<![CDATA[Lea Kirk

There's no denying it, my family loves anything railroad related. This is how I was dragged out of the house to see the 4014 "Big Boy" steam engine (which I've lovingly nicknamed "the big ass locomotive") in early April. For those of you who don't know, the 4014 is the largest steam locomotive in the world. Out of the twenty-five original "Big Boy" steam locomotives, only eight still exist--and of those eight, only one is operational. The 4014.

This trip became much more exciting for me moments after we arrived at the Roseville train depot parking area. As we (Mr. Kirk, Kids #4 & #5, and I) stood under the rear lift door of our SUV donning our raingear, Kid #1 sent us a text. I dug my phone out of my pocket and read it out loud to the others: "Watch the sky. There's lightning today." I looked up at Kid #4, then... Flash! Booooom! right over our heads! For those of you who subscribe to my newsletter, you already know how much I love thunderstorms. Yes, my inner storm-chaser was giddy! (see photo)

After the hail let up a bit, we headed to the entrance for the exhibit only to find that they'd closed the gates until the storm had passed. All right, yes, in the grand scheme of things, I can see why standing next to 1.2 million pounds of metal during a lightning storm is considered a high-risk liability for Union Pacific. So, we waited patiently for about ten minutes until the storm had moved far enough away for them to reopen the gates.

The video below gives you an idea how huge the big ass locomotive is, but it unfortunately does not do justice to how loud the horn is in real life. You'll just have to take my word. It. Was. Loud.

If anyone is interested in watching Big Boy 4014 leave Roseville the following day, check out the drone footage someone took here. (Moves forward through two intersections, then backs up to get onto the correct track out of town.) The four Kirks are in the video, but we blend in with the crowd too much to see us.
Want to see this big ass locomotive in person? The Eastern Leg of its Coast-to-Coast tour begins at the end of May. Check out its 2026 Schedule.

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