Visitors travel from all over to observe this activity. The Iron Triangle Railpark located in Fostoria offers firsthand experience of this with a unique 360-degree unobstructed view of the trains passing on the surrounding rails.

This summer, the Union Pacific’s famed Big Boy No. 4014 will journey to the East Coast for the first time as part of a historic coast-to-coast tour to celebrate America’s 250th anniversary. The tour includes stopping in Ohio for the first time.

The Big Boy visited Fostoria June 8 and will return Tuesday, July 14, at Fostoria Automotive Distribution Center, 3101 N. TR 47; On display: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. (no public access outside of these hours)

“The Fostoria Rail Preservation Society are thrilled to have the city of Fostoria and Iron Triangle Railpark receive such railroad importance. We have a great city government that understands our history is of value to our nation, past, present and future,” said Ellen Gatrell, secretary/treasurer of the Fostoria Rail Preservation Society.

Engineer Ed Dickens and other Big Boy workers worked to ensure a safe stop and continued tour.

Gatrell said because Ohio is between the East Coast and Chicago, the state has been considered the railroad gateway to the Western states connecting both the Atlantic and the Pacific.

“Railroads built our nation and still have importance,” Gatrell said.

History

Of the eight remaining Big Boys in existence today, No. 4014 is the only one still in operation. Twenty-five Big Boys were commissioned exclusively for Union Pacific Railroad, the first of which was delivered in 1941.

These massive locomotives were built to haul heavy equipment in support of the war effort, normally operating between Ogden, Utah and Cheyenne, Wyoming. The Big Boys are 133 feet long and weigh 1.2 million pounds.

Big Boy’s cab.

Initially retiring in 1961 after one million miles of service, No. 4014 was reacquired from the RailGiants Train Museum in 2013. Following a multi-year restoration in Cheyenne, it returned to service in May 2019 for the 150th anniversary of the Transcontinental Railroad’s completion.