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For the longest time I wanted to see the Union Pacific Big Boy with my own eyes. Unfortunately, work and life always had different plans for me and I was always at the wrong side of the country. In 2025 there was only a very small excursion of Big Boy, which I missed as well.
In 2026 however, Union Pacific is celebrating the 250th birthday of the United States with a Coast-to-Coast tour of Big Boy. I checked their schedule and finally dates lined up with my schedule.
The Big Boy would be in Roseville, a town just NE of Sacramento. UP also has a major yard in Roseville, that’s where the train will be arriving on Friday, April 10 and parked for a public tours before leaving again on Sunday, April 12th.
Finally the scheduling would work out to see Big Boy. After work on Friday, I left the Bay Area and headed to Roseville where I stayed for the weekend.
Friday, April 10, 2026
After arriving Friday evening, I had to check out the train and see what photos I could get. The yard was fenced off and there was an added security presence to make sure nobody jumps the barriers as people get really dumb if it comes to events like that. I was able to get a few photos of the locomotive and train parked in the yard. An atmospheric rive was also approaching California which called for a very rainy weekend forecast. It started to rain, just as I finished up taking photos. Perfect timing, but unfortunately, I didn’t check if the storm would produce lightning strikes and left. I haven’s seen much lightning in this region of California. Now I know to check next time, as I could have gotten some shots of the train with lightning.
Back at the hotel I prepped my gear for the next day. Charging my batteries, downloading all the pictures of the memory card, packing my backpack and got some sleep for an adventurous day with Big Boy.
Saturday, April 11, 2026
Thanks to my scouting on Friday, I knew exactly where I could park and left the hotel early after a quick breakfast to get there ahead of opening. I walked the perimeter to get more photos of the Big Boy by daylight and with only a small TV crew in the way as I knew it will get crowded on a Saturday.
A few people already queued up at the entrance and I joined them to also get in as one of the first to quickly rush over to the train and get some more pictures without the crowds. While in line, I talked to a mother and her son waiting behind me and we found out that UP had changed the departure route for Sunday. Rather than going over the pass to Truckee, the train will take the same route back to Cheyenne, WY as it came in – through the Feather River Canyon. This was due to the forecasted winter storm over the mountains. Unfortunately, that messed up my plan for Sunday where I want to stop and photograph the train in the wild. While we still waited for the gates to open, I already started researching new photo spots and found quite a few.
After getting a few good photos I explored the exhibits, which were amazing. I was able to learn so much about railroad and what it takes to keep the railroad running. Everything from maintenance, to training to track repair and public safety. There was also a small scavenger hunt. Each of the booths had a stamp and you had to collect them all to win a in-person tour of the locomotive. Unfortunately, I wasn’t lucky enough to win.
I even walked all the way to the other side of the railyard, to get photos of the train and event from the other side. People just kept trespassing onto railroad property instead of staying on public ways and areas. Railroad police had to constantly kick them out.
So far the weather was okay. Overcast with some light rain, but now heavier clouds were pushing in and I made my way back to the other side and to my car. I arrived just in time before a big downpour started and was able to sit in my car and wait it out.
After the big rain, I ventured back over to the train to get more pictures. While photographing Big Boy, I was also able to catch some of the switching operation in the rail yard as the locomotives drove right by Big Boy.
The event wrapped up and security made sure everyone is leaving the premises. Since it was still “early” and lots of daylight hours left. I decided to head to my planned photo spots in the Feather River Canyon to make sure where I will be able to park and how the location looks like compared to street view images. I was able to capture a few trains going through the Feather River Canyon while doing so.
At night of course the usual prep for the next day.
Sunday, April 12, 2026
After getting up in the morning and breakfast, I packed up all my stuff as I would be checking out of the hotel while chasing the train after it leaves Roseville.
A few other people were already at the location to wait for the train to leave. While waiting I got even more photos of Big Boy sitting in the yard. Since UP changed the route, the way Big Boy would leave the railyard was obvious and I set myself up next to a railroad crossing on the sidewalk. People coming in later started to trespass onto railroad property to get in front of everyone but before the train even started moving, railroad police came in and pushed everyone back out. That gave me a clear view of the tracks.
As Big Boy started to move, it pushed out so much steam all around, I was worried I would only capture a steam cloud moving by. Luckily, I was far enough down the track and the locomotive finally started to appear from within the steam. What a sight. As Big Boy passed me, I ran up to the railroad crossing to get more shots of the train. It looked so amazing as the cars of the train disappeared in a steam cloud in the distance.
I knew Big Boy would be reversing back into the yard on a different track, I crossed over the railroad crossing to get a different angle and it also had better lighting due to the sun’s position. People were waiting left and right of the the crossing for the train to come back.
