Thousands made their way to one of the most historic spots in Rocky River this Monday. You couldn’t miss that something big was happening. Snarling traffic, throngs of people on foot, and a friendly police presence took Monday’s festivities to a whole new level.
Big Boy was coming to Rocky River and no one wanted to miss it! Hours before the planned 1 p.m. whistle stop, people lined the tracks behind the barriers braving the summer sun, sitting or standing. Some brought umbrellas for shade or shared cover at the side of a building or under available foliage. They waited together, sharing train-lore with each other, counting the time down when 1.2 million pounds of steaming steel would make its way for a 30-minute stop behind the Depot Street Station.
Patricia Sheehan and husband, Larry, waited in the shade of the Depot Street Station. Patricia’s family has a long connection with railroads. “My great-grandfather built railroad stations up and down the East Coast including the B&O Railroad Museum. Then my father was an attorney for the railroad and worked for CSX. He was transferred to Cleveland and that’s why I live here now.” Patricia brought a print of the B&O Transportation Museum in Baltimore and hoped to connect with someone with the railroad during the event.
Depot Street Station was built around 1882. It is one of Rocky River’s oldest structures and has changed very little over time. Originally belonging to the Nickel Plate Road railroad, it was a stop for regularly scheduled passenger trains until 1965. While the station no longer services commuter and commercial trains, the tracks remain an active line owned by Norfolk Southern. It is reported that Depot Street Station is used for its communication and signal department.
With its light shining through the foliage and a whistle as loud as thunder, Big Boy No. 4014 arrived on time as expected. Cheers from the crowd competed with the roar, the rumble and the hiss of steam as the steel behemoth came to a stop. The crowd shifted to get a better look at the shiny black metal giant from the past. Engineers waved to the crowd out an open window offering a glimpse of the past.
“Big! Loud! Rumbly! I could feel it!” offered the young members of the George family.
“It’s the biggest thing that has ever happened in Rocky River,” Todd said as he moved toward the train.
At 133 feet in length, and weighing 1.2 million pounds, Big Boy is the world’s largest operating steam engine. After World War II, diesel locomotives took over from steam. They were cheaper to run and maintain. Steam locomotives were retired. The Union Pacific retired the train and it was donated to the RailGiants Museum in California.
In 2013, plans were made to move Big Boy 4014 from the museum to Union Pacific’s steam shop in Cheyenne, Wyoming. It took years of restoration to make it able to function in a modern rail system. In 2019, Big Boy 4014 made its debut at the 150th anniversary of the Transcontinental Railroad completion.
This summer’s Coast-To-Coast America 250 Tour includes travel through 14 states. Whistle Stops in 10 states and extended stops in eight major cities. Historically, whistle stops were minor communities too small to have a scheduled stop. A train would only stop there for a passenger or the station agent requested it. The agent would blow a whistle to stop the train.The Whistle Stop in Rocky River was Big Boy’s return trip west.
That magnificent train whistle sounded. Time to depart.“It was time well-spent,” said Kathy Martin. “I didn’t want to miss it.”
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