UPDATE: Free Park & Ride to View Big Boy

LARAMIE -- Albany County School District #1, the University of Wyoming, and the City of Laramie have partnered to provide a FREE Park & Ride for residents and out of town guests attending the Union Pacific Steam Celebration/Big Boy 4014 Viewing on Saturday, May 4. Here is a map of the Park & Ride route:

City of Laramie (click to enlarge)

Albany County School District #1 buses will pick up riders at the University of Wyoming East Lot at 30th and Willett Dr., and drop them off at the bus stop on 1st Street near Grand Avenue.

Riders will then be picked up and dropped off in reverse order. Buses will run from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at approximately 15-minute intervals, allowing riders time to enjoy activities and view the Big Boy 4014 at the Historic Railroad Depot (1st and Kearney Street) along with shopping and dining downtown.

The Big Boy 4014 steam engine is scheduled to stop in Laramie from 12:30 to 1:15 p.m. It is anticipated that between 2,000 and 4,000 attendees will be participating in this historic viewing opportunity.

Attendees are encouraged to utilize this park & ride to help alleviate parking and traffic issues.

More information on activities and viewing at the Historic Railroad Depot can be found at laramiedepot.org or on Facebook at Laramie Historic Railroad Depot.

LARAMIE – Even if you are not a railroad buff, you will not want to miss the opportunity to see a classic Wyoming steam engine when it stops in Laramie this weekend.

Townsquare Media

The 4000-Class Wasatch Big Boy No. 4014 will pull into the historic Laramie Railroad Depot at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 4, for a brief 45 minute stop. The engine is scheduled to depart at 1:15 p.m.

Twenty-five Big Boy locomotives were built to haul freight over the Wasatch Mountains between Ogden, Utah, and Green River, Wyoming. In the late 1940s, they were reassigned to Cheyenne, where they hauled freight over Sherman Hill to Laramie.

They were the only locomotives to use a 4-8-8-4 wheel arrangement: four-wheel leading truck for stability entering curves, two sets of eight driving wheels and a four-wheel trailing truck to support the large firebox.

According to a Union Pacific executive, the class series originally was to have been called the “Wasatch.” One day while one of the engines was being built, an unknown worker scrawled “Big Boy” in chalk on its front. With that, the legendary name was born and has stuck ever since.

The Laramie Railroad Depot will be hosting free historic tours on the 4th, as well as a reception from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

No need to despair if you can’t make it Saturday. Two trains will be back in town on Friday, May 17. The Big Boy No. 4014 and the 4-8-4 Northern No. 844 are set to arrive at 12:45 p.m. on Friday the 17th, stay all day Saturday the 18th and leave Sunday the 19th at 8 a.m.

Food trucks and vendors will be serving at the Laramie Depot parking lot both weekends.

To check out the steam train schedule, go to up.com and search for heritage steam schedule.

Go to visitlaramie.org, laramiedepot.org, or call 307-745-4195 or 307-399-7341 for brochures and more information on this and many other events coming to Laramie.

The Laramie Railroad Depot is located at 1st and Kearney Sts. in Laramie.