Thousands of people lined railroad tracks all through Jefferson County to get a view of Big Boy No. 4014, which made a half-hour stop at the Commercial Street crossing in De Soto on Sept. 12.
The Big Boy, the largest operating steam locomotive, arrived for its whistle stop in De Soto at 11:10 a.m.
Thousands of people lined railroad tracks all through Jefferson County to get a view of Big Boy No. 4014, which made a half-hour stop at the Commercial Street crossing in De Soto on Sept. 12.
City Manager Todd Melkus said some have estimated as many as 10,000 people were in De Soto to see Big Boy.
“It was an incredible turnout for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see the Big Boy up close,” Melkus said. “Main Street was packed from one end to the other and the restaurants and retail shops were very busy, so it was a great event for the town.
“It really reiterated the fact that this is a train town.”
De Soto Police Chief Jeff McCreary said he also was happy with how the event turned out.
“I couldn’t have imagined it going any better,” he said. “We kept everyone safe, and for that big of a crowd (that) was an accomplishment in itself. Taking into account, from the Train Park to Miller Crossing, I’m sure we had several thousand people attend.
“I just talked to (railroad) police, and they said it was their biggest whistle stop by far (of suburban or rural stops). They estimated the prior biggest one as about 7,500.”
Andrew Nichols of St. Clair said he has loved trains since he was a kid, so he was not going to miss it.
“There’s nothing like seeing one operating, a living, breathing giant,” he said.
Nichols waited in front of the railroad crossing with his uncle, Bill Nichols, also of St. Clair, while his mom watched from the car a few blocks away.
Nichols had already seen the Big Boy a few times, including when it rolled through Washington and Pacific three years ago. He saw the CPKC, the first single-line rail network connecting Canada, the U.S. and Mexico, earlier this year in Kansas City.
He also saw the Big Boy earlier last week when he and his father chased it before it made its stop in Nokomis, Ill., on Sept. 10.
William Miller of Hematite said he, too, has long been fascinated by trains, adding that his dad worked at Union Station until the last train departed in October 1978.
“We were there that day,” he said.
Miller said the Big Boy is one of the biggest land vehicles ever made in America. He said it was about 133 feet long and weighed more than a million pounds.
“It’s living, breathing, moving history,” Miller said as he stood on the railyard eying the Big Boy with his wife. “It helped win (World War II). It was built to move troops and equipment.”
Local representatives and community leaders take a picture with members of the Union Pacific’s Big Boy locomotive team in downtown De Soto.
Sara Falch, who grew up in the Festus area and now lives in Farmington, said she and her son, Luke, 3, picked their spot in front of the railroad crossing gate at Commercial Street at about 9:30 a.m. While waiting, he played with a toy train whistle he got from a store that morning.
Megan McKinney and her son, Boe, 10, of De Soto got there at 8 a.m.
“There were people here before us,” she said.
She set up their two camping chairs outside a business along East Main Street close enough to see the Big Boy but away from the big crowd.
“I felt this was a once-in-a-lifetime thing … especially rolling through De Soto,” McKinney said.
Donna Stephenson of De Soto knew the minute she heard about the whistle stop that she wanted to go, so she went along with her neighbors, Bev and Bob Ashley.
“It might be the only time we get to see it,” Bob said.
De Soto Mayor Autumn Blanchard and council members Kathy Smith and Todd Mahn were among six locals who were invited to ride in the Big Boy from Union Station in St. Louis to De Soto.
“I had an amazing day … one I’ll never forget,” Smith said.
Jefferson County employees Tiffany Daniels, executive assistant for the county executive; Jordan Teague, executive assistant for administration; and Cheryl Reed, executive assistant for the county counselor, said they were excited to take part, especially Reed who had never been on a train before.
“It was a great experience, very fun,” Teague said. “I am thankful I was able to do it.”
Jerry Dane of De Soto got to experience both sides of the Big Boy, traveling in it as a member of the pilot crew from Villa Grove, Ill., to St. Louis on Sept. 10, and then standing among the De Soto crowd with his granddaughter on Sept. 12.
Dane has been a conductor for Union Pacific for 18 years.
He said the same crew operates Big Boy throughout the Heartland of America Tour, but the crew is not familiar with all of the territory the Big Boy will cover. On each leg of the tour, they take on a pilot crew that is familiar with the route.
Dane said the Big Boy is unlike anything he’s ever seen and unlike any ride he’s taken on that route.
“I’m used to diesel locomotives,” he said. “This operates on oil and steam.”
Dane said he didn’t expect to see that many people, adding that they were lined up at every crossing, in river beds and in a lake taking photos and flying drones.
He said a crop duster airplane circled them for about 30 miles, and a helicopter followed them for about 50 miles. He even saw Amish families piled up in wagons and buggies watching it go by.
Dane said he’s lived in De Soto for about 11 years and he’s seen festivals and events there but never any crowd like the one to see Big Boy.
“There were people everywhere!” he said.
More about Big Boy
The 2024 Heartland of America Tour kicked off on Aug. 28 from Cheyenne, Wyo. During the tour, Big Boy will pass through Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas and Wyoming.
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 of the eight still operating.
The Big Boy engine that stopped 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 public display in various cities around the country. One can be found at the National Museum of Transportation in St. Louis.