The “Big Boy” Steam Engine

Ralph LaPlant 

The “Big Boy” Steam Engine

The Union Pacific Big Boy is a type of simple articulated 4-8-8-4 steam locomotive operated by the Union Pacific Railroad in revenue service until 1959. The steam engine is around 133 feet long and weighs over one million pounds. The arrival of the “Big Boy” steam engine coincided with the Lake Superior Railroad Museum’s “Festival of Steam”

Photo credits: Ralph LaPlant