Union Pacific No. 4018

The Union Pacific 4018, or UP 4018, is a four-cylinder articulated 4-8-8-4 Big Boy-type steam locomotive owned by the Union Pacific Railroad. It was built in 1941 by Alco for the Union Pacific along with the other Big Boy locomotives. It was designed mainly for fast freight service.

No. 4018 last operated in October 1957. It then went into storage with several other steam locomotives at Union Pacific's Cheyenne, WY, shops but was not officially retired until 1962.

It was donated to the Museum of the American Railroad in Dallas, Texas, by the Union Pacific in 1964, and arrived on site in 1965, having travelled from Wyoming to Kansas City and thence south via AT&SF trackage to Dallas.

4018 was so close to becoming a movie star, and a potential candidate for steaming, long before its brother (or sister) Union Pacific 4014 was reaquired by the UP for restoration. In 1999, plans were mooted for a return to steam, in preparation for a film aptly titled "Big Boy", but nothing came of it.

As of today, the locomotive is a static display at the Museum of the American Railroad in Frisco, Texas, relocating from Dallas in 2013.

Trivia

An audio recording of 4018 exists, from the album Sounds of Steam Locomotives, No. 1: Stack Music Sampler; or Steam, Steel and Action and titiled "4-8-8-4 No. 4018, "Big Boy" Union Pacific." It can be heard here.

Union Pacific No. 4018

Trivia

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