Steam & Excursion > Big Boy East Coast Tour Schedule Released

UP 4014's East Coast Tour schedule has been released.

Some important notes include that out of Chicago it'll take the former NKP via Fort Wayne and Bellevue both ways, have an extended stay in Steamtown for Maintenance, running via the RBMN eastbound and via Lebanon, PA towards Enola westbound, and getting back on the UP in the Chicago area towards St. Louis.

https://www.up.com/about-us/history/steam/schedule

Going to be an event to remember!

I plan to chase from Sayre to Scranton.   Looking at one or two photo locations per day.   Its going to be crowded

Judging by the date, June 4th, they will probably be coming through Proviso Yard, then onto the IHB and around to the former NKP Calumet Yard. Might be worth going to the park on 47th Street, in LaGrange, and watch 4014 going around the sharp curve at East Ave. & 47th Street.

Can someone make/post a map of the journey? 

Fascinating itinerary east of Chicago!

I never would have guessed that 4014 would visit the old Lehigh at Sayre to lay up overnight. On departure, Train will have the backup a couple of miles to Waverly to then head east on the Erie to Owego/Binghamton etc. 

Question re: the Philly stop for July 4th: Will 4014 use the Pennsy High Line to get to the viewing area or CSX from Columbia Bridge?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/28/26 10:56 by JPB.

PacificElectric1961 Wrote:
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> Can someone make/post a map of the journey? 



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 04/28/26 12:00 by cblaz.

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Gee, I can't imagine why UP isn't  using ANY tracks and time on ANY CSX / FORMER CSX routes. 

Thanks!

What's the routing from South Holland to Bloomington IL on the return trip?

JPB Wrote:
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> Fascinating itinerary east of Chicago!
>
> I never would have guessed that 4014 would visit
> the old Lehigh at Sayre to lay up overnight. On
> departure, Train will have the backup a couple of
> miles to Waverly to then head east on the Erie to
> Owego/Binghamton etc. 
>
> Question re: the Philly stop for July 4th: Will
> 4014 use the Pennsy High Line to get to the
> viewing area or CSX from Columbia Bridge?


According to a trusted source, via the CSX "Art Museum" Tunnel

Posted from Android

Weird to me that they don't have any public stops in logical places like Fort Wayne. It is going through in both directions but "NO PUBLIC ACCESS" ... not that there won't be plenty of places to see it come through.

I just want to catch her climbing Attica Hill eastbound . However, I would appreciate any tips on doing so since I live in Rochester.

kurt765 Wrote:
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> Weird to me that they don't have any public stops in logical places like Fort Wayne. It is going
> through in both directions but "NO PUBLIC ACCESS" ... not that there won't be plenty of
> places to see it come through.

30 minutes in Argos in June, 30 minutes in Knox in July. That should identify the tracks they will be on.
NKP line.

mwarfel Wrote:
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> What's the routing from South Holland to
> Bloomington IL on the return trip?
IHB to Argo (CP Canal) and south on CNIC to Joliet (Jackson St) where UP ownership begins and south to Bloomington.  Dan Tracy

gandydancer4 Wrote:
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> Gee, I can't imagine why UP isn't  using ANY
> tracks and time on ANY CSX / FORMER CSX routes. 

Actually, I think they are doing the Philadelphia display at the west end of CSX ex-PRR Greenwich Yard, which may be joint with NS, or to which NS has some rights. But maps list it as a CSX facility. The display location is listed as Intrepid Ave. & League Island Blvd. in South Philadelphia, near the sports stadiums (and all of their parking) and the Philadelphia Navy Yard site. Right near South Broad St. and I-95. 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM, Saturday July 4 and Sunday July 5.

A previous post of some Greenwich Yard photos and info. Looks like the west end of the yard, near the display location. Link: https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?2,2875224

The photos in that post show both NS and CSX trains. Maybe it's a shared or joint facility, or NS has rights of some kind. But all maps I can find list it as a CSX yard.

About as central a location as you could ask for with plenty of parking and access. But it will be very busy in the area.. The football stadium (Lincoln Financial Field) is scheduled to be used for a World Cup soccer match on July 4.  But the arena where the Flyers and 76ers play will be dark (unless there's a special event planned), and the Phillies are out of town playing the Royals in KC.

I'd bet that  after the display hours are concluded, the 4014 will move to a location closer to Center City for all of the festivities and fireworks in the late afternoon and evening on July 4. From what I can see at this time, that will all be centered on the Benjamin Franklin Mall in the vicinity of the Art Museum. The Big Boy could be spotted nearby and spotlighted for a place in the festivities. The High Line seems a logical choice. But we shall see.

