CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Big Boy is gone, but the memory of the gigantic train lingers in the Chicago area.
The world’s largest steam locomotive, Big Boy #4014, made a stop in West Chicago last weekend as part of the commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the completion of the transcontinental railroad.According to Union Pacific Railroad spokeswoman Kristen South, the world’s largest steam locomotive is 1.2 million pounds and 133-feet long. Because of their length, the frames of the Big Boys were "hinged," or articulated, to allow them to bend around curves.
It was restored in time for the May commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad; and it has been nearly 60 years since Big Boy No. 4014 was in operation.
Some people have been so taken by seeing Big Boy #4014, South said they have tears in their eyes.
"There are eight in existence and some people may have seen one at a museum somewhere, but most people have probably only read about them or seen them in photos," South said.
It was estimated that about 45,000 came out to see Big Boy #4014 in West Chicago. Large crowds gathered by the tracks when the train pulled into the area and the lines were deep again as it pulled away heading toward Iowa.
Ed Dickens, senior manager-Union Pacific Heritage Operations, took to Twitter to remind people to be careful around Big Boy.
A Maple Park resident told WBBM Newsradio that the house and ground shook, a quarter mile from the tracks as Big Boy passed through, spewing dense smoke into the air and the sound was like nothing she ever heard before.
Barbara Strayve, 76, of Sycamore, said she remembers riding a train pulled by an engine just like Big Boy when she came from Florida to West Chicago.
"It's like going back 60 years," Strayve said. "You see this big cloud of black city stuff coming out at you and see one light and it's massive."
Big Boy #4014 left West Chicago on Tuesday to move onto Iowa as Great Race Across the Midwest tour to mark the 150th anniversary of the Transcontinental Railroad.