As it travels coast to coast in celebration of America’s 250th birthday, the Big Boy No. 4014 locomotive is scheduled for a whistle stop in Pacific on Monday, July 20.
The world’s largest operating steam locomotive is scheduled to roll through town at 11:30 a.m. at the First Street crossing. The whistle stop is expected to last about 15 minutes.
The city is planning a morning of activities in celebration of the whistle stop, said Tourism Director Kelly O’Malley. From 10 a.m. to noon, train enthusiasts and historians will set up booths at Pacific Station Plaza on South First Street in downtown Pacific. The booths will include model train and railroad displays, historical railroad artifacts, photos and other displays.
O’Malley said those interested in reserving a free booth for train-related memorabilia must email her by Friday at komalley@pacificmo.gov.
In addition, Flippin Delicious of St. Charles will serve mini pancakes and Fusion Fix of St. Louis will sell snow cones during the morning’s festivities. O’Malley said many of Pacific’s downtown restaurants and shops are participating as well.
It’s expected that a portion of First Street will remain closed to traffic during the whistle stop, she said.
O’Malley said this whistle stop is a unique opportunity to celebrate Pacific’s Train Town USA nickname, designated by Union Pacific in 2012. The town changed its name in 1859 from Franklin to Pacific, in honor of the company that laid tracks through the town a year prior.
O’Malley said the railroad, along with Route 66, which runs through the town, are two important modes of transportation for Pacific.
The Big Boy locomotive last rolled through Pacific in 2021.
“We’re going to be able to celebrate the 250th, Big Boy coming through and the centennial (of Route 66) all at one place,” O’Malley said. “You’re not ever going to get to do this again. This is a once in a lifetime situation, so come out and just have fun. We’re super honored to have been chosen as a whistle stop.”
The Big Boy’s 2026 Coast-to-Coast Tour kicked off April 10 in Sacramento, Calif., near where Central Pacific began construction on the nation’s first transcontinental railroad in 1863. More than 50 whistle stops are planned across 10 states, including a stop on the Fourth of July in Philadelphia, Penn., and a display in St. Louis on Sunday, July 19.
The display, at Union Station, 1820 Market St., is from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Admission is free, and tickets are not required.
Other Missouri stops include Hermann at 2:15 p.m. July 20; California at 10 a.m. July 21 and Kansas City at 5:30 p.m. July 21 at Union Station, 30 W. Pershing Road. The train will stay in Kansas City for a display from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 6-8 p.m. the next day, July 22.
For a complete schedule of Big Boy stops, visit up.com.
Twenty-five Big Boys were built exclusively for Union Pacific Railroad during World War II, but only eight survived. No. 4014 is the only one still operating.
According to Union Pacific, each of the Big Boy locomotives was 133 feet long and weighed 1.2 million pounds.
The Big Boy engine that will stop in Pacific used to operate between Ogden, Utah, and Cheyenne, Wyo., and was retired in December 1961, having traveled 1,031,205 miles in its 20 years in service.
Union Pacific reacquired No. 4014 from the RailGiants Museum in Pomona, Calif., in 2013, and returned it to Cheyenne to begin a multi-year restoration process. It returned to service in May 2019 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Transcontinental Railroad’s completion.
The seven other Big Boys that remain are no longer in service but are on display in various cities around the country. One can be found at the National Museum of Transportation, 2933 Barrett Station Road, in St. Louis.
The locomotive also traveled through De Soto in 2024:
