Big Boy 4014 · 2026 firsts
What's different about 4014's 2026 tour?
Seven firsts that make this tour unlike any prior run — and several of them unlikely to ever happen again.
- 1
First-ever East Coast tour
4014 has never visited Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Ohio, or Indiana before. The whole eastern leg (May 25–Jul 29) is new territory for the locomotive.
- 2
First-ever Norfolk Southern host partnership
UP and NS formally co-publicized the eastern routing. East of approximately Chicago, 4014 runs on NS track — including former Conrail and Reading-heritage routes that no Big Boy has ever traveled.
- 3
First-ever Big Boy pairing in 85 years
On June 15–16, static 4012 at Steamtown National Historic Site (Scranton, PA) will be displayed alongside the operating 4014. The two haven't been together since ALCO Schenectady built them in the early 1940s.
Plan the Scranton stop → - 4
First-ever Horseshoe Curve transit
Per the Altoona Mirror: "An engine this size has never traveled on the Curve and it's doubtful it will again." 4014 will climb and descend the 1854-built helix on July 8.
Plan the Horseshoe Curve stop → - 5
First-ever Tunkhannock Viaduct crossing
Around 10 AM on June 13, 4014 will cross the 240-foot-tall, 2,375-foot-long Tunkhannock Creek Viaduct at Nicholson, PA — one of the most photographed concrete arch bridges in the country. No Big Boy has done it before.
- 6
America250 framing
The whole tour is themed around the United States' 250th anniversary. UP also debuted commemorative diesels 1616 (the 250th locomotive in its fleet) and 1776, which will appear alongside 4014 at major stops.
- 7
Coast-to-coast in one season
Western leg ran March 29 through May 24. Eastern leg runs May 25 through July 29. Prior 4014 tours have been single-region — this is the first season-long bicoastal program.
Full 2026 schedule with addresses + maps
96 confirmed stops · synced daily from up.com