In any case, all very exciting news. With a bunch of friends, will probably follow on the segment on the ex-NKP from Chicago east. Then we get to do it again on the return trip, and will probably cover from Cleveland west, and / or maybe south from Chicago to St. Louis. A lot of familiar track for me in those areas, and I'm already sorting out photo spots and routes. I've done many steam chases, including Big Boy's first trip from Cheyenne to Ogden for the Golden Spike observance several years ago - many of my images posted here on TO.

All of the chatter about crowds and traffic deters me not at all, at least here in the Midwest. And you shouldn't be deterred either. Plan carefully and well, use a leapfrogging strategy to drive at reasonable speeds (forget pacing) to get several good shots per day (don't get greedy).  And be prepared to go to Plans B and C when you run into problems. I read weeks of moaning and groaning here on TO about how terrible the Cheyenne to Ogden trip would be, and it was nothing of the kind. And some of the very folks here on TO who harrumphed "you'll never see me there!!!" (they know who they are) were in the photo lines, in the restaurants, at the hotels and lineside just like the rest of us. Surprise, surprise, surprise. Yes, it will be different and more difficult the farther east the trip moves, and you'll likely have to plan more, downsize your scope, and stake out locations sooner. So, that's the way it is. Plan, adjust, and go with the flow.

Longtime writer and editor Jim Boyd famously said it, often quoted, when asked what it took to make a memorable image. "1/250th of a second, f8 aperture - and be there."  And he was right - be there. Plan carefully, think things through, research and recon. But be there. Don't let all of the boo-birds and naysayers here on TO and elsewhere deter you. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity almost for sure. Plan well, and you can find a way to enjoy it, even if limited in scope. But you'll kick yourself forever if you miss it.

Just ask any of the boo-birds here on TO who followed the Big Boy on that first trip. You can probably guess who they are - they pretty much stay in character most of the time. Well guess what - they had smiles on their faces just as big as the rest of us. Imagine that.

BE THERE, wherever and whenever that is. You won't regret it.

And sincere thanks to Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern (and yes, maybe even CSX) and their various partners for all of the tremendous effort, hard work and meticulous planning to make this very special event happen. It will be a wonderful, memorable addition to our nation's celebration in its 250th year.

MC



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 04/28/26 22:06 by ironmtn.

Thanks for the sage advice.  Looks like a fabulous opportunity

Hoping for a good routing through Pittsburgh. There are THREE choices:
1. West from Greensburg through East Liberty to the Downtown Amtrak station then across the Fort Wayne Bridge. Would mean a huge view on the North Side when the bridge descent crosses I-279!
2. West from Greensburg to the Port Perry Branch, then down the Mon to the track above Station Square. Would mean a fabulous event at the Ohio Connecting Bridge at McKees Rocks.
3. West from Johnstown to the Conemaugh Main, then down the Allegheny Valley to the North Side. Would mean a marvelous view roadside through Aspinwall then from the panorama on the 62nd St Bridge.

Hard too say what route NS will choose. Any thoughts???

So it would back up from Ashtabula to Conneaut ?  A diesel tows the whole consist, loco and all, backwards perhaps ?

SZ

Appreaciate ya screwing the South UP and NS. Way to Go!

PoconoFlyer814 Wrote:
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> Hoping for a good routing through Pittsburgh.
> There are THREE choices:
> 1. West from Greensburg through East Liberty to
> the Downtown Amtrak station then across the Fort
> Wayne Bridge. Would mean a huge view on the North
> Side when the bridge descent crosses I-279!
> 2. West from Greensburg to the Port Perry Branch,
> then down the Mon to the track above Station
> Square. Would mean a fabulous event at the Ohio
> Connecting Bridge at McKees Rocks.
> 3. West from Johnstown to the Conemaugh Main, then
> down the Allegheny Valley to the North Side. Would
> mean a marvelous view roadside through Aspinwall
> then from the panorama on the 62nd St Bridge.
>
> Hard too say what route NS will choose. Any
> thoughts???

Per Norfolk Southern's filing of the following petition for a waiver with the Federal Railroad Administration, the Big Boy would be routed through Allegheny County on the Pittsburgh Line to its western end (at the Amtrak Station) where it would enter the Fort Wayne Line through Pittsburgh’s North Side neighborhoods and through the Ohio Valley.

https://www.trains.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/FRA-2026-0497-0001_attachment_1.pdf



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 04/29/26 20:15 by RuleG.