De Soto city leaders and business owners are busy making plans for Thursday, Sept. 12, when the world’s largest operating steam locomotive comes to town. The Big Boy No. 4014 locomotive is scheduled to be at the Commercial Street crossing from 11-11:30 a.m.
Motorists need to plan ahead for road closures that morning.
City Manager Todd Melkus said the city will close Main Street from Boyd to Pratt streets starting at 10 a.m. He said the city will close the 200 block of Main Street between West Clement Street and West Mineral streets, where the Big Boy will be stopped at for 30 minutes.
“We expect a significant crowd,” Police Chief Jeff McCreary said. “That block will be closed to pass-through traffic so people may walk up close enough to get a good look. We’ll be talking with business owners to let them know traffic will be restricted for those hours.”
Melkus said southbound through traffic on Main Street will be detoured at Boyd Street to Second Street. Northbound through traffic on Main Street will detour at West Pratt Street to Second Street.
He said on the other side of the railroad tracks, traffic at East Main Street will be blocked at Rankin Street and East Clement Street. He said east side traffic should use East Second and East Third streets for travel around the event.
Melkus said there should be a lot of parking available near East Main Street and around the Arlington Event Center.
“Detours and parking restrictions will be lifted after pedestrian traffic clears, and it is safe for vehicle traffic,” he said. “The city will attempt to make the event as accessible as possible to eventgoers, but due to that expected crowd, our main goal is pedestrian safety.”
Tammy Bordeau, owner/manager of the Arlington Event Center, 207 E. Main St., is excited about the train coming to town. The business will be open for people to come and sit and they will be selling drinks. A St. Louis-based food truck, Kanoa’s Hawaiian Grill, will be there from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Bordeau said a bunch of people have called wanting to know if they can stay at the Arlington.
“Several rooms are booked,” she said.
Gracelife Chapel, 1000 N. Main St., located on the other side of North Main Street, will provide a rest area.
“We will be providing a rest area to include building restrooms, along with free hot dogs and drinks,” Gracelife outreach director Laura Borman said.
Near Boyd Street, The Gathering Room, 116 N. Main St., and the pop-up The Jolly Bee Bookshop, will have train-related activities. There will be a free kids craft and story time at 9:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. There will be train-themed books, toys and snacks available for purchase. Train Town Treasures, 108 N. Main St., will have train memorabilia for sale.
De Soto’s Green Team, a committee of volunteers who spruce up the town, will be selling barbecue at the Mercantile at Main shop, 602 S. Main St. Proceeds will fund beautification projects.
The Big Boy’s 2024 Heartland of America Tour kicked off Aug. 28, from Cheyenne, Wyo. During the tour, Big Boy will pass through Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas and Wyoming. There is no charge to see the locomotive.
The Big Boy will arrive from a private viewing in St. Louis for a whistle stop in De Soto before heading to the Arcadia Valley Amtrak stop, arriving there at about 1:30 p.m.
A steam tracking map showing No. 4014’s location and route will be available at upsteam.com. Those wanting to see the train need to stay at least 25 feet from the tracks while taking a photo or viewing it and are reminded that railroad tracks, trestles, yards and rights-of-way are private property.
Twenty-five Big Boys were built exclusively for Union Pacific Railroad during World War II, but only eight survived. No. 4014 is the only one still operating.
According to Union Pacific, each of the Big Boy locomotives were 132 feet long and weighed 1.2 million pounds. Because of their great length, the Big Boy frames were “hinged,” or articulated, to allow the locomotives 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 that guided the engine, eight drivers, another set of eight drivers and four wheels that supported the rear of the locomotive.
The Big Boy engine that will stop in De Soto used to operate between Ogden, Utah, and Cheyenne, Wyo., and was retired in December 1961, having traveled 1,031,205 miles in its 20 years in service.
Union Pacific reacquired No. 4014 from the RailGiants Museum in Pomona, Calif., in 2013, and returned it to Cheyenne to begin a multi-year restoration process. It returned to service in May 2019 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Transcontinental Railroad’s completion.
The seven other Big Boys that remain are no longer in service but are on display in various cities around the country. One can be found at the National Museum of Transportation in St. Louis.