Big crowd for a Big Boy: 61,000 visit steam engine in Rochelle

ROCHELLE – The lines were long, but the wait was worth it for the estimated 61,000 people who journeyed to Ogle County on Sunday to see the Union Pacific’s Big Boy 4014 steam engine.

Parked at the Union Pacific’s Global lll Intermodal Terminal (GB3) southwest of town, a steady stream of cars filled local streets and the Rochelle off ramp on Interstate-88 as thousands made the trip to see the historic locomotive at the free, daylong event.

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A docent talks about the history of Union Pacific's Big Boy 4014 vintage steam locomotive on Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. An estimated 61,000 people visited the steam locomotive at the UP Global III terminal during the daylong, free event in Rochelle. The visit was part of Union Pacific’s eight-week “Heartland of America Tour,” which started Aug. 29, in Cheyenne, Wyoming, and continues across nine states. (Earleen Hinton)

“It’s awesome,” exclaimed Lylah Holter, 6, of Round Lake as she checked out the 11 other rail cars behind Big Boy with her dad, Nicholas, and siblings, Judah, 9, and Theah, 18 months.

The Holter family drove about 2 hours to get to Rochelle and decided to walk to the terminal due to traffic jams on surrounding roads to Big Boy.

“We decided to get out and walk,” Nicholas said. “It took us about 45 minutes.”

Many visitors opted to park their vehicles along the side of the road rather than wait in bumper-to-bumper traffic to get to the expansive parking lot at GB3 – something Rochelle police asked motorists not to do.

“There are a lot of visitors today for the Big Boy viewing. Please avoid Jack Dame Drive unless you are making your way to the Union Pacific Rail Yard. Traffic is moving at a good speed, and there is plenty of parking at Global III therefore if you can avoid walking it’s suggested since there are no sidewalks. Also note that there are several retention ponds therefore there is no direct access point once you get into the Union Pacific yard. We ask that everyone drive with caution as we have officers and volunteers assisting with traffic,” the department posted on social media Sunday morning.

Traffic was backed up on I-88 for the Rochelle exit and almost all the secondary roads leading to the terminal also were clogged with vehicles. Coming in from the southwest, Guhler Road had a 2.5-mile back up, prompting some motorists to pull off alongside the road in the grass and walk in.

Vehicles with license plates from a variety of states, including Iowa, Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio and California, could be seen waiting in line to get to the terminal.

But all that didn’t dampen the excitement for those who made it in to see the behemoth steam engine and learn all about its history and operators.

“It was one of our largest events. We had someone at the entrance with a clicker – and a sore thumb – counting the people coming in,” said Robynn Tysver of Union Pacific Railroad’s media relations office.

Once inside, visitors crowded in to pose by Big Boy as it sat on the tracks releasing whispers of steam while cameras and cellphones recorded the moment. Intermittent blasts of the engine’s full steam whistle, complemented by white puffs from the dome, garnered large cheers from the crowd.

Tents offering Big Boy merchandise, UP railroad calendars, train coloring books for kids, and other items lined the parking lot south of the train. UP even had an employment recruitment tent at the event.

But the most popular draw, outside of the engine itself, was the large tent with chairs where visitors could listen to the Big Boy crew as they answered questions about the engine and their experiences as its steam crew.

Tysver roamed through the crowd handing the microphone to kids and adults who peppered the crew with a variety of questions.

Ed Dickens, UP’s manager of heritage operations, which along with Big Boy, includes other vintage rail cars and engines, fielded questions including one asking about why UP restored and operates the steam engine.

“That is a very good question,” said Dickens, the steam-team manager. “If you take a quick moment and scan this crowd and you think ‘why would the Union Pacific operate steam locomotives’. Well, we do it because it’s part of the connection of the Union Pacific Railroad. Union Pacific is one of the few railroads in the entire world to have never retired their steam locomotive 844, for example.”

No. 844 is the last steam locomotive built for Union Pacific Railroad. It was delivered in 1944 as a high-speed passenger engine and pulled widely known trains, such as the Overland Limited and Los Angeles Limited.

When diesels took over all of the passenger train duties, No. 844 was placed in freight service and was saved from being scrapped in 1960 and held for special service, UP’s website states.

Hailed as Union Pacific’s “Living Legend,” the engine is widely known among railroad enthusiasts for its excursion runs, especially over Union Pacific’s fabled crossing of Sherman Hill between Cheyenne and Laramie, Wyoming.

UP decided to restore Big Boy in 2013, kicking off a multi-year rebuilding process that culminated with a return to service in May 2019 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Transcontinental Railroad’s completion, Dickens said.

And that investment has been more than worthwhile. “We decided to restore Big Boy,” Dickens said. “The ‘bang for the buck’ if you will, and the return on investment aspect out of this project has been something that we’re really excited about.”

