The Union Pacific 4014 “Big Boy” Train Chase

Thursday. 3:00 a.m. in the morning.

No one should be up this early unless they have a newspaper route.

But today is the day. Today is the chance to photograph the Union Pacific 4014 “Big Boy” train as it chugs through Western New York.

And I live in Eastern New York … so if I want to photograph Big Boy, I’d better get out of bed. Big Boy’s not coming to Albany.

Cameras are in the car. Tank is full of electricity and fuel. Plenty of tunes for the road trip.

Let’s drive.

I made it to Western New York at about 9:00 a.m. My plan was to photograph the train in five different locales – but one locale in particular needed to supersede all others.

I need to shoot the train adjacent to the old Linden Mill in East Bethany, New York. This was recommended to me by John Kucko, the Rochester sportscaster / photo journalist who is currently battling a serious illness that is sadly keeping him off the train chase. But there are plenty of chasers that will carry the baton for him.

I arrived in East Bethany at about 9:15 a.m., and although there were a few people already stationed for prime shooting spots … I was able to find an unobstructed parking area.

“Hey,” someone called to me.

“Yes?”

“You want this spot here?” He said, pointing to a locale just 25 feet from the tracks.

“It’s a good spot. You should shoot from there.”

“I can’t,” he said. “My aunt joined me on this trip, and the heat is too much for her. So I’m moving down the track a little so that she is in the shade. this spot is yours if you want it.”

I can’t be this lucky.

I mean … here’s the spot.

If the train crosses the track right there … maybe I can get it with the smokestack and the words “Linden Mill” in the background.

Let’s see what gear I can use for this.

Telephoto should work. I grabbed my Nikon Df and attached my Nikkor 80-200 f/2.8 lens on it.

The camera flashed a fEE error. That means the lens isn’t cooperating with the camera chassis.

No. I can’t have that. Not now.

Went back to the car, grabbed my 55mm f/1.2 prime.

It’s nice … it might work … but I want better.

Decided on the Nikon Df with my Vivitar 19mm f/3.8 ultrawide. It should allow me to catch the train and the building and a row of rolling stock behind the train.

Union Pacific has an online train tracker. I punched the coordinates into my phone.

The blue dot is Big Boy’s location. The white circle is little old me.

Several people said that they had friends at an earlier stop in Attica, and the parking was virtually non-existent. If I went there first, there would be NO WAY to catch the train at the Linden Mill.

And apparently the Linden Mill is a local “true crime story” locale – supposedly there’s something called the Linden Mill Murders.

Someone touches my camera gear, there might be a second Linden Hill Murder. 😀

One person said, “The train just left Attica, it should be here in about 20 minutes.”

Awesome. A few test shots here and there.

And I’m also making sure I’m not in anyone’s photo view. A good railfan resepcts his/her fellow photographers and hobbyists.

I fired off a few more test shots. This will work.

And then … a rumble in the ground. A train horn so loud that Marlee Matlin could hear it.

Big Boy was on its way.

Okay, Chuck. This is the big time. Make this work.

You’re right here, right now.

Shoot. Rapid-fire.

And after the train crossed … I chimped the screen.

And saw this.

If I’m seeing what I think I’m seeing …

I won’t be able to process the picture until I get home … but let’s see what the raw JPG image is for this photo.

Oh my Lord. Can you all say Competition Season 2026??

Jumped in the car. Nest stop – Swain.

My GPS, however, decided to take me through about an hour of back roads and one-lane pathways .. and on my journey, there were hundreds of cars parked alongside the road. People jumping out of their cars, cameras and video equipment in hand, ready to capture a glimpse of Big Boy.

I don’t have time. I have to get to Swain – wait a second … am I passing over a railroad trestle?

Nah, it can’t be. I’m not this lucky. There’s probably no parking whatsoever –

Oh, look. A Chevrolet Volt-sized parking spot. Perfect for me.

Apparently I was in the town of Portage. And the train was on its way.

I didn’t even have time to swap out lenses. The Vivitar worked for me the first time, and you dance with your date. Time to boogie.

And after a few moments … look who arrived.

There’s Big Boy. And I know I can process this photo later … but wow Two for two.

Now if I hurry, I might still be able to arrive at Swain.

There’s a nature overlook with a small pavilion. And a few parking spots. Very few. And when I arrived at Swain … the spots were taken.

But I saw a couple of people trying to double-park. Well, when in Swain, do as the Swain do …

Then, as I turned off my car … someone tapped my driver’s side window.

Forest ranger. Nuts.

“You didn’t find any other spots on the way down here?” he glared.

“No, sir,” I replied, already preparing to drive off.

The forest ranger looked at me with that glare that equals a future summons. “Once this train leaves, you have 30 seconds to move your car out of here. I start writing tickets at 31 seconds.”

Yes, sir. Okay. If I have to sprint out of here after the train passes through Swain, I may as well use the gear that’s already successfully nailed two different photo opportunities. Nikon Df with the Vivitar ultrawide.

And just as I set up at a spot along the pavilion … the last available tripod spot at the pavilion …

Look who arrived.

Again … a little post-processing to bring out the highlights, and we have something here.

Next stop is Hornell. The train is supposed to stop at Hornell for about 15 minutes. If I hurry … I have a chance.

“Hurry” seems to be an optional word. Hornell’s main roads are covered in single-lane construction. Ugh.

And something else. I’ve taken photos all day. The temperature has ranged between 80 degrees and 95 degrees. And it’s humid. As I arrived in Hornell, and found a spot to set up – yep, Nikon Df and Vivitar 19mm f/3.8 lens – my body was screaming at me. Get some food, Chuck. Get some liquids, Chuck. Do this as soon as possible or you might discover the wonderful world of out-of-network medical coverage.

Okay. If I get one more shot of Big Boy, that will be it. Let’s hope that I don’t pass out in the proces.

And look who arrives.

Big Boy with the American flag fluttering in the breeze.

Okay, if I hurry, I can get to –

No. Four stops is enough. I got the photos. I made it through Don’t risk your health. No amount of train photos is worth your health.

So I packed the car … and drove to Clinton. Because I still have a Hamilton College reunion this weekend.

And as I drove up I-390 to pick up the Thruway …

Storm clouds. Big fat storm clouds.

Raindrops.

More raindrops.

Buckets of raindrops.

Tankers of buckets of raindrops.

Had to drive up 390 with my flashers, and I was a couple of stops away from finding an underpass and pulling over … but I made it through the storm.

All in all … an incredible journey. Got the Big Boy photos, and I’m sure once I get them home and post-process the raw files, these images will look spectacular.

I made it through the journey.

But now I need some eats. And a couple of cold ones. And a full tissue massage.