Steam engine Big Boy No. 4014 has departed on the “Heartland of America Tour” Wednesