UP, 4014 – our “Big Boy Steam Heritage Edition” 

Twenty-five of the massive “Big Boys” were built for Union Pacific Railroad and normally operating between Ogden, Utah, and Cheyenne, Wyo.Big Boy No. 4014 was delivered to Union Pacific in December 1941 and retired exactly 20 years later, having traveled 1,659,564 km in its 20 years in service. 

Union Pacific reacquired No. 4014 from the RailGiants Museum in Pomona, California, in 2013, and relocated it back 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 new 2022 Rivarossi model features a new fuel tender (the real tender stems from UP “Challenger” 3985), a modified firebox, new radio antennas and other newly tooled details to equal its 87 times larger prototype. 

Technical features

•    UP #4014 version with fuel tender 

•    Strong 5-pole motor and brass flywheel in boiler 

•    Both bogie units powered  

•    Front and rear drivers powered 

•    DCC ready, 21-pin MTC plug on board 

•    Handrails made of steel wire 

•    Wheel profile according to RP-25 wheels 

•    US-style knuckle coupler on rear of tender 

•    Moveable dummy knuckle coupler on front pilot 

•    Steam delivery pipes pivot realistically as the engine turns 

•    Length: 18-3/4 

Why the name BIG BOY? 

Of all the articulated engines, the 4-8-8-4 was the “biggest” in terms of size, weight, power and speed.  

Hence the name “Big Boy”, which appropriately summarizes all these qualities. It seems that the name comes from a chalk writing on the door of the smoke room of the prototype 4000 by an ALCO worker.  

The Big Boy can reach a speed of 80 miles per hour and its maximum power, of over 7000 hp, develops at a speed of 30 mph. 

With a staggering length of 475mm (almost 19 inches), this model boasts a 5-pole motor and brass flywheel, a DCC Ready 21-pin plug, handrails made out of steel wire and much more.  

This locomotive is unlike any other and is without doubt a pure classic.