PORTOLA VALLEY, Calif. — Just 25 miles over the Nevada border in the railroad town of Portola, California, eager photographers gather at the Western Pacific Railroad Museum to snap a picture of a locomotive never seen in this area before, the “Big Boy 4014." It's the largest steam locomotive in the world.
Big Boy is the holy grail of locomotives in the train spotting community and it entered California for the first time on a whistle stop tour from Portola to Roseville. Ed Dickens is with Union Pacific’s Heritage Operations and he's operating this beast.
“Big Boys operated from Ogden, Utah, effectively to North Platte, Nebraska, very small network, so we're making history here when we're traveling with the Big Boy because Big Boys never traveled out of this part of the country,” said Dickens.
A total of 25 Big Boys were built between 1941-44 and all were retired in 1959 when Union Pacific moved to more efficient diesel locomotives. Most Big Boys were scrapped or donated to museums, but in 2019 Ed and his team brought the 4014 back to life.
“Two and a half years it took us to completely disassemble this locomotive and build it back up again,” said Dickens.
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As the Big Boy left Portola, the Backroads team was offered a ride through a portion of the Feather River Canyon, one of California’s most scenic and historic railroad routes. If you’ve seen our Episode on the 7 Wonders of the Feather River Canyon, you will recognize the Cilio Trestle.
This 1,005-foot-long steel trestle stands more than 170 feet over Willow creeks. From inside the Big Boy, it feels like you are flying.
From the ground, spectators get one heck of a view as well. As the train rolled through small towns, large groups gather. The crew has a certain celebrity status with rail fans.
Nineteen miles northwest of the Cilio Bridge is one of Feather River Canyon’s most unique engineering innovations, the Williams Loop. In order to get over a steep hill and keep the tracks at a 1% grade, builders looped one-mile of track over itself much like a spiral staircase.
The next stop was the Keddie Wye. It’s the only railroad wye in the world with two tracks merging over a canyon and entering a tunnel. The trestle is located high above Spanish Creek and below is the Keddie Resort, which has one of the best views of bridge.
As the 135-foot-long locomotive heads out of the Feather River Canyon, more and more train spotters jump onto Highway 70 to see the Big Boy cross Tobin Bridges — a railroad and vehicle bridge that crosses over each other. Locals say it's good luck if a train passes over your car.
When the train reached Oroville, temperatures outside were 115 degrees but it didn’t stop a massive crowd from forming. Inside the locomotive next to the boiler, the crew experiences even hotter temperatures, according to Big Boy Fireman Ted Schulte.
“Oh, yesterday it was 135 degrees in the cab," he said.
Waiting at the Big Boy's final destination in Roseville were thousands of onlookers. The crowd spilled across Vernon Square where it stayed for two days so rail fans could get an up close look.
It’s unclear when the Big Boy will return to California, but there’s nothing stopping you from experiencing the history and beauty of railroad between Portola and Roseville with other locomotives.
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