SPRINGFIELD, IL — Grant Fornoff of Kilbourne said he had been following Union Pacific Railroad Co.’s website about posts on Big Boy No. 4014 for months.
A chance to see the world’s largest operating steam locomotive during a whistle stop tour at Springfield’s Amtrak Station July 18 did not disappoint.
“I knew what to expect and it’s just as good in real life than it is in the virtual pictures. Everything and more,” said Fornoff, standing on Washington Street, just west of the Third Street tracks. “I don’t know when I’ll ever see it again, if ever.”
Tim Cain and his daughter, Val, made an 11-hour trip from Athens, Georgia, to see the “Big Boy.”
“It’s a lifelong dream of hers to see the ‘Big Boy’ moving. We’ve seen some of them in museums, but never on the rails,” Tim Cain said.
The “Big Boy” locomotive is 133 feet long and weighs 1.2 million pounds and has been barnstorming across the country as part of America’s 250th birthday. Union Pacific preserved eight of the engines but only 4014 is in operating condition.
After overnighting in Bloomington, it made stops in Springfield and Girard, but also rolled through cities like Lincoln, Chatham and Carlinville on its way to St. Louis.
While “Big Boy” was the star of the show, the train included the commemorative No. 1616 Lincoln Locomotive, honoring President Abraham Lincoln. The locomotive, part of Union Pacific’s Heritage Fleet, was on display at the Amtrak Station in 2025.
Visit Springfield Director Scott Dahl said there wasn’t an official attendance count, but estimated there were 1,500 to 2,000 people gathered just around the Amtrak Station about 30 minutes before train pulled in.
The city of Springfield provided tents and bottled water as temperatures hovered in the high 80s. Sangamon Mass Transit District also had its cooling bus available.
Mayor Misty Buscher said Springfield signed on as a “Train City USA” town a couple of years ago. That designation could get other train-related events to Springfield.
“There are a lot of train enthusiasts,” said Buscher, noting Saturday’s crowd.
Village of Chatham Mayor Dave Kimsey was part of a watch party at the Chatham Railroad Museum.
“It’s really cool it’s tied into the same year that Route 66 is celebrating an anniversary,” Kimsey said.
Dan Curry of Springfield, one of the early arrivals at the Amtrak Station, said he had seen “Big Boy” running in Utah and Wyoming. He saw it last in Nokomis in 2024.
“It just brings back the nostalgia of the moment,” said Curry, sporting a “Big Boy” t-shirt.
Roger Craddock of Memphis, Tennessee, said he was on his way to an airshow in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, when he decided to overnight in Springfield to see “Big Boy.”
“My father was quite a steam train aficionado and we rode much smaller steam engines on many occasions in the mountains (of West Virginia, where I grew up), so I thought I would honor his memory by seeing the ‘Big Boy,'” Craddock said.
Hannah Klumpp of Springfield was waiting on her 97-year-old grandmother, Henrietta Sisk of Glenarm, at the station.
“She loves anything historical that kind of brings back memories,” Klumpp said. “She loves being outside, so it’s great to get her out of the house to have a good, relaxing day.”
John Medina of Danville said he wanted to experience the sounds and feeling of the “Big Boy.”
“And that whistle. I want to hear that whistle in person, too,” he said.
“Not many things get me up at 4 o’clock in the morning, said Medina’s wife, Tamara, with a laugh. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime thing.”
Doris Grivna, who has been travelling with her husband to see Route 66 for its centennial, coined the moment as her “second rendezvous” with the Big Boy, after seeing it first in her hometown of Beaver, Pennsylvania.
“We just thought it would be great to see it again in a different place,” Grivna said. “We’ve already been to Chicago and Pontiac … yesterday we only did 115 miles because we kept stopping.”
Dahl said early summer tourism numbers for Springfield were strong and hotel occupancy numbers were way up.
“‘Big Boy’ coming through here just adds to what we call ‘the great convergence’ (with America 250, the centennial of Route 66 and the FIFA World Cup),” Dahl said. “It’s a real treat.”
Contact Steven Spearie: 217-622-1788; sspearie@sj-r.com; X, twitter.com/@StevenSpearie.
Claire Grant writes about business, growth and development and other news topics for The State Journal-Register. She can be reached at CLGrant@gannett.com; and on X (Formerly known as Twitter): @Claire_Granted
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Seeing vintage steam locomotive in person ‘lifetime dream’ for some
Reporting by Steven Spearie and Claire Grant, Springfield State Journal-Register / State Journal-Register
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By Steven Spearie and Claire Grant, Springfield State Journal-Register | USA TODAY Network
