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Historic Steam Engine Riding Rails In Kansas Next Week

Union Pacific's Big Boy steam engine No. 4014, the world's only operating Big Boy, will make whistle-stops in 19 Kansas cities next week.

A historic steam locomotive is headed to Kansas as part of a tour to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Union Pacific transcontinental railroad system.

Union Pacific’s Big Boy steam engine No. 4014 is expected to arrive in Coffeyville Saturday afternoon. The newly restored locomotive will makestops in 19 Kansas cities next weekas it makes its way to Colorado.

Rail fans can see Big Boy along its journey through Kansas and during brief whistle-stops in communities along its route. The train will be on display during an extended stop in Kansas City Monday.

Union Pacific received the first of 25 Big Boys in 1941; today, only eight remain. The train coming to Kansas is the world’s only operating Big Boy. The steam engine weighs more than 1 million pounds.

This southwest leg of the anniversary tour goes through 11 other states. Big Boy rode the rails through other regions earlier this year.

The Union Pacific railroad system is the 2nd largest in the U.S., and is one of the world's largest transportation companies.

Clickhere to track Big Boy's journey.

Deborah joined the news team at KMUW in September 2014 as a news reporter. She spent more than a dozen years working in news at both public and commercial radio and television stations in Ohio, West Virginia and Detroit, Michigan. Before relocating to Wichita in 2013, Deborah taught news and broadcasting classes at Tarrant County College in the Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas area.