The name "Big Boy" was not originally an official designation for the new 4-8-8-4 steam locomotive ALCO produced in 1941. As the history (or lore) goes, a shop worker at ALCO, impressed by the size of the locomotive, wrote "Big Boy" in chalk on the from of the unit. The name then stuck, and was even cast in metal on the smoke box. Today, with the restoration of UP 4014, the steam crew writes "Big Boy" in chalk on the front of the unit, honoring its history. You can clearly see it written here, as UP 4014 sits alongside the intermediate signal at MP 622.9 (on Main 2) on UP's Laramie Subdivision in Medicine Bow.
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