Please Spread the Word on Safety While Watching Union Pacific 4014 Big Boy

Union Pacific 4014 “Big Boy.” (Image courtesy Union Pacific)

ATLANTA –– Union Pacific's Big Boy is on the move, wowing crowds in the eastern United States. Please help spread the word about safety to those at trackside.

The professional railroaders who read Railway Track & Structures certainly don’t need us to remind them of the need for safety around the railroad. And this is not the kind of report you’ll normally see on our website. However, we’re simply asking if you can do what you can to remind those coming out to see this marvelous locomotive to be very mindful of safety.

If you are among those who have been following the Union Pacific Big Boy’s special train heading east over the past week or so, it’s been quite a show. It will continue to be on the return trip. The number of citizens, rail enthusiasts, and professional railroaders drawn trackside to watch its passing, servicing, and display time has been tremendous. We’re not even going to attempt to speculate how many have come out to see it. The number, at this point at least, must be in the tens of thousands, if not more. We haven’t seen such a galvanizing effect on Americans since the recent Artemis II mission.

Back to safety. Here are some safety guidelines Union Pacific provides for those who come out to watch steam:

• Remember, trains can’t stop quickly to avoid people or vehicles on the tracks.
• A train’s distance from you and its speed can be deceiving.
• The average train overhangs the track by at least three feet – take extra precaution and stand back at least 25 feet from all railroad tracks.
• Railroad tracks, trestles, yards and right-of-way are private property – please do not trespass.
• Never assume tracks are abandoned or inactive – ALWAYS expect a train and assume tracks are active.
• Keep drones at least 25 feet away from all railroad tracks and follow all FAA regulations on their use.
• Hearing protection is recommended.

Here is a safety video from Union Pacific featuring Ed Dickens, Senior Manager of Heritage Operations:

Video courtesy of Union Pacific

This material and more can be found on Union Pacific’s website, and this material is provided courtesy of Union Pacific.

In addition to promotional efforts from Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern, local television stations along the route are providing significant coverage of the event, which draws even more people trackside.

No matter what your position on the UP+NS merger proposal is, both railroads, especially Union Pacific, are to be commended for operating this special train. A special movement like this, especially over two high-traffic and busy Class I freight railroads, is not easy to pull off. In addition to celebrating our nation’s 250th Anniversary, in the words of the late W. Graham Claytor, Chairman and CEO of Southern Railway in the 1970s, remarking on his railroad’s steam excursion program, “It is a good thing to let another generation know what a steam locomotive is.”