Dickens and other members of Big Boy’s “steam team” willingly met with railroad fans and signed memorabilia, including 10-year-old Elijah Taylor’s 4014 train model. Elijah and his dad, James, drove to the event from their home in Milwaukee.

“We had to come,” James said.

Train enthusiast Del Holmes and wife, Shawn, along with Lucas, 6, and Elijah 4, drove from Bloomington and stayed in Dixon on Saturday night before heading to the terminal on Sunday.

“We drove up last night and stayed in Dixon since it was the only hotel available,” Shawn said as they shopped for Big Boy souvenirs.

Sue McCormick of Crystal Lake and her granddaughter Maddie, 6, of Cary, checked out the coloring books for kids as Maddie’s dad, Dan, and his dad, John, both train enthusiasts, waited.

“My dad and I drove out in 2019 and followed it through Wyoming,” said Dan, referring to the engine’s inaugural trip. “We got to see it earlier in action on Friday when it went through Ashton. We went back home and drove out again today.”

Gary and Jackie Chesney of Richmond were driving down to see Big Boy when the long line of traffic prompted them to park at the Fairways Golf Course in Rochelle and opting to ride their e-bikes the 2.5 miles to the terminal.

“It’s our first time to see Big Boy,” said Gary, 69. “We asked a police officer if we could park at the golf course and he said OK. We had our bikes with us so we grabbed the bikes and rode the rest of the way here. It was wonderful.”

Jackie, 68, agreed. “It was beautiful,” she said.

But not everyone who came on Sunday was a train fanatic. Jesse Lycan, 36, of Columbus, Ohio, arrived in full Captain America attire and was more than happy to pose by the train for photos.

“I just wanted to come and be part of all this,” he said. “My friend Garrett is a Big Boy expert, and he told me about it so I just wanted to come along and be part of the festivities.”

About the Visit

The train’s trek was part of Union Pacific’s eight-week “Heartland of America Tour,” which started Aug. 29 in Cheyenne, Wyoming, and continues across nine states – Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas – before finishing its journey in October.

Fans can track Big Boy’s location as it progresses along its route via the Steam Locomotive Tracking map on Union Pacific’s website.

At 133 feet long, the steam engine is longer than two city buses and weighs more than a Boeing 747, with enough power to pull 16 Statues of Liberty over a mountain range.

Big Boy steam locomotives were used to haul freight between Wyoming and Utah in the 1940s and 1950s. Of the 25 engines built, only eight remain, and only the 4014 is operational.

The locomotive was retired in December 1961, having traveled 1,031,205 miles in its 20 years in service.

On Friday, train enthusiasts followed the behemoth engine as it crossed into Illinois from Clinton, Iowa, and sped along the UP line through Whiteside and Lee counties en route to Rochelle.

A small crowd of train enthusiasts gathered at the Frog Pond railroad crossing near Fulton on Friday afternoon looking for the signature plume of black smoke.

And the big black vintage machine, dubbed as one of the world’s biggest and most powerful steam locomotives, did not disappoint as it raced past the 30-or-so people as cellphones captured the moment.

Big Boy left Clinton about 12:30 p.m. and buzzed by the Frog Pond crossing at 12:52 p.m. on the south tracks heading east through Morrison for a 15-minute whistle stop in Sterling.

From there, the engine and its bright yellow cars headed to Rochelle for the weekend, with the public invited to view the train on Sunday.

It visited the Rochelle Railroad Park in July 2019 where it was greeted by thousands of railway fans and curious citizens.

More about Big Boy

During World War II Union Pacific operated some of the most modern and powerful steam locomotives ever built. Among them were the famous “Big Boys,” the largest steam locomotives in the world. Working with them were the “800-class” high-speed passenger locomotives, as well as hundreds of older class steam engines. Union Pacific’s steam legacy continues today with the preservation and operation of its historic fleet – No. 844 and No. 4014.

Twenty-five Big Boys were built exclusively for Union Pacific Railroad, the first of which was delivered in 1941. The locomotives were 132 feet long and weighed 1.2 million pounds. Because of their great length, the frames of the Big Boys were “hinged,” or articulated, to allow them to negotiate curves.

They had a 4-8-8-4 wheel arrangement, which meant they had four wheels on the leading set of “pilot” wheels which guided the engine, eight drivers, another set of eight drivers, and four wheels following which supported the rear of the locomotive. The massive engines normally operated between Ogden, Utah, and Cheyenne, Wyoming, according to the UP website.

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A docent talks about the history of Union Pacific's Big Boy 4014 vintage steam locomotive on Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. An estimated 61,000 people visited the steam locomotive at the UP Global III terminal during the daylong, free event in Rochelle. The visit was part of Union Pacific’s eight-week “Heartland of America Tour,” which started Aug. 29, in Cheyenne, Wyoming, and continues across nine states. (Earleen Hinton)