Big Boy No. 4014 is a 78-year old Union Pacific locomotive that’s currently touring the Southwestern U.S.

It was part of a series of 25 extra-large steam engines built between 1941 and 1944, and it’s one of the only two still in operation.

This particular Big Boy was sitting in a museum in Pomona, California when, in 2013, Union Pacific decided to buy it back, restore it, and get it running in time for the 150th anniversary of the completion of the transcontinental railroad earlier this year.

When we heard it was making a stop in Tucson, we decided to stop by there as well.

I think they may have underestimated the number of train enthusiasts in Southern Arizona. We certainly did.

The normally quiet roads surrounding the depot were choked with lines of cars waiting to get in – and then out.

It was cool seeing the train, even though we weren’t able to get in to see the displays inside. One of the rail cars has been turned into kind of a mini museum. The line to get in stretched about half the length of the train, and we were out of time.

I wondered about the stories of the people who had made the trip there. Had they traveled far? Did they have a connection to the Big Boys? Or a passion for all steam locomotives? Or, like us, did they just happen to live in Tucson and think it would be an interesting thing to see?