Utah Vacation: Meeting Big Boy

The day started dark and early for this vacation. We left home at 3:00 AM to catch our flight from Orlando to Salt Lake City. The first leg of the flight took us through Dallas Love Field. By 2:00 PM we were in our rental car in Salt Lake City, heading to Ogden to see the main attraction.

Planning for this vacation started when we discovered that the Union Pacific railroad was restoring Big Boy 4014 to participate in the celebration of the 150’th anniversary of the completion of the transcontinental railroad at Promontory Summit, Utah. The celebration included driving the Big Boy, along with the “Living Legend” 844 from Cheyenne to Ogden and back. We had seen a Big Boy once before. It was on display near the interstate in Omaha, Nebraska. We were on our way to Jackson, Wyoming and it was too late to stop and see it close up. Seeing a fully functional Big Boy running on the tracks became a must-see for us.

Once in Ogden, it was clear that something special was happening. Many streets were closed and we had to search for a place to park. After parking, we walked about a half mile to Union Station, where Big Boy and The Living Legend were on display.

Big Boy 4014

We were too late to see the official celebration, but we were still able to see the two steam locomotives, along with the passenger train they were pulling. In addition, the museum was open and contained a nice collection of other Union Pacific engines.

After getting our fill of trains, we went searching for something to eat. Ogden was having a street fair with food vendors and live music. We found something to eat and we also found a vendor who makes and sells Bison Brew Root Beer and Creme Soda Stout in refillable bottles. We bought a bottle and promised ourselves that we would come back for a refill later in our trip.

Eventually, we had to start the long drive to our WorldMark condo in Midway. The drive took us through very scenic Weber Canyon, which is also the route the Big Boy would follow back to Cheyenne in days to come. The drive also took us past Park City, which is one of the best ski areas in America and home to the 2002 Winter Olympics.

Click below to see more photos.