INCREDIBLE START UP - The BIG BOY puts on a show in Portola! ~ USA Coast To Coast Tour 2026

We went down to the yard the day before departure and got some close ups of the Big Boy and crew working on the locomotive as well as the 2 other Diesels: The UP1616 Abraham Lincoln Unit and the UP1776 Commemorating America's 250th Anniversary as a Nation. We also catch a Westbound Grain train departing at Sunset, alongside the Big Boy.

The next morning 4/14 Tuesday, we are up early, and back at the yard getting ready for their departure! We arrive to a crowd of about 50 people set up along the tracks as the crew does their final checks before departing. You can hear them on the radio, as well as the engineer giving signals with the whistle.

Shortly before 8AM they start to pull, and due to the cold temperatures up here in the Sierra Nevada Mountains this morning (25° F!) the steam from the Big Boy lingered in the air like clouds and put on quite a show!

From there we raced East 20 miles with a caravan of other fans to Reno Jct. where we caught them emerging from the tunnel and turning North.

Next spot was at Doyle, CA where we got a nice run by. From here the tracks head thru the desolate desert and we did not want to chance getting a flat tire on the dirt roads. So we stayed on the highways and hightailed it to Gerlach, NV, about a 2 hour drive!

We arrived on scene at Gerlach with about 30 other fans waiting. While we waited about 2 hours, a Westbound Manifest rolled thru, meeting the UP4014 just west of us. There was also a UP Track Inspection crew waiting to set on the tracks, who was providing us updates on the Big Boy's location!

From there we hit the highway again, and started the 3 hour drive to Winnemucca. We arrived with about 30 seconds to spare, with the train pulling into the depot just as I was able to take off with the drone!

Another great crowd was here, many people just walking out of their homes in the nearby area, to come over and see what was going on. We got some great shots of the crew here, working on tying up the train for the night.

I added a little tribute to the Big Boy and the Steam crew here.

Dedicated to a Bygone Era... and to the men who keep it living..

Coast to Coast Tour
Celebrating America's 250th Anniversary as a Nation

Thank you very much for watching! 😎👋🦅