A historic locomotive known as Big Boy No. 4014 will tour 10 states, including Arkansas, Union Pacific has announced.
The train will be in Arkansas for 10 mostly short whistle stops between Texarkana in the southwest part of the state and Walnut Ridge in the northeast for a three-day period Aug. 25-27. This is the first tour since the locomotive was restored for 2019's "Great Race" tours celebrating the 150th anniversary of the transcontinental railroad's completion, according to Union Pacific.
Union Pacific built 25 "Big Boys" during the Great Depression. The locomotives were 132 feet long and weighed 1.2 million pounds, according to Union Pacific.
The frames were "hinged," or articulated, to allow them to negotiate curves. They had a special wheel arrangement: four wheels on the leading set of "pilot" wheels, which guided the engine; eight drivers; another set of eight drivers; and four wheels that supported the rear of the locomotive, according to Union Pacific.
In December 1961, Union Pacific retired the train. It had traveled 1,031,205 miles in 20 years.
Union Pacific reacquired No. 4014 from the RailGiants Museum in Pomona, Calif., in 2013 and restored it. Since 2019, the train has gone on tour, allowing the public to view it.
For its summer tour, Big Boy No. 4014 will travel through Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Illinois, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas and Wyoming, departing Cheyenne on Thursday.
Six cities -- Fort Worth on Aug. 14, Houston on Aug. 17, New Orleans on Aug. 21, St. Louis on Aug. 29 and Denver on Sept. 6 -- will be "display day" sites.
Display days include access to the "Experience the Union Pacific Rail Car," according to Union Pacific. Special edition souvenirs will be sold. Admission is free. Parking in surrounding parking lots or garages may involve a charge.
Here is the Arkansas schedule:
Aug. 25
• Texarkana, 100 E. Front St., arrival at 1:15 p.m. and departure at 1:45 p.m.
• Hope, 100 E. Division St., arrival at 3 p.m. and departure at 3:15 p.m.
• Prescott, 401 W. 1st St., arrival at 4 p.m.
Aug. 26
• Prescott, 401 W. 1st St., departure at 8 a.m.
• Gurdon, Main Street Crossing, arrival at 8:45 a.m. and departure at 9:15 a.m.
• Arkadelphia, Walnut Street Crossing, arrival at 9:45 a.m. and departure at 10:30 a.m.
• Malvern, 200 E. First St., arrival at 11:15 a.m. and departure at 11:45 a.m.
• North Little Rock, 1000 West 4th St., arrival at 1:30 p.m.
Aug. 27
• North Little Rock, 1000 West 4th St., depart at 8 a.m.
• Bald Knob, Hickory Street Crossing, arrival at 10:30 a.m. and departure at 11:15 a.m.
• Tuckerman, Main Street Crossing, arrival at 12:30 p.m. and departure at 12:45 p.m.
• Walnut Ridge, 109 Southwest Front St., arrival at 1:45 p.m. and departure at 2:30 p.m.
The schedule may change. Information is available at https://www.up.com/heritage/steam/schedule/index.htm.