About the Song
Our journey over the Nasonville Valley Railroad has ended, but there is one more whistle to hear.
“Big Boy 4014” is a tribute to Union Pacific No. 4014—the world’s largest operating steam locomotive—and to the men and women who brought this extraordinary machine back to life and continue to operate and care for her.
Built by the American Locomotive Company in 1941, the Big Boys were created for Union Pacific to haul heavy freight over the mountains of the American West. No. 4014 eventually entered retirement and stood silent for decades, seemingly destined to remain a monument to the great age of American steam.
Then came an extraordinary undertaking. Under the leadership of Ed Dickens and the Union Pacific Steam Team, the sleeping giant was restored to operating condition. On May 1, 2019, Big Boy 4014 moved under her own power again.
I composed this song during 4014’s 2026 journey across America. Like so many others, I followed her travels through photographs and videos, watching the crowds gather along the tracks and seeing children and adults alike experience the sight, sound, and power of this remarkable locomotive.
As a live steam enthusiast, there is something especially moving about seeing a locomotive of this magnitude alive again—fire in the firebox, steam in the boiler, smoke rising from the stack, and those enormous drivers turning once more.
This bonus track is my salute to Big Boy 4014, to Ed Dickens and the entire Union Pacific Steam Team, and to everyone committed to preserving America’s steam railroad heritage for generations yet to come.
Big Boy 4014
Verse 1
November of nineteen forty-one,
A legend had begun.
From ALCO’s mighty workshops
In Schenectady she’d come.
Built to conquer mountain grades,
Where the longest freight trains rolled,
The mighty Big Boy earned her name,
A giant forged in steel and coal.
Pre-Chorus
Hear that whistle in the distance,
See the smoke climb to the sky.
Feel the thunder of the drivers—
Big Boy’s rolling by!
Chorus
Big Boy! Big Boy!
Hear the mighty whistle cry!
Steel and steam together,
Like an eagle in the sky.
The earth begins to tremble,
Every heartbeat comes alive.
Stand back from the crossing—
Here comes Forty-Fourteen!
The greatest steam locomotive
Ever built to ride the rails.
Smoke and thunder, fire and iron—
Big Boy never fails!
Verse 2
Built to serve the Union Pacific,
Through the war and peaceful years,
Hauling freight across the mountains,
Driven strong without a fear.
Across the western prairies,
Through the deserts hot and dry,
Until July of fifty-nine
She gave her last goodbye.
Verse 3
Then she stood in silent honor,
A monument to days gone by.
Children dreamed beneath her shadow,
Looking up with wondering eyes.
One of only eight remaining,
Guardians of a vanished age,
Yet deep within her mighty boiler
Still burned history’s flame.
Pre-Chorus
Then hope began to whisper,
“One more run before she’s done.”
A dream too big for many—
Until the work began.
Verse 4
Ed Dickens led the mission,
With craftsmen side by side.
Every rod and every bearing,
Every valve brought back to life.
Bolt by bolt and wheel by wheel,
The sleeping giant woke.
On the first of May, two thousand nineteen,
She breathed her living smoke!
Bridge
Steam was rising,
Crowds were cheering,
Whistles echoed far and wide.
History came roaring back
With Big Boy’s mighty stride!
Verse 5
Now across this blessed nation,
Celebrating freedom’s flame,
From Sacramento east to Philly,
Thousands gathered just the same.
Families lined the railroad crossings,
Children waved with smiling eyes.
Old men remembered younger days,
As smoke rolled through the sky.
Final Chorus
Big Boy! Big Boy!
Hear the mighty whistle cry!
Rolling through America,
Our nation’s strength and pride.
The earth begins to tremble,
Every heartbeat comes alive.
Stand back from the crossing—
Here comes Forty-Fourteen!
She carried dreams and soldiers,
Coal and wheat from shore to shore.
A living piece of history,
Forever, evermore.
Our nation grew on railroads,
On courage, steel, and steam.
The Big Boy stands forever
As the symbol of that dream.
No finer sight in all the world,
No sound more grand to hear,
Than Big Boy charging down the rails
With her whistle loud and clear!
Ending
Hear her thunder…
Feel her power…
Watch the smoke reach for the sky.
Long live the railroads,
Long live steam,
Long live Big Boy Forty-Fourteen!
Lyrics © 2026 Jay Anthony Finelli. All rights reserved.