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UP ‘Big Boy’ Wraps Up First Half of Historic Tour
Union Pacific 4-8-8-4 “Big Boy” 4014 was expected to arrive home in Cheyenne, Wyo., on Friday, April 24, wrapping up the first half of a historic coast-to-coast tour. The engine has been on the road for a month, running from Wyoming to California and back. It will spend the next month in Cheyenne before heading east on May 25.
The engine will be on display in Omaha, Neb.; Chicago; Buffalo, N.Y.; and Scranton, Pa., before arriving in Philadelphia for Independence Day. Additional display days are anticipated in Altoona, Pa., and St. Louis and Kansas City, Mo., before the tour concludes July 29. The engine is also expected to lead an excursion on the Reading & Northern.
While the West Coast part of the trip covered familiar territory for the big engine, it wasn’t without incident. Plans to run the engine east over the former Southern Pacific and Donner Pass were scrubbed due to a snowstorm, forcing the train to return via the former Western Pacific Feather River Route. For much of the trip, the train had two diesel locomotives with it — SD70Ms 1616 and 1776, both in commemorative liveries — but east of Ogden, Utah, UP 4014 ran unassisted up the Wasatch Grade, the territory it was originally built for. —Justin Franz
The post UP ‘Big Boy’ Wraps Up First Half of Historic Tour appeared first on Railfan & Railroad Magazine.
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Historic B&O Tower Damaged in Fire
A preserved Baltimore & Ohio tower in West Virginia has been damaged by fire. Miller Tower (also called “R” Tower) is located on the grounds of the Martinsburg Roundhouse, a historic B&O facility turned museum. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Miller Tower was originally located along the B&O main line at Cherry Run, W.Va., west of Martinsburg. It remained in service until 2000, when CSX closed it. It was moved to the roundhouse site in Martinsburg shortly afterward, with hopes of eventually turning it into an exhibit.
The former B&O in West Virginia and Maryland had a number of towers still in use well into the 2000s, with Miller Tower being among the last. —Justin Franz
The post Historic B&O Tower Damaged in Fire appeared first on Railfan & Railroad Magazine.
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