When the Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton opened in 1995, 30,000 visitors stopped by the park over four days.
The Union Pacific Big Boy locomotive 4014 rolled into town Sunday and Superintendent Jeremy Komasz said the national park expects 30,000 visitors just today.
“Steamtown has the unique opportunity in the entire National Park Service to have the mission of preserving railroading history in America,” he said. “What we get to do here with visits like the 4014 as well as our live steam program, is actually do living history right.”
Big Boy 4014 is the only operating locomotive of the eight remaining of its kind.
To celebrate America250, Union Pacific set 4014, which is still the world's largest operating steam locomotive, out on an historic coast-to-coast tour. It left Cheyenne, Wyoming, on May 25; 4014's respite at Steamtown is the longest rest on its long journey. It departs the park on July 1 to head towards Philadelphia for America’s 250th birthday on the Fourth of July.
Steam brothers
Big Boy 4014 sat on the track next to its brother Big Boy 4012, another draw to the park.
"This is the only place in America that there’s two big boys together,” Brendan Munoz said. “I love how they're giant machines … and with the railroads come these giant steam engines, and I'm excited to see two of them, especially one operating.”
The 12-year-old from Roselle Park, New Jersey, was at the park with his mom.
"I love that they're two of the same copy and paste theme engines next to each other, and I also love that it's right in time for America 250 you know," he said.
'Pieces of art'
The line to get in the park snaked two blocks up Lackawanna Avenue and down Seventh Avenue. It looked like a scene from Scranton’s St. Patrick’s Parade Day celebration. Except instead of wearing green and shamrocks, blue striped conductor caps and pants, overalls and t-shirts with trains and train company logos were the clothing of choice for the many visitors.
Joe Costa from Long Island, New York, waited to get into the park. His vests had pins from different railroad companies and parks. A gold railroad spike was pinned to his collar.
"It's pretty amazing seeing a Big Boy, you know, like operational after like 50 years after the end of steam,” he said.
He said the locomotives almost become pieces of art when they don’t run. But that leaves people to wonder, what was it like when it was operational.
Big Boy 4014 answers that question, he said.
An emotional run
Inside the park, 4014’s crew oiled down its larger-than-life wheels as water dripped from beneath the cab.
Fans waited with plastic train cars, caps and other memorabilia near Ed Dickens. They wanted the autograph of the senior manager of heritage operations for Union Pacific.
Big Boy 4014 made its way into Pennsylvania on Thursday, stopping overnight in Sayre before heading to Owego and Binghamton, N.Y. on Friday. It returned to Pennsylvania on Saturday, passing over the historic 240-foot Tunkhannock Viaduct in Wyoming County en route to Nesquehoning.
“Running” Big Boy over the 240-foot concrete arched viaduct, another historic piece of railroad history, was emotional for Dickens.
"You've got thousands and thousands of people cheering, they're loving this machinery and loving what we are doing, it is an emotional experience for us,” Dickens said. “The history of it is not lost on us.”
The locomotive pulling passenger cars and a Union Pacific museum was greeted by crowds in Clarks Summit, Scranton and down into Luzerne and Carbon counties. Big Boy made its way back north to Steamtown on Sunday along another crowded route.
Dickens said it’s a blast to run the locomotive but his number one priority is safety.
“It's exciting when people come out to see the Big Boy, but it's very critically important that everybody remembers that the railroad that they're coming to watch the Big Boy operate on is a big industrial freeway,” he said.
Dickens said there’s been an alarming trend of people standing on the tracks and turning their backs to the train to catch a selfie of the locomotive in the background.
"So we'd like to shut that down right away,” he said. “So that is the most important thing that I have to say whenever somebody asks me, 'Hey, what's it like to run that thing,’ well, put yourself in my shoes and imagine what it's like … that's why we're telling them, get off the tracks.”
'People love the Big Boy'
Dickens does not get tired of talking about the nearly 17-foot tall locomotive with 7,000 horsepower.
"People love the Big Boy, the story of the Big Boy. How can you not be impressed with the machinery aspects of what the Big Boy is?” he said.
Union Pacific’s Big Boys began running in 1941. In total, 25 were built to move heavy freight trains over steep grades in the American West at speed. They became integral during World War II, moving freight, raw materials, military equipment and supplies during an especially demanding time for America’s railroad system.
Today, only eight of the 1.2 million pound locomotives remain in preservation, including Steamtown’s 4012, which is on static display.
Dickens said communities, especially in the western part of the United States, were built around the Transcontinental Railroad.
"So this locomotive represents that beautiful heritage of how it all began," he said.
Historian Beth Anne Keates co-authored a book titled “Union Pacific Railroad Heritage.” Her brother and nephew, Don and Josh van Krieken, from Lake Wallenpaupack by way of Iowa, waited in line to get into the park, while she handed out information inside.
Keates started chasing 4014 after its restoration in 2019. The West Chester resident gives rail presentations and would always say she didn’t think the locomotive would ever make it this far east.
“I'm thrilled that it has managed to,” she said.
President Abraham Lincoln is considered the founding father of Union Pacific, she said.
"They at one point said that there would never be a Transcontinental Railroad that actually would make it all the way from the Pacific to the Atlantic,” Keates said. “And here we are … we did it.”
For more details and to reserve tickets for the Big Boy reunion, visit www.nps.gov/stea/planyourvisit/big-boy-reunion-at-steamtown-2026.htm
Economic impact being felt
Curt Camoni, Lackawanna County Convention and Visitors Bureau Executive Director, said the locomotive’s visit was boosting the area’s tourism industry before it even rolled onto the rails in Pennsylvania. While it was too early to predict exact dollar figures, one key stat was already trending upward.
"I'm projecting that we'll have around 2,000 hotel rooms sold because of this event, which is just a huge number over the course of a relatively short amount of time," Camoni said.
WVIA News checked the Radisson and Hilton websites on Monday and found both hotels fully booked.
Camoni said he also expects the impact to be felt in other segments of the local economy as well.
"With people that may not be overly aware of Lackawanna County or Scranton, this train is putting their eyes here, it's bringing them here," Camoni said."Those that are getting hotel rooms and staying overnight, they're going to be at our restaurants, they're going to be looking for other things to do, they're going to stop by our shops. These people in general come back because there's a lot to offer."
Camoni said the area is a family friendly, affordable place to visit.
"And that's a great combination to have, especially right now," he said.
Friendly Alien Books on Wyoming Avenue is a few blocks from Steamtown. The shop is usually closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. Owner Brigid Lawrence decided to open for the Big Boy reunion.
"I can't compare it to another Monday, but even compared to our normal weekday foot traffic it absolutely increased," Lawrence said. "And not just us, but even just driving downtown, coming in to open this morning, just the absolute influx of people is kind of incredible."
Lawrence said the store's range of offerings includes Scranton-related books, railroad-related books — and, true to its name, UFO titles.
The number of people coming in to browse those offerings increased as the day went on and lines to see the Big Boys grew longer.
"Now that, like, those wait times are up, yeah, people are exploring more," Lawrence said. "It is mostly out of state that we've seen. I've got Connecticut, Massachusetts, Kentucky this morning, so a lot of people from all over."
— Roger DuPuis, WVIA News
