Just before noon Monday, Union Pacific’s Big Boy steam engine No. 4014 made a whistle stop at the birthplace of one of the world’s greatest railroad pundits: Johnny Cash.
In honor of one of only six stops scheduled in the state by the Big Boy locomotive, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders issued a proclamation.
Well before the 11:45 a.m. engine arrival, local and visiting rail fans began lining the tracks near Kingsland’s Maple Street crossing. By the time the hulking giant came steaming around the bend, more than 500 train enthusiasts applauded its appearance. For liability and safety purposes, onlookers were required to remain 25 feet away from the massive machine until it came to a complete stop and let off a hissing cloud of steam.
During their brief stop in the town of 447 population, Kingsland Mayor Sharon Crosby presented the governor’s proclamation to Big Boy engineer, Ed Dickens.
The proclamation begins, “Whereas: To celebrate Arkansas’ railroad history and Johnny Cash’s love of trains, the Union Pacific Railroad has chosen as part of its ‘Heartland Tour of America’ for Historic Steam Locomotive Union Pacific-Number 4014 also known as ‘Big Boy’ for a special stop at Kingsland, the birthplace of Johnny Cash.”
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
In addition to Crosby, other local representatives attended, including Cleveland County Judge Jimmy Cummings and Johnny Cash’s cousin Wayne Cash. Also representing Union Pacific was Drew Tessier, public relations director for Louisiana, Arkansas and Texas.
“This is a great opportunity for the citizens of Cleveland County to see a locomotive as rare as this one,” Cummings said. “I’m 65 and have seen a lot of engines but never one like this. Kingsland has a long history of association with trains so it is only appropriate it should stop here.”
Everywhere along the route as he drove over from Rison on U.S. 79 was lined with spectators who had turned out to see 4014 pass by, Cummings said.
“This tour is in celebration of Abraham Lincoln signing the Pacific Railway Act on July 1, 1862,” Big Boy’s engineer Ed Dickens said. “There have been huge crowds like this everywhere we’ve been since leaving Wyoming. This kind of welcome is what we’ve come to expect at every stop. I estimate we’ve seen more than a million people turn out since we left Cheyenne.”
Following their half-hour visit to a town that was born next to the newly laid tracks with the arrival of the Cotton Belt Railroad in 1882, the mighty monarch of the rails let loose several loud blasts from the whistle and pulled away from Kingsland, bell clanging, headed for its last scheduled Arkansas stop in Texarkana.
In an unexpected development, one of the UP engine crew said Big Boy would be making an additional brief, unscheduled stop in McNeil. He further explained how the engine tender carries 80,000 gallons of water, using from 200 to 300 gallons per mile to create the driving steam pressure. It burns roughly 20 gallons of fuel oil per mile to generate steam.
The route of Big Boy includes visits to Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Colorado before returning to Cheyenne. Other Arkansas stops were in Piggott, Hickory Ridge, Brinkley, Pine Bluff and North Little Rock.
According to the Union Pacific website, “Twenty-five Big Boys were built exclusively for Union Pacific Railroad, the first of which was delivered in 1941. The locomotives were 132 feet long and weighed 1.2 million pounds. Because of their great length, the frames of the Big Boys were ‘hinged,’ or articulated, to allow them to negotiate curves. They had a 4-8-8-4 wheel arrangement, which meant they had four wheels on the leading set of ‘pilot’ wheels which guided the engine, eight drivers, another set of eight drivers, and four wheels following which supported the rear of the locomotive. The massive engines normally operated between Ogden, Utah, and Cheyenne, Wyo.
“Big Boy No. 4014 was delivered to Union Pacific in December 1941. The locomotive was retired in December 1961, having traveled 1,031,205 miles in its 20 years in service. Union Pacific reacquired No. 4014 from the RailGiants Museum in Pomona, Calif., in 2013, and relocated it back to Cheyenne to begin a multi-year restoration process. It returned to service in May 2019 to celebrate the 150th Anniversary of the Transcontinental Railroad’s Completion.”
Throngs of spectators turned out to greet the world’s largest steam locomotive when it stopped in Johnny Cash’s birthplace of Kingsland. (Special to The Commercial/Richard Ledbetter)
During a mid-day whistle stop in Kingsland on Monday, local officials presented Union Pacific’s Big Boy crew with the Governor’s Proclamation while UP gifted Kingsland with an official Railroad Town plaque. Participants included an unidentified crew member (left) Cleveland County Judge Jimmy Cummings, crew member, Johnny Cash’s cousin Wayne Cash, UP engineer Ed Dickens behind Mayor Sharon Crosby, UP spokesman Drew Tessier and other railroad crewmen. (Special to The Commercial/Richard Ledbetter)
Big Boy Engine 4014 engineer Ed Dickens stands in front of Kingsland famous ‘Johnny Cash’ water tower. (Special to The Commercial/Richard Ledbetter)