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Friday, September 27, 2019

Celebrating the 150th Anniversary of the Transcontinental Railroad’s Completion




Train enthusiasts gather to see the world's largest steam engine. Union Pacific’s historic Big Boy steam locomotive No. 4014 is touring the Union Pacific system throughout 2019 to commemorate the transcontinental railroad's 150th anniversary.

The Big Boy’s return to the rails is the product of more than two years of meticulous restoration work by the Union Pacific Steam Team. No. 4014 is the world's only operating Big Boy locomotive.



Union Pacific 4014 engineer Ed Dickens During an Open House
For the final time this year, the Big Boy No. 4014 will ride the rails on the Union Pacific system, taking it through "The Great Race Across the Southwest".

Union Pacific steam locomotive specialist and Union Pacific 4014 engineer Ed Dickens describes the effort required to maintain Big Boy 4014 in running order.

Ed also confirmed that they intend to run 4014 through Colorado on the Moffat Line next year, traversing some of the most amazing scenery in the US as it winds its way through the Colorado Rocky Mountains.

If you thought running to Utah was special, wait until the world's photos travel to Colorado to catch 4014 navigating the 31 tunnels between Plainview and Winter park, including the 6.2 mile long Moffat Tunnel.

The canyon and river shots will be incredible as the Big Boy runs past the various Colorado cities such as Kremmling, Glenwood Springs, Granby and Frasier on its way over the Continental Divide.

It will certainly be a special run.




Mr. Dickens' job has to be one of the dream jobs of railroaders world-wide, shown in the image above using the AmpliVox S602M Mity-Meg Rechargeable Megaphone during an open house of their steam facility.


The 602M Mity-Meg is ideal for crowd control, announcements in noisy environments or emergency services.

It's power lets you reach even far away audiences, use Mity-Meg not only to talk, but sound emergency signals.

Mity-Meg Plus powered by either conventional batteries or rechargeable lithium-ion batteries that can be reused hundreds of times.

A battery strength indicator shows you when it is time to recharge or replace the batteries.