Union Pacific’s Big Boy No. 4014, the world’s largest operational steam locomotive, departed the Conway rail yard in Beaver County at 9 a.m. Sunday for its final trip across western Pennsylvania before crossing into Ohio as part of its nationwide tour celebrating America’s 250th anniversary.
The 133-foot-long, 1.2-million-pound locomotive passed through Edinburg in Lawrence County shortly after 11 a.m., before crossing the Pennsylvania-Ohio state line for its public stop in downtown Struthers, Ohio, at about 11:30 a.m.
Although Big Boy did not make a scheduled stop in Lawrence County, it crossed five public roadways, including Route 551 in Edinburg, where hundreds of spectators gathered along the Norfolk Southern rail line.
According to Union Pacific’s live tracker, Big Boy left Conway traveling about 6 mph.
By the time it reached the New Castle and Edinburg areas, the locomotive had accelerated to about 20 mph.
“I was surprised how many people were in our village. It was a bit of an amazement to me,” lifelong Edinburg resident Linda Nofsker said.
“I could tell the locals are bored because the one big excitement was a train going by, which was the biggest thing in 250 years,” she added with a laugh.
Nofsker said she had never seen such a large turnout in the village, even for the volunteer fire department’s Fourth of July fireworks.
Edinburg resident Lloyd Jones Sr., whose property sits at the end of Clay Street along the Norfolk Southern rail line, mowed his lawn days before spectators began gathering to watch the locomotive pass.
Jones said freight trains typically travel the line about once an hour.
As the crowd grew, he stomped down weeds along the edge of the railroad right of way to create more space for spectators.
When asked by TheDerrick.com if he had expected such a large turnout, Jones said it far exceeded his expectations.
He estimated Edinburg, which has about 160 residents, likely welcomed more visitors that day than its entire population as vehicles lined the roads awaiting Big Boy’s arrival.
The Churchill Road crossing marked the final public viewing location in Pennsylvania before the locomotive entered Ohio.
After a 30-minute stop in Struthers, Big Boy continued west to its next scheduled stop in Conneaut, Ohio.