Steam & Excursion > 4014 Big Boy backed into Denver Union Station

Union  Pacific 4014, Big Boy, successfully backed into Denver Union Station using BNSF's Prospect Junction to Buck Main to Denver Union Station routing Friday, 29 July 2022, Denver, Colorado.

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UP 4014 backed into Denver Union Station, Denver, Colorado, 29 July 2022.

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I understand this is a controversial opinion, but the whistle sounds good to me…b



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/29/22 17:15 by doge_of_pocopson.

Yah well I was having a problem with all the hoopla about the headlight as well, geez.

Out 

How interesting that the Big Boy was allowed into Union Station, yet for reasons I don't remember, the Challenger wasn't.  For those excursions, the remaining Centennial powered the train from Denver to Speer where the Challenger took over. Looking back, it was a nice combination of locomotives that are no longer on the UP roster.  I'm looking forward to when both locomotives are restored and trips will once again be able to operate with either or both locomotives.

agent1522 Wrote:
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> How interesting that the Big Boy was allowed into
> Union Station, yet for reasons I don't remember,
> the Challenger wasn't.  For those excursions, the
> remaining Centennial powered the train from Denver
> to Speer where the Challenger took over. Looking
> back, it was a nice combination of locomotives
> that are no longer on the UP roster.  I'm looking
> forward to when both locomotives are restored and
> trips will once again be able to operate with
> either or both locomotives.

The Challenger wasn't operated south of Speer to Denver in excursion service when it was still a coal burner due to fire danger from hot cinders.  

JB



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/30/22 10:22 by Copy19.

It seems the 4014 train was turned thursday in east Denver, backed into station in S Denver, displayed for a day, then quietly moved to the yard in W Denver, then Saturday moved north and west by a junction, then backed across industrial N denver to the Y in E denver, turning, to head north to Greeley? 
But where did passengers board? Thanks UP, Ed, and steam team. And thanks to Ed for 844 care and working to get 3985 toward restoration.

Spikes: On Thursday the train was wyed at 36th Street and headed over to Utah Junction via the Beltline. It went west on the Moffat Tunnel Sub about a mile, then backed into a track at Utah Jct and tied up for the night. Early Friday, it backed into Track 5 at Denver Union Station. Today, Saturday, it left DUS, went back out to Utah Jct, backed across the Beltline to the Greeley Sub, and headed north.

Joe McMillan 

Passengers boarded at Union Station Saturday morning.

Joe McMillan

agent1522 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> How interesting that the Big Boy was allowed into
> Union Station, yet for reasons I don't remember,
> the Challenger wasn't.  For those excursions, the
> remaining Centennial powered the train from Denver
> to Speer where the Challenger took over. Looking
> back, it was a nice combination of locomotives
> that are no longer on the UP roster.  I'm looking
> forward to when both locomotives are restored and
> trips will once again be able to operate with
> either or both locomotives.

As was already said, the Challenger was kept away from Denver in the 1980s due to being a coal burner at the time - the engine ended up starting a lot of grass fires on a trip to Utah in '82 that led UP to confine the engine to Wyoming. After the engine was converted to burn oil in 1990, it made several trips out of Denver, including the annual Frontier Days Special.

And thanks to Lantz Fritz, CEO of UP.  Without him, this couldn't have happened.