happen too often lately) they haven’t run off to that Big Roundhouse in the Sky on us. I’m hoping a few of you live in the right areas, still have those dreams, and just might maybe have the time and ability to go see a living piece of our past, running on rails as she ought to be. Her schedule is here.<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" running politician<\/del> jerk. So today we go for smiles, for at least a few of you DDWs.<\/p>\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/th-641241353-300x175.jpg\")
<\/p>\n