Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
When the Big Boy steam locomotive chugged into Kimball on Thursday, a crowd of train and history buffs greeted it at the train station.
A large crowd gathered in Kimball Monday morning to see a piece of history and a showpiece of the Union Pacific, the Big Boy No. 4014. The steam locomotive was returning to its home base in Cheyenne after a trip to the College World Series.
The Big Boy No. 4014 was built in 1941 and restored in 2013 to travel to special events. Onlookers included young and old, first-time viewers, Kimball residents, and train enthusiasts from across the nation.
One young man carried around a miniature model Big Boy train.
Big Boy No. 4014 traveled to Omaha for the College World Series. The trip was known as the Home Run Express Tour.
The train was on display during the baseball championships. Baseball and the railroad shared a special time in the late 1800s as players and fans traveled to games on trains, and eventually, according to Union Pacific, ballgames were scheduled to match the train schedules.
Twenty-five Big Boys were built to help during World War II and cross the Rockies and Wasatch Mountains, No. 4014 is the only operational Big Boy locomotive remaining.
No. 4014's trip to Omaha went north first, through Albin and LaGrange, then Gering. From Gering, the train went through Broadwater and finally to the Union Pacific North Platte yard, heading straight east. On the return trip, the train traveled a more familiar route west and stopped for viewing in many small towns, including Kimball.
