CONNEAUT – Rick Pittsman grew up learning to love model trains through his father and grandfather. Jeff Derck’s three sons simply love trains. Randy Kareha’s great-grandfather was an engineer.
The Union Pacific 4014, “Big Boy” arrived in Conneaut on Sunday, July 12, and left on Monday morning, bringing together generations of people.
“I’ve been watching this since they started in 2017,” Kareha, of Conneaut Lake, Pa., said. “I’m following it from California, and we came here on June 9 when it left and headed east and I wanted to see it one more time. It’s been on my bucket list. I just wanted to see the ‘Big Boy’ again.”
“It’s history,” Kareha continued. “My great-grandfather used to be an engineer for the Great Atlantic Western in Meadville, so I have a fondness for steam trains. It’s in the history of the family, and this was just really a cool opportunity to come see something that’s the only one working right now.”
“Big Boy” arrived in Ashtabula County on Sunday afternoon and traveled north to Ashtabula before it switched tracks and backed its way into Conneaut. The Union Pacific 4014 departed Conneaut on Monday morning headed west where it was going to pass through Ashtabula, Geneva, Madison and Painesville.
Derck and his wife, Amber, of West Lafayette, Ind., brought their children, Liam, Luke, Joey and Eleanor, up from Brookfield during a visit to a relative to witness the world’s largest working locomotive.
“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing for the boys,” Derck said. “The boys love trains.”
“It’s just a chance to capture memories, take pictures,” Derck continued. “I had really never heard about the ‘Big Boy’ until I saw it on Facebook or on the news. We just thought it was a once-in-a-lifetime thing celebrating America 250, showing them what it means to be patriotic and wanting to see the country grow while also remembering our past.”
Pittsman and his wife, Andrea, made the drive from Monroeville, Pa., to see the train because her husband’s family has a connection to model railroading.
“His grandfather set up trains, his father did, and now he sets them up for our grandkids, so it’s been a lifelong thing for him, and he’s been watching videos of this train since it started going. We tried at least two other times to get to a track to see this,” Andrea Pittsman said. “That’s why we’re coming here today.”
Gregory Bondar, of Erie, wanted to see “Big Boy” pass through on its trip east to Philadelphia, but wasn’t able to. He made up for it as the locomotive passed back through the area.
“I’ve been a lifelong fan of trains,” Bondar said. “I actually went to mechanical engineering school because of my love of trains. Of course, when this train, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, it seems, comes through Erie for the first time since it was brand new and being shipped out from Schenectady, N.Y., where it was built, I’m somewhere else.”
“I thought about going down to see it around Pittsburgh, but everything looked really crowded, packed with people, and I figured, ‘Well. I don’t really want to do that,’” Bondar continued. “I saw today that it’s coming up through real close by up in Conneaut and I figured ‘OK.’”
Bondar saw “Big Boy” several times on Sunday.
“I drove a few minutes south to a grade crossing and saw it come up,” Bondar said. “We sat for 90 minutes in the shade with water waiting for it to come up. That was the one of the biggest thrills in my life, then I realized, ‘Hey, I can probably catch up with it up in Ashtabula,’ so I saw it go across the viaduct to Ashtabula and then I was hooked. Then it’s like, ‘OK, it’s not moving that fast. I can catch it coming on down the tracks a ways here.’ This is, I think, the fourth time I’ve seen it today.”
Nate and Bobby Ann Christensen drove to Conneaut from Cambridge Springs, Pa., with their son, Morgan, to see “Bog Boy” arrive on Sunday.
“I wanted to see it,” Nate Christensen said. “I really wanted to see it. It’s huge. I’ll never probably get to see it running again in my life. I’ve seen them parked, but never actually seen one rolling down the tracks.”
“It was still incredible (though it was moving backward),” Nate Christensen continued. “We’ll never get to see it running again. It’ll make it back over to wherever they’re keeping it at and they probably won’t run it that far again for years. Then, all those locomotives that were attached to it, there were some really nice demonstrations of actually giving back to people. The railroad is giving back. I thought it was pretty neat.”
Jessica Biller and her kids, Kaitlyn and Braedyn, drove in from Monroe Township to watch the train arrive.
“It’s the last one that actually is running, so it’s a once-in-a-lifetime kind of thing,” Biller said. “You don’t get to see something like this very often.”
Sebastian Leis made the trek from Pittsburgh to see the “Big Boy.”
“It’s historic,” Leis said. “This particular steam engine has never been east of Chicago since it was built, so this is the first time it’s ever been here and that’s cool itself and it’s been about a decade since they had a steam engine running out here. I’ve always been a train buff, and my grandfather is a big train buff, so I wanted to make the most of the day and follow it around.”
Backing the Union Pacific 4014 into Conneaut allowed spectators to see the engine and the cars it was moving in a different light.
“I think that’s what was unique,” Bobby Ann Christensen said. “When it was coming out as us, our focus was so much on the engine. I missed enjoying the cars. This time through, getting to watch it backwards, I actually got to see each car a little better and then got to see the engine.”
Spectators couldn’t help but be moved when “Big Boy” passed by.
“It’s a gigantic piece of machinery,” Bondar said. “It’s the largest operating steam engine, certainly one of the largest steam locomotives ever made. It’s an absolutely amazing experience. I think I was weak in the knees, especially after the first time.”
“It’s a thrill when you hear that whistle,” Bondar continued. “There’s a lot of good footage online, but it doesn’t compare to seeing the real thing.”
“Big Boy’s” unique whistle impressed spectators is passed road crossings.
“It’s just the coolest sound,” Kareha said. “It really is. I love it.”
“It’s awesome,” Kareha continued. “It’s just awesome. You can feel the engine. You can feel the rumble, the steam. It’s just a really, really cool feeling.”
Spectators were treated to something special as the steam engine passed.
“It gives you chills,” Derck said. “Video doesn’t describe what the train does when it drives by. It really does shake your body and you have to absorb it. I was taking a lot of pictures today, but I had to remind myself just to take it in so I’m present and not just looking through a screen.”
There was a lot to be impressed by when it comes to “Big Boy.”
“I think it’s the engineering of that huge thing and the mechanics of it,” Rick Pittsman said. “To me, it’s almost like it’s a living thing with the whistle and everything. It sounds like it’s a creature as opposed to something mechanical.”
The Billers put pennies on the track to get flattened by Big Boy.
“I just remember my grandpap telling me that he would put pennies on the track when he was a little boy and they would get the squished pennies,” Biller said. “They never got to meet him, but to me it meant something. I’m glad we did that.”
Big Boy crossed the country from California to Philadelphia and is headed home to the west coast. Its trek, during the America 250 celebrations, is important to those who have made a point to follow its journey.
“I think it was really important,” Kareha said. “It brought history, it brought people together. It doesn’t matter what political party, everybody’s here to see something, part of our history. Everybody forgets everything. They’re just here to see the train.”
