'Big Boy' locomotive to pass through Argyle this weekend - Cross Timbers Gazette

Train enthusiasts, you'll want to see this.

Big Boy No. 4014, one of 25 huge Big Boy locomotives built exclusively for Union Pacific Railroad over 80 years ago, will be passing through southern Denton County on Sunday. Big Boys weigh 1.2 million pound and measure 133 feet long, dwarfing standard diesel locomotives that reach 74 feet. They normally operated between Ogden, Utah, and Cheyenne, Wyoming, according to the UP website. There are currently seven on public display around the country, including one in Dallas.

Big Boy No. 4014 was delivered to UP in December 1941 and was retired 20 years later after traveling over 1 million miles. UP reacquired it in 2013 and restored it, returning it to service in 2019. It is currently in Houston during the middle of an eight-week "Heartland of America" tour.

From 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday, Big Boy will be on display at 275 W. Lancaster Ave. in Fort Worth. Admission is free and open to the public. At 8 a.m. Sunday, it will depart from Fort Worth, heading toward McAlester, Oklahoma, passing through Argyle, alongside Hwy 377, in the morning, but the exact time is not known.

The Argyle Police Department urged residents to not park alongside the roadway, or stop in the lane of traffic, to watch Big Boy go by.

"As a reminder, do not park alongside or stop in the roadway as you watch it go by," the department said in a statement. "We want everyone to enjoy the spectacle, but we want everyone to do so safely."

for more information, including the schedule and live tracking.