Union Pacific No. 4023

Union Pacific No. 4023, or UP 4023, is a four-cylinder articulated 4-8-8-4 locomotives Big Boy-type steam locomotive owned by the Union Pacific Railroad (UP). It was built in November 1944, by the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) of Schenectady, New York specifically for fast and heavy freight services through the Wasatch Mountains for the UP.
It last operated in service in July 1959 and was later retired in July 1962 after logging nearly 830,000 miles on the road. After being withdrawn, No. 4023 was placed on the UP's scrapline along with the other Big Boy locomotives but was thankfully spared the cutters torch.
In 1963, No. 4023 was cosmetically restored and put on display for that year's National Railway Historical Society (NRHS) Convention in Cheyenne, Wyoming alongside 4-6-6-4 "Challenger" No. 3985 and 4-8-4 locomotives "Northern" No. 844. Once the convention was over, No. 4023 was moved along with No. 3985 inside the Cheyenne roundhouse for storage. 
In 1974, No. 4023 was once again cosmetically restored and towed to Omaha, Nebraska to be placed on static display in front of the Union Pacific's locomotive shops until their closure in 1988. No. 4023 was then moved to the original Kenefick Park on Abbott Drive, near the former UP shop site until redevelopment in the area had forced the closure of Kenefick Park. No. 4023 was then temporarily housed outside of the Durham Museum in Downtown Omaha.
In 2005, No. 4023 alongside UP EMD DDA40X No. 6900 were both moved by truck to the new location for static display at the new Kenefick Park which is located on a bluff overlooking the Missouri River next to Lauritzen Gardens, Nebraska's botanical gardens, on Bancroft Street just off the I-80 in South Omaha, NE. The two engines still reside there to this day.
== Trivia ==
* No. 4023's and No. 6900's move to Kenefick Park in 2005 was featured in an episode of "Huge Moves".
* It is one of eight surviving UP Big Boys currently in preservation. 
* It is the only surviving member that was built in the second batch of Big Boys that were constructed in 1944 while the other seven survivors all came from the first batch in 1941. 
* The engine can be seen side by side with fellow surviving Big Boy #4004 in Herron Rail Video's Articulateds America's Biggest Steam DVD.
== Gallery ==
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File:Big Boy 4023.jpg
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Category:Locomotives
Category:Union Pacific locomotives
Category:Steam locomotives
Category:Tender locomotives
Category:American locomotives
Category:4-8-8-4 locomotives
Category:4-8-8-4 steam locomotives
Category:Eight-coupled locomotives
Category:Articulated locomotives
Category:Freight locomotives
Category:ALCO locomotives
Category:Preserved locomotives
Category:American steam locomotives
Category:Union Pacific Big Boy
Category:Preserved steam locomotives
Category:Locomotives featured in media
Category:Standard gauge locomotives of the United States
Category:Standard gauge locomotives
Category:Built in 1944
Category:4-8-8-4 locomotives
Category:1940s
Category:Static Display