The world’s largest operating steam locomotive departed from Cheyenne, Wyoming, last week as part of its 10-stop journey across the United States.
The train, officially known as Big Boy No. 4014, will pass through Illinois this week as it heads east across the Mississippi River to help celebrate America’s 250th birthday.
What is Big Boy No. 4014?
Delivered to Union Pacific in 1941, the locomotive was among 25 built to haul wartime freight across the Continental Divide in Wyoming and Utah. Big Boy is the last one running, and in the 1960s was converted to burn oil instead of coal.
Big Boy is 133 feet long and weighs 1.2 million pounds. It traveled more than 1 million miles during its working life hauling freight between Cheyenne and Ogden, Utah. The train typically draws large crowds of rail enthusiasts, and it’s common to see superfans with cameras in hand chasing it in cars.
“Union Pacific couldn’t be prouder to share this powerful piece of history with the nation and to be a part of America’s birthday celebration,” Union Pacific CEO Jim Vena said in a statement. “This tour celebrates our company’s rich 164-year history, our nation’s amazing story and the people who have helped build our great country and our railroad.”
What is Big Boy’s route?
The train is set to stop in Nebraska, Illinois, upstate New York and Pennsylvania, before turning south to Philadelphia for a Fourth of July celebration and heading back west through Ohio and Missouri.
Here’s the full list of stops:
Where is Big Boy stopping in Illinois? What time will it be on display?
The train will stop at the Union Pacific Training Center in West Chicago on June 3. It will be on display south of the West Chicago Metra stop from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. CT.
Admission is free, with no tickets required.
Where can Illinois residents watch Big Boy pass through?
Rail fans can also see the train in action at whistle-stops, generally lasting 15-30 minutes long.
The train will pass B Street Crossing in Sterling, Illinois, between 1:30 and 2 p.m. on Tuesday, June 2. It will then pass by Rochelle Railroad Park in Rochelle from 3-3:15 p.m.
After reaching its eastmost stop in Philadelphia, the train will then head back out west, passing by the Amtrak Depot in Springfield between 10:45-11:15 a.m. on Saturday, July 18. The last public view of the train in Illinois will be at Center St. Crossing in Girard between 1-1:30 p.m.
Track Big Boy as it travels across the US
Rail fanatics can follow Big Boy on its coast-to-coast tour using Union Pacific’s real-time location tracker.
How many people are expected to see Big Boy in-person?
Union Pacific officials say they expect more than a million people to witness the locomotive traveling east and back to Cheyenne.
How to safely watch Big Boy
Ed Dickens, a locomotive engineer and Union Pacific’s senior manager of steam operations, asked that spectators stay at least 25 feet back to avoid the immense heat coming from the steam boiler.
“When [people] come, they’re going to hear that whistle, and chances are they’re going to hear that whistle long before they see it. You’ll feel the ground rumbling, feel the heat … emanating off this giant machine. This locomotive, it does not disappoint,” he said. “It runs like a Swiss watch.”
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: ‘Big Boy’ train kicks off America 250 tour. See it this week in Illinois
Reporting by Hannah Hudnall and Trevor Hughes, Peoria Journal Star / Journal Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
