Big Boy 4014 draws crowds to Lawrence despite rain
Rain didn’t keep Big Boy 4014 from packing North Lawrence with cameras, whistles and steampunk hats as the giant locomotive rolled past the Union Pacific depot.
Rain did not keep Big Boy No. 4014 from drawing a crowd in North Lawrence on Thursday, when the world’s largest operating steam locomotive rolled past the Union Pacific depot and turned a gray morning into a local spectacle. Train enthusiasts, families and curious onlookers gathered with whistles, cameras and steampunk hats to catch a glimpse of the engine as it moved through Lawrence without stopping.
The attraction was obvious. Union Pacific says No. 4014 is the largest operating steam locomotive in the world, and the only operating Big Boy among the eight that remain in existence. Built in 1941, the locomotive stretches 85 feet and weighs 380 tons, figures that help explain why even steady rain could not clear the sidewalks and rail edges around North Lawrence.
The engine’s comeback only adds to the draw. A 7idea Productions program said No. 4014 returned to mainline service in May 2019 after a 58-year retirement and a three-year restoration project, completed in time for the 150th anniversary of the driving of the Golden Spike at Promontory, Utah. That history gives each pass through the region the feel of a moving exhibit, not just a train moving through town.
Lawrence had been expecting the visit for months. In April, The Lawrence Times reported that Big Boy No. 4014 was set to pass through the Union Pacific depot in North Lawrence in July as part of a partnership with Norfolk Southern. The North Lawrence Improvement Association said the locomotive would move through North Lawrence and the depot on its way from Kansas City Union Station to Topeka’s Great Overland Station, and would not stop for viewing in Lawrence. A later reminder said the viewing window was expected to run from 9 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. July 23.
Even without a formal stop, the pass through town put people on the move and gave nearby businesses, restaurants and attractions a rare burst of visibility. For a few rain-soaked minutes, Lawrence became a place where a legendary piece of rail history, followed by cameras and crowded sidewalks, could still stop traffic without ever stopping at all.
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