VILLA GROVE, Ill. (WAND) – Thousands of people across Illinois lined railroad tracks for minutes or hours waiting to catch a glimpse of Union Pacific 4014 commonly known as the Big Boy.
This iron Horse is the largest steam locomotive in the world. It was built in the early 1940s and after being restored is running on the rails once again on a tour put together by the Union Pacific Railroad.
WAND News caught up to the Big Boy in Douglas County in Villa Grove and Tuscola. The train had stayed overnight Monday where the Villa Grove fire department pumped 52 thousand gallons of water into it for its next trip.
On Tuesday morning school children walked along an adjoining street to see the Big Boy parked in a local rail yard. Adults came from all over Illinois. One woman told WAND she came all the way from Nebraska.
In Tuscola, people lined the tracks to watch the train pass in just a matter of minutes. Among them a large number of Amish school children who were transported in vans to see the giant locomotive in action.
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