The Big Boy 4014 departed the Steamtown National Historic Site Wednesday morning.

SCRANTON, Pa. — A few whistles helped warm up the Union Pacific Big Boy Number 4014 as its crew prepared to leave Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton for the next leg of the steam locomotive’s cross-country journey.

“Wake-up time for me was 3:30 a.m. this morning,” said Tom Wissmann of Long Island, NY. A drive across state lines didn’t stop him and plenty of others from seeing the Big Boy off.



This story continues below.

Something he thought he wouldn’t see again in his lifetime. “It’s like a dream come true. I can remember back in the day when they said back in old videos, saying you’ll never see a Big Boy running the rails ever, and here it is now,” said Wissmann.

With a puff of steam, the Big Boy began to move backward. After switching tracks, it was accompanied out of the railyard by the park’s Baldwin 2012 engine, giving the Balaj family an up-close look at locomotive history.

“Really exciting. ‘Isn’t it crazy how big it is?’ Yeah,” said William Balaj, New York.

“Well, how they made them old and like back in the day, since they didn’t have all the technology, they made a couple by hand and stuff,” said James Balaj, New York.

“This is our closest destination from our house, so we set it up where we make a stop here, and we head down to South Jersey for the rest of the week for the Fourth of July weekend and celebration of America’s 250th anniversary,” said David Balaj, New York.

With that, the two trains left the station, marking the end of a special stay at Steamtown.

“This has been the most historic event ever for Steamtown National Historic Site, and I hope it’s that way for all of Northeast Pennsylvania. It’s a little bittersweet because we loved having them here. We hope they come back sometime soon, and we also hope that all the visitors continue to come and see all that Steamtown has to offer,” said Jeremy Komasz, Steamtown National Historic Site Superintendent.

And the start of another journey for the last operating Big Boy in the world.

For more information on the locomotive’s journey, click here.