A Lifelong Fascination with Trains

As a child, every evening my Mother, Brother and I would pick up our Father at the train station. Trains became a fixture of awe, and sometimes fear. Most trains came through the station very fast. Few stopped. We held on to a pole as they passed. Finally our Father’s train would arrive and home we would go.

Fast forward to 2026 and a steam locomotive named Big Boy 4014 is coming from the West to East to celebrate the 250th anniversary of our country in Philadelphia. I needed to see this locomotive. The world’s largest steam locomotive, Big Boy 4014. We headed to New York.

Big Boy 4014 was built in 1941 by Union Pacific to conquer the steep mountain grades during World War II. Prior to retiring it had traveled over 1 million miles. Brought out of retirement, Big Boy 4014 as the world’s largest operating steam locomotive has made many trips servicing as an ambassador for all generations to see.

When Big Boy 4014 finally appeared, its size, power, and presence exceeded every expectation. The photograph below captures a remarkable locomotive, but for me it also captures something else—a lifelong fascination that began on a station platform many years ago.