When will massive Big Boy locomotive begin coast-to-coast tour? CEO hints at timeline Above: Previous coverage of ‘Big Boy’ locomotive’s first coast-to-coast tour (NEXSTAR) — The ground rumbles. A billowing cloud of steam forms in the sky. Then suddenly, the 1.2 million-pound locomotive known as Big Boy No. 4014 is pulling into a station near you. It won’t be long before many across the nation get to lay eyes on the world’s largest operating steam locomotive. In fact, it may just be a few more weeks before the massive engine sets off. Earlier this month, Union Pacific CEO Jim Vena announced that Big Boy No. 4014, one of just a handful of remaining engines that were built to haul heavy equipment during World War II, will embark on its first-ever coast-to-coast tour in honor of America’s semiquincentennial (aka, its 250th anniversary). The full details of the tour haven’t been released, but it’s expected to hinge on the merger between Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern. “The Great Connection” would establish a network that covers more than 40 states and the District of Columbia. While the merger hasn’t been finalized, Vena hinted last week that Big Boy’s tour will begin soon. Slideshow: Big Boy No. 4014 The 133-foot-long Big Boy No. 4014 steam locomotive leads a train Tuesday, July 23, 2019, in Knapp, Wis. (AP Photo/David Boe)The Big Boy No. 4014, one of the world’s largest steam locomotives, is shown Saturday, May 3, 2014, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)Spectators rise the mobile phone and take pictures the historic locomotive, Union Pacific Big Boy No. 4014 at Metrolink Station in Covina, Calif., on Sunday, Jan., 26, 2014. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)Spectators view the historic locomotive, Union Pacific Big Boy No. 4014 at Metrolink Station, Sunday, Jan. 26, 2014, in Covina, Calif. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)Spectators take pictures of the historic locomotive, Union Pacific Big Boy No. 4014 at Metrolink Station in Covina, Calif., on Sunday, Jan., 26, 2014. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)Train enthusiasts look at Big Boy No. 4014, one of the world’s largest steam locomotives Saturday, May 3, 2014, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)The Big Boy, No. 4014 arrives during the commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the Transcontinental Railroad completion at Union Station Thursday, May 9, 2019, in Ogden, Utah. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)A worker sits in the cab of the world’s largest operating steam locomotive, Union Pacific’s Big Boy No. 4014, during an overnight stop Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2021, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)A spectator rises his camera and takes pictures the historic locomotive, Union Pacific Big Boy No. 4014 at Metrolink Station in Covina, Calif., on Sunday, Jan., 26, 2014. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu) Speaking with the Midwest Association of Rail Shippers on Thursday, Vena told the crowd, “We’ll start at the end of March,” Trains.com reported. “We are gonna run that Big Boy, which I really have a love-hate relationship with. I really do,” Vena said. “Unless it can carry 100 cars of grain, I don’t want it on the railroad. But at the end of the day, there’s a lot of benefits for it, and we are going to run it across the country. We are going to go coast-to-coast.” Exact dates and locations are not yet available. Vena told the crowd that they’re “having a few problems with our partner in the East to exactly finalize” the coast-to-coast trip, before reportedly suggesting “they better freakin’ hurry up,” Trains.com reported. If Big Boy No. 4014, which is nearly twice as long as the diesel locomotives that make up Union Pacific’s fleet today, does make it out East, it will reportedly be the first time the locomotive has been in the region since it rolled out of the Schenectady, New York, plant that created it in 1941. “The Big Boy give us an opportunity to connect with the communities we serve, sharing the historic role Union Pacific has played in Building America,” Mike Jaixen, the senior manager of communications for Union Pacific, told Nexstar via email, describing the Big Boy as “the Elvis Presley of locomotives.” The 133-foot-long locomotive, the only Big Boy to still travel the tracks, returned to service in 2019 and has made multiple well-attended tours, including its sweeping “Heartland of America Tour” in 2024 and a limited tour in 2025. Thanks to the planned merger, the 2026 tour could be much larger than the 2024 tour. The latter covered 10 states – Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas and Wyoming – over roughly eight weeks. Many of the stops No. 4014 made were quick “whistle stops,” though some metro areas were able to enjoy the Big Boy for several days. Jaixen explained that the length of a stop “will vary based on operational needs.” It’s too soon to say where Big Boy No. 4014 will make stops on its 2026 tour. Jaixen told Nexstar the tour is still being planned out, and members of its Steam Club will be notified about additional information. If you won’t get the chance to see No. 4014 during its coast-to-coast tour this year, you can find its seven brothers on public display in St. Louis; Dallas, Omaha, Nebraska; Denver; Scranton, Pennsylvania; and Cheyenne. Of the 25 Big Boy locomotives that were built, only these eight remain. The Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger is expected to close early next year, the companies previously said, though the Surface Transportation Board reported Friday that the merger application had been rejected. According to the STB, the application submitted last month was “incomplete” and its rejection “should not be read as an indication of how the Board might ultimately assess any future revised application.” The application is expected to be refiled in the coming weeks. Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.