The enormous crowds tracking Big Boy No. 4014 make strict safety compliance essential along every mile of the tour. Railroad tracks are private industrial property. Operating crews, local law enforcement, and Union Pacific police enforce a strict 25-foot railroad safety zone extending outward from the outer rails. Standing within that boundary is illegal trespassing and exposes spectators to deadly suction, ballast debris, and protruding tie-down straps.
Locomotives overhang the rails by a minimum of three feet on each side, with side-rod clearances expanding along sharp curves. Never stand on cross-ties, bridges, or service access roads. If you are standing on crushed granite ballast, you are too close. Find public rights-of-way, municipal road shoulders, or open fields where the owner has granted clear spectator permission.
Drone operators face severe regulatory scrutiny near active rail lines. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) bans drone flights directly over moving trains, rail workers, or crowds. Flying too close to the cab distracts the engineer and fireman, prompting emergency brake applications that halt the tour for hours. Keep drones safely back, maintain visual line of sight, and avoid flying through the dense exhaust plume, which can blind down-facing optical sensors and cause a crash.
