In case you missed it last time, area residents have a chance again next month to view the famous Union Pacific Big Boy #4014 steam locomotive as it passes through Boone on a "Heartland of America Tour."
The tour will begin on August 28 from Cheyenne, Wyoming and travel across nine additional states including Iowa. The eight-week tour concludes in late October.
Here's the "local" schedule: On Wednesday, September 4, the train will depart Council Bluffs at 8 a.m..An arrival in Carroll is expected at 12:30 with departure at 1 p.m. Arrival in Boone will take place later that afternoon and area residents will have viewership available until Thursday, September 5, when a 9 a.m. departure to Cedar Rapids is scheduled.
The Big Boy was built in the early 1940's and made its last "run" June 21, 1959. It was retired from 1959-62 and restored May 1, 2019 and placed in excursion service. At that time, it was sent on a tour in celebration of the 150th anniversary of the completion of the First transcontinental railroad. Boone was part of that anniversary celebration and many residents had an opportunity to see it, initially, at that time.
Actually, eight Big Boys survive, with most on static display at museums across the United States. Number #4014 was rebuilt between 2014-19 to operating condition for that 150th anniversary celebration. It, thus, regained the title as the largest and most powerful operating steam locomotive in the world.
The Big Boy has the longest engine body of any reciprocating steam locomotive, longer than two 40-foot buses. Its combined weight of the 772,250 pound engine and 436,500 pound tender outweighed a Boeing 747.
K-----K
Worldwide Korner headquarters are located at 928 South Jackson, Boone, Iowa 50036-4932. Phone number is 515-432-1530. Leave a message. To email your stories/memories/comments/death notices.......http://kelleyskorner1@blogspot.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment