Steamtown, USA calls for all train lovers far and wide. This large 62 acre park is unexpectedly located in the heart of downtown Scranton, Pennsylvania. Once you enter, you will find a historic collection of locomotives, freight cars, passenger cars and maintenance equipment from historic railroads. In addition, there is a museum which is built around a working turntable, a roundhouse that utilizes original pieces from the 1932 structure, and and several outbuildings dating between 1899 and 1902.
So how did this collection come to be?
Well, most of the steam locomotives and other railroad equipment were originally collected by millionaire seafood processor, Nelson Blount.
I love a good deep dive on an eccentric millionaire, especially one with two completely different interests like seafood processing and trains. So from what I could gather, Nelson was a train boy/railroad enthusiast from childhood. At age 15 he skipped school to see the British steamer, Royal Scot which was on exhibition in his local city of Providence, Rhode Island. From this unsanctioned field trip, he met a guy name Frederick Richardson, who turned into a life long friend.
Many years later in 1938, Nelson and Freddie, co-wrote the first railroad fan book – which is something I didn’t even know existed, but to put it simply it’s kind of like fan-fiction but for trains. The book was called Along the Iron Trail. The book, now a vintage collection, which makes it slightly harder to get my eyes on, but it appears that it takes a look at the history of railroads in America, the development of motive power, freight and passenger trains, safety, and railroading as a hobby and includes many photographs, of you guessed it, trains. One overview of the book even mentions some romance at the train station. Not exactly how that fits into it and it might just be romanticizing the life of a train conductor, but either or, I did want to mention it as I think it adds to the whole story.
Nelson spent some time in the War where he was unfortunately was injured and released on honorary discharge. He returned to his home in Rhode Island where his Uncle who owned a fishing vessel showed him the benefits of eating clams. Essentially it was a cheap, easy source of protein which was important since supplies were low during the war.
In 1943, Nelson purchased an Oyster company and renamed it Blount Seafood Corporation. He sold his clams to support the military and after the war wrapped up he transitioned to selling chopped clams to soup manufactures. A fun and smart transition for the company. From there, he made his fortune.
So what did Nelson do with his fortune, of course he invested it back into the railway. He started by purchasing segments of the railway and eventually transitioned into purchasing rail cars and locomotives. During his time he held the largest collection of vintage steam locomotives and rail cars.
He wanted to share his collection with the world and open a museum of sorts. He looked for grounds in many different states for his collection, but the most promising appeared to be New Hampshire. Unfortunately, this deal fell through in many ways. He kept searching, but unfortunately Nelson’s time on this planet came to an end when he unexpectedly passed away in 1967.
Eventuality the collection was moved to Scranton, where Steamtown fell on hard times and eventually went bankrupt. In 1986, the federal government stepped in and established the Steamtown National Historic Site and the park officially opened in 1995. The park has been running successfully ever since. I like to think that Nelson would enjoy what the park has become, as it continues to share his passions with thousands of people each year.
That’s all and good but how did I find my way here in the first place?
I grew up not too far from this area and although I do love trains, I am not on the same level as our boy Nelson or even close to some of the train enthusiasts that you come across. I love a good train ride, and I do think they are cool, but honestly, I did not even know Steamtown, USA existed.
But like our eccentric millionaire friend, I too have weird passions. Mine are just in the form of seeing the World’s Largest Objects. And here at Steamtown, USA for just 17 days, I could go and view the World’s Largest Operating Steam Locomotive, otherwise known as Union Pacific Big Boy No. 4014, a name that truly just rolls of f the tongue.
This Big Boy, just so happens to be rolling through America on a coast to coast journey in honor of America’s 250th birthday. The event itself is marketed as a Big Boy Reunion and is labeled as a once in a lifetime opportunity to see No. 4014 reunited with Steamtown’s own Big Boy No. 4012. Making it the only place to see two big boys lined up side by side for 17 days in June 2026.
So you might be asking yourself what is a Big Boy to begin with?
Excellent question! One that, I too, had zero background on. So all aboard, as I take you on a journey back in time.
This impressive feat of engineering is known as a Union Pacific Big Boy. This locomotive is a type of simple articulated 4-8 8-4 steam locomotive manufactured between 1941-1944 which was operated by the Union Pacific Railroad.
The 4-8 8-4 arrangement refers to the wheel assembly. The car has a four wheel leading truck, two sets of eight driving wheels and another four wheel trail truck in the back. This locomotive design has only been used by one model of locomotive, which are the Big Boys. The articulated section of the design is so that one or more engine units can moved independently of the main frame, allowing the operation of locomotives that would otherwise be too large to negotiate a railroad’s curves.
Back in the day, 25 Big Boy locomotives were built to haul freight over the Wasatch range between Ogden, UT and Green River, WY. Today, 8 big boys survive. Seven of the survivors are on static displays at museums across the US. In 2019, No. 4014 was re-acquired by the Union Pacific and was rebuilt to operating condition for the 150th anniversary of the first transcontinental railroad, thus regaining the title as the largest and most powerful operational steam locomotive in the world.
My visit
On June 30th, I began my road trip across America. So the timing was perfect, as it was the very last day No. 4014 was at Steamtown, USA, before it made it’s way to the final stop in Philly for a fourth of July celebration.
The website for the event advertised that they expected large numbers of attendance throughout the week and to avoid over crowding of locomotive locos, they enforced timed entries. I purchased my ticket online when I arrived in Scranton since I wasn’t certain of my timing leading up to my arrival. I had a few minutes to kill so I explored the mall that was attached the entrance to the rail yard. After some dilly-dallying, I made my way to the platform.
Personally, I didn’t really expect a huge crowd because it was midday on a Tuesday but boy was I wrong. From the moment I stepped on the bridge that went over the train tracks and over looked all the rail cars, I saw a sea of people. As I made my way towards the crowd, I had a beautiful view of the grounds. I originally didn’t expect to spend too much time here but after stepping on the platform, I knew I could easily spend a few hours.
I made my way down to where both Big Boy’s were parked side by side, I took a few photographs and walked over to the other side. There, I was met with a huge line. I wasn’t too certain about what it was for but quickly put together that it lead to the stairs of Big Boy 4012 and people could walk in and tour the inside of the main Locomotive.
Looked fun, so I walked to the end of the long line and began my wait. After a few minutes, I instantly regretted not bringing any water or a granola bar to hold me over on this hot June afternoon. Luckily later in the line, they had a small water station where I was able to get a quick drink to hold me over. The line moved relatively quickly but overall I did wait an hour.
While I waited, I eavesdropped on the other rail enthusiasts. For some of the people, it was their second or third time here to see both Big Boys. Some trainheads came from out of state to see the reunion. One guy even planned to follow Big Boy 4014, on it’s journey down to Philly, having viewing stops along the way. I was impressed at the dedication, I love it when people have unique hobbies.
At one point, a park ranger came over and happily chatted with the crowd. During one conversation he said that all in all this 17 day event, brought in 110,000 visitors, which is impressive on its own. But even more so when Steamtown, USA brings in a total of approximately 61,000 visitors A YEAR. So in 17 days, it near doubled their attendance, good for them!
When I got to the front, I boarded Big Boy 4012, which is the same size and make as Big Boy 4014, so it’s only slightly less impressive because it does not run. But it disqualifies it from the important title of World’s Largest OPERATING Steam Locomotive.
They let on a handful of people at a time and it was a quick walk around the operator room and bonus, gave me some good views of 4014, parked right next door, where the train technicians were actively preparing it for it’s next leg.
After the small tour, I jumped off and headed to explore the museum and train displays. Truly I was impressed by the turntable located behind the museum. This rotating platform was used for single locomotives or individual cars to turn them in the direction that they wanted them to face.
Outside the museum was another outbuilding that housed a small souvenir shop. I looked around but didn’t make any purchases. Partially due to the long line, and partially due to whatever I do buy I will have to carry around with me for 3 months. And with limited space, my goal for this trip is to keep light on the souvenirs, maybe purchasing the occasional sticker or postcard.
When I finished ogling the various trains on display, it was time to go take as many pictures as I can with Big Boy 4014. This ended up being a bit more challenging than my usual World’s Largest pictures, due to the sheer amount of people.
So I did my best on my own, and had a few people offer to take my photo, which I gladly accepted. And I even enlisted a guy who was nearby for assistance, though after asking he seemed annoyed that out of all the people I could have chose, I chose him. But oh well, it worked out for me and now I have some cool photos.
After enjoying the train and people watching in the crowd, I made my way back up to the bridge. As I said my goodbyes, I took a few more moments to take in the glory that is Steamtown, USA. I could see myself coming back to Steamtown, USA during its normal operation hours. And I do highly recommend the visit, whether you’re a young kid or a grown ass adult, you can always the magic of the railway.