We all tracked Big Boy passing by the railroad crossing towards the far end of the yard. Everyone was so focused that nobody even recognized the Amtrak Capitol Corridor train approaching from the same direction but everyone had their back facing this direction. Luckily railroad police kicked all the people out of within the gates of the railroad crossing.
I ran back to my car to drive to the far end of the yard on the parallel public road to get another shot before the train would leave. I got a few pictures in before the train would start moving. But what a coincidence – right as Big Boy started moving another locomotive with a few cars was switching at a closer track to me and completely blocked Big Boy leaving the yard.
A person thought it might be a good idea to fly their drone directly over the train and over the railyard, which is against so many rules, but well, people are stupid and that’s why we have all these rules now.
Chasing Big Boy
After Big Boy left the yard, I had a few photo locations in mind and headed to my first one. I choose one further down the road, so it would be easy for me to catch up with Big Boy and potentially avoid the masses. It kind off worked out. There were only a handful of people at this location, but I found out shortly after, that the train was stopped at a siding in Ostrom to let a southbound train pass. I tried my luck and headed that way and oh boy oh boy. The small road next to the train tracks was packed with cars and people. Everyone here to see Big Boy. Sheriff and UP Police were on site as well to keep everyone safe. They were super friendly and even up for a chat.
As soon as the train got close to Big Boy and I got a few photos in, I jumped into my car and headed down the line. Just a little bit, where it would be less crowded to get better pictures and hoping to see Big Boy put out some steam. It mostly worked out, but most of the white steam Big Boy put out, mixed in with the clouds of this overcast day. Many people stood way to close to the Railroad tracks, even as the train passed them. UP made announcements on their website and social channels to stay at least 50ft away from tracks.
After the train passed me, I went back to my original spot, as I liked the location and scenery. Only downside, you can’t get close to the tracks but you get a nice scenery shot. After just a bit of waiting, Big Boy showed up. A few other cars showed up as well. This was one of the least crowded spots on my chase.
After that I kept on driving to find another spot along the way. It was easy enough to get ahead of Big Boy, as the train wasn’t traveling very fast. I pulled over just before the West Branch Feather River Bridge and got a few more photos of the train. It was stopping there for a bit, which made it easy to get some photos. I waited until the train started rolling again to hopefully get some steaming photos, but Big Boy is just to powerful and pulls the train with ease.
Now I am in known territory. I have been to Feather River Canyon a few times before for rail fanning. However, parking spots are rather rare as the road winds through a canyon and many of the better spots were already taken up by people waiting there for a long time. Some people just get dumb when it comes to that kind of stuff and ignore safety for them and others. They park in the road and run across streets with traffic just for a stupid selfie. That is just crazy to me. If someone is waiting at a spot for hours, they have all the right to be there and get the photos but some people are just to entitled and think, if they show up it is only all about them. I kept driving until a spot opened up. I was listening to the communication with the train on my radio and found out that the train is stopped just before my location. So I drove this way and I knew there would be a pull off which was empty earlier. Luckily there were only a few cars and still enough space to park safely without blocking driveways. Speaking of blocking driveways. As the word made its rounds, more and more cars showed up and people again, just got stupid. Parked on the road, driveways to the dam and where ever they could find somewhat of a spot. Even though they would block traffic.
Again, Big Boy was sitting in a siding to wait and let another train pass. While waiting the weather got worse and worse and more rain poured down. I was soaking wet, but thanks tot he amazing weather-sealing of my camera. I wasn’t worried at all about my equipment. I waited for the train to pass and Big Boy to move again. Unfortunately, it was raining pretty heavy at that moment which affected the picture quality.
I tried to get to another spot down the line, I knew off, but traffic got really really bad and Big Boy was just to far ahead of me, with no chance of catching up. Also weather was just not the best either and at that point I decided to turn around and call it a day. I got a bunch of photos of the train and was super happy that I finally got to see the train after so many years.
Gallery
Here my complete set of photos from the event and chasing Big Boy. Enjoy.
Conclusion
It was a great weekend to finally see Big Boy. Even though the weather was not the best, I am so glad I came out to see the train in person and get some amazing photos. The railroad employees at the event were all so super friendly and up for a chat. I learned a lot about how the railroad operates in this area and in general. It’s definitely worth a visit, even better when you have kids. Kids love that train. Please be safe.
Railroad Safety
Checking online later, many people came out to see the train and capture it. But lots of people did stupid stuff, including climbing a signal mast along the tracks and even putting it on Instagram. The railroads don’t take this kind of behavior lightly. If you want to go out and watch trains, no matter if it’s Big Boy or any other train. Play by the rules. Don’t trespass on railroad property like yards, tunnels, bridges and also the right of way. The railroads own the land left and right to the tracks as well. So stay at least 50ft away from the tracks. Be responsible.
Peter is an award-winning photographer who travels all over the world to capture the beauty of our planet as well as the achievements of humanity. Follow Peter on his travel blog Gate to Adventures for more amazing places to go and explore.
