On November 23, 2019, I had the opportunity to capture Union Pacific 4014, the largest steam locomotive in existence that is still in operation. To commemorate the 150th Anniversary of the Transcontinental Railroad, the Union Pacific Railroad refurbished one of the largest locomotives in their fleet.
Union Pacific 4014 is a 4-8-8-4 traction locomotive that was purchased by Union Pacific in 1941 and served as a freight hauling locomotive until 1959. There are only 8 of these Big Boys left across the country and only 1 that is operational. Besides 4014, there is one that I have seen previously on static display at the Museum of Transportation in St. Louis Missouri. Union Pacific 4014 is 132 feet long and in its previous heyday was a coal locomotive, being that it was coal fired. All Union Pacific Heritage Trains are now steam locomotives that carry gondolas of 30,000 gallons of water for operation.
We set out at 4:30 am Central Time and headed to Sharon Springs, Kansas where Union Pacific 4014 was sleeping for the night before moving on into Colorado. The drive is 2.5 hours north of me, and I wished I would have left just a tad sooner to get there before the sun rose and while it was still dark. Nonetheless, it takes a while to get up there as there is no straight shot to Sharon Springs without zig-zagging across the High Plains of Kansas.
We arrived in Sharon Springs around 6:20 am Mountain time. (Time Change is less than an hour’s drive from me.) As we turned the corner onto the road along the north side of the track, there it sat in all its glory. It was on a siding off the U.P. Main Line. Of course, for protection, an area around the train was cordoned off. Much to my surprise, only a handful of other photographers were there. I spend the better part of an hour taking images from all angle as well as some close ups. Unfortunately, the Railroad Police Officer was getting a bit testy with those who were there, so I decided to beat the crowds and head to my “other” location and wait for the train to come to me.
I wanted to capture this train and all its glory as it crossed through the High Plains of Kansas and Colorado, but being just that, the High Plains, there is not a lot of scenery to use and a backdrop for the train. In my search of a location, I found an old wooden trestle that crossed a creek about 4 miles east of Kit Carson, Colorado. The trestle was low to the surroundings, relatively speaking, and spanned an estimated 150 feet across the creek. There were cottonwood trees spaced about the trestle, which gave it an interesting feel. I arrived at the location in plenty of time, and spent a little while looking at different angles as to how I wanted to compose the image.
It did not take long for others to find my place. I was greeted by about 7 other photographers and rail fans. Thankfully, everyone respected each others place in order to compose their own individual images. The train made its approach with its haunting steam whistle as it proceeded past a grade crossing about 1/4 mile east of my location. Then, it appeared on the trestle! What an exciting moment to feel this train thunder across the area. You could feel the vibration. I was a bit disappointed that there was not a lot of steam smoke from it as it crossed.
From there, the train made a 45 minute stop in Kit Carson, Colorado. It stopped just east of town and there was a crowd of close to 200 people looking at it. We decided to go west of town and tray to catch it again at a grade crossing. The train was only moving at roughly 35 mph. I did capture a few more images at this grade crossing, but was not overly impressed with them as much as I was with the other images taken earlier. We decided to call the trip and grab lunch before heading home. We stopped at the Trading Post Restaurant in Kit Carson for a darn good burger. I would tag the restaurant, but they have no website or Social Media page. If you are traveling through the area, it is located on the west side of town.
I have attached 2 of my favorite images from the day. Non-watermarked prints are available if interested. If you would like more information about my photography services, please email me or visit my website. I can also be reached at 620-640-5226.
