For the first time since 2021, Union Pacific’s Big Boy steam locomotive made its return to McAlester on Sunday evening, October 13th. Hundreds gathered in Old Town to witness the 1.2-million-pound steam locomotive in all its glory. Bumper-to-bumper traffic for those wanting to simply get a picture with the Big Boy.
According to Union Pacific, Big Boy stands 17-foot tall and it stretches 133 feet in length, making it the heaviest and most powerful operational steam locomotive in the world. Big Boy received his name from a factory worker who wrote the words in chalk on the first one
Big Boy remained in McAlester overnight and departed from Old Town this Monday morning at 9 a.m. He will continue his Heart of America Tour as it makes its way through Oklahoma today and into Kansas overnight.