Union Pacific’s ‘Big Boy 4014’ is a Big Deal

Judith Stanford Miller, Editor
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Union Pacific’s ‘Big Boy 4014’ is a Big Deal
Union Pacific's Big Boy 4014, the largest steam locomotive still operating, is at Steamtown National Historic Site on June 16, 2026. (Photo: RET)

Newsletter #5 – June 19, 2026 –

Crosswinds Update
First I’d like to update everyone on Crosswinds. I’m busy preparing to attend the EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin at the end of July. I’ll be showing Crosswinds on Wednesday, July 22 at 2:30 p.m. in the Skyscape Theater in the EAA Aviation Museum. New for 2026 is an in-depth analysis and animation of Cornelia’s BT-13 crash that claimed her life on March 21, 1943. I continue to read that the male pilots were doing barrel rolls over her plane or were taunting her by flying close to her plane but the evidence just doesn’t support either of those scenarios. Les Sargent, retired FAA inspector, crash investigator and Crosswinds’ aviation consultant, and I just returned from Sweetwater, Texas where we filmed the new segment in the BT-13 at the National WASP WWII Museum. The museum will be flying their BT-13, manufactured in 1943, to Oshkosh where it will be on display at Boeing Plaza. I am thrilled that after the audience watches Crosswinds they can walk to Boeing Plaza to see the BT-13!

This 1943 BT-13A is owned by the National WASP WWII Museum in Sweetwater, Texas. (Photo: RET)

And stay tuned as I have some new information about Cornelia’s lost leather jacket. In 1994 it was at a small museum in Texas and then went missing a few years later. I’m following up on some new clues as to its whereabouts but cannot say more at this time. What a thrill it would be to find her jacket! I’ll keep you posted in the coming weeks.

Cornelia (far left sitting on wing) is wearing her leather jacket in this photo taken shortly before she died.

Big Boy 4014

As I return to covering American history through current events, the path that led me to Cornelia’s remarkable story, I believe more than ever that the public is hungry for this rich content. On June 16, I attended the second day of a two-day public event at the Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Union Pacific’s Big Boy 4014, a massive steam locomotive built in 1941 that served the nation during WWII, stopped in Scranton on their national tour to honor America 250. Over the two-day event in Scranton, about 60,000 people came to see the locomotive. As soon as Big Boy crossed the Mississippi River headed east, crowds rapidly grew, according to Megan Stevens, Steamtown public information officer. Union Pacific reported that barely a mile went by without people waving from the side of the tracks and at crossings.

In Scranton, the vibe was electric and patriotic. Standing high above the large crowd at the front of the locomotive, Ed Dickens, Big Boy’s chief engineer, choked up as he explained the symbolism of the gold eagle mounted on the front. Ed said in 1976 for the nation’s Bicentennial, the Freedom Train displayed gold eagles as she traversed the country. Fifty years ago, the train was a museum on wheels as some of the cargo included original copies of America’s founding documents. Big Boy’s America 250 tour is paying tribute to the Freedom Train and the principles upon which the country was founded 250 years ago, Ed so eloquently said.

On July 4, Big Boy will be in Philadelphia and then she will head back home to Wyoming. Union Pacific spent five years restoring Big Boy to her glory for this significant anniversary. What a worthy endeavor! They must be thrilled to experience the public’s overwhelming response.

I hope to see some of you in Oshkosh!

All the best,
Judy