This summer, I had the privilege to witness UP 4014, Union Pacific's restored "Big Boy" 4-8-8-4 steam locomotive, ply the rails of the UP mainline once again, this time leading the "Heartland of America" tour through the states of Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Colorado. My portion of the trip consisted of traveling to Grand Island, NE and chasing it back east towards Chicagoland and eventually Momence, IL, where I gave up the chase. Here, 4014 throttles up from a service stop in downtown Fremont, NE and gets underway toward Omaha, passing by the former C&NW freight house with the towering grain elevators of the ADM plant looming in the background.
