ALTON/EAST ALTON/GRANITE CITY – The world’s largest steam locomotive, Union Pacific’s Big Boy No. 4014, passed through Alton at 2:34 p.m. Saturday, July 18, 2026, on its way to St. Louis, where it is scheduled to be on display Sunday, July 19, 2026, at Union Station with free public viewing from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The locomotive also rolled through Godfrey, East Alton, Piasa, Granite City and other area communities, drawing crowds of railfans.
Union Pacific Big Boy 4014 Passes Through Alton on its Way to St. Louis
Big Boy No. 4014 is traveling as part of Union Pacific’s 2026 Coast-to-Coast Tour celebrating America’s 250th anniversary, the information said.
Twenty-five Big Boys were built exclusively for Union Pacific Railroad, with the first delivered in 1941. The locomotives were 132 feet long and weighed 1.2 million pounds.
Because of their length, the frames of the Big Boys were “hinged,” or articulated, to allow them to negotiate curves.
