Union Pacific’s Big Boy 4014 train steams into northern Illinois next week

ROCHELLE, Ill. (WTVO) — Union Pacific’s Big Boy No. 4014, the world’s largest steam engine train, is set to return to northern Illinois this week, and here’s where you can see it.

The Big Boy 4014 is on a “ Heartland of America ” tour, running through 10 states to offer the public a chance to see the classic train up close.

It is one of 25 built in the 1940s, and the only one to remain in operation today. The train, built to “conquer mountains,” last visited Rochelle in 2019 and was viewed by thousands of onlookers.

In Rochelle , on Sunday, September 8th, the train will stop for a free public display from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. at Union Pacific’s Global III Terminal, at 2701 Intermodal Drive.

Admission is free and open to the public.

The train will also make “whistle stops” in Sterling , on Friday, September 6th, from 1:30 – 1:45 p.m. at 111 W. 2nd Street; Rochelle, on Monday, September 9th, from 8:45 a.m. – 9 a.m. at Rochelle Railroad Park, 124 N. 9th Street; Wateska , on Monday, September 9th, from 5 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. at North Street Crossing; and in Nokomis , on Tuesday, September 10th, from 12:15 p.m. to 12:45 p.m. at Maple Street Crossing.

The train will then make its way to Houston and Fort Worth, Texas.

The locomotive has 7,000 horsepower and stands 17 feet tall, 11-and-a-half feet wide, and is 135 feet long. The train weighs as much as 3 Diesel locomotives.

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