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It is almost here. The UP Big Boy (4-8-8-4) and the Living Legend (4-8-4) are in Evanston, Wy. They will be in Ogden tomorrow. The Big Boy was here in Ogden 5 years ago when the UP was towing it back to Cheyenne for a complete overhaul. It is now running on it's own power.

We have tickets for the 150th anniversary celebration of the driving of the golden spike up at Promontory Summit, UT on the 10th at the Golden Spike National Historic Site. The culmination will be on Saturday and Sunday. We have tickets to ride the train from Ogden, UT to Evanston, WY. The tickets include a private group tour of the train on Saturday, the trip on Sunday and a bus ride back to Ogden on Sunday.

If you are a train buff this is the ultimate ride. It will never happen again. To see those two magnificent engines double heading across Wyoming is unbelievable. To be able to ride on the train is even more unbelievable.

Sounds like a real blast. A memorable ride, for sure.

had no idea ether was still running . thanks thats real history !

John,
I wish I could be there too. I haven't had a chance to ride a train with one of the old steam locomotives pulling it. Maybe one of these days I will get to behind SP 4449 which is here in Portland.

Very cool,
My parents told me that during the war they would see those engines pulling cars loaded with iron ore from the Mesabi range across a corner of my grandgather's farm to lake superior. When ever we went to northern Minnesota I would try to see one of those engines on display. There is one in Two Harbors, one in Proctor and one at the railroad museum in Duluth, MN. They are impressive.

I would love to have seen them. When I was a little kid in Newark, NJ right after the war, they were still running steam most of the time and my dad used to take us to watch them. By 1952 or so, we rarely saw them any more and it was almost all diesel. I've always been fascinated with those incredible machines.

We were there for the 147th anniversary (May 10, 2016) and enjoyed it. I can't imagine what the 150th will be like!
Hope you have a GREAT day tomorrow and enjoy the ride this weekend!

The celebration on the 10th at Promontory Summit was great. The crowd was unbelievable. They were expecting 15,000 on the 10th. You had to have a ticket for your car but could have as many people in it as you could fit. The site is an hour from my house but I thought I should plan 2 hours. That turned out to be just right. We left the house at 8AM and all was great until we got 5 miles from the sight. That was at 9AM and it took an hour to go the last 5 miles. When we got there there were already thousands of people there. It was worth the trip however. A real part of history.

Today was the behind the scenes tour of the train we will ride to Evanston, WY tomorrow. The tour started with a short talk by one of the UP Vice Presidents. Then it was Ed Dickens turn. He is the head of the UP steam team. He spoke of how this all came about and then answered questions. That took an hour and then out to the train. We spent about an hour and a half seeing the entire consist with guides that talked about the different cars and answered questions. When we got to the engines the steam team that actually restored 4014 was there to answer questions. The amazing thing is that there are only 9 people on the team including Ed Dickens. Those 9 people tore that engine down had parts made and made a lot if parts in the shop in Cheyenne them selves and put it all back together. They just made the dead line. The engine ran on its own power for the first time 10 days ago and now it is here in Ogden.

It was a magnificent tour and tomorrow we get to ride the train on Big Boy's maiden trip hauling passengers. What a thrill!

The picture of the 4014 emblem is the floor plate in the cab.