Chasing Big Boy 4014, Days 3 and 4 : The Meeting Of The Engines
On May 9 and 10, we witnessed two very different recreations of the famous Golden Spike “champagne photo.” In this issue of our blog, we’ll share the sights and sounds of those events in video, and some additional highlights in still photos.
In our video you’ll see Union Pacific Big Boy 4014 and FEF-3 844 recreate the event at Ogden Union Station, which is about the nearest that tracks run today to the actual Golden Spike site at Promontory Summit, Utah. The original transcontinental route has long since been relocated to run across the Lucin Cutoff over Great Salt Lake, and the original rails sacrificed to a World War II scrap drive.
Hosting the Ogden event is Lance Fritz, Chairman, President and CEO of the UP — and the man we have to thank for greenlighting the Big Boy restoration.You’ll also see the reenactment of the 1869 event at the Golden Spike national historical site, where the rails actually came together, and some shots of the replica UP No. 119 and Central Pacific Jupiter in action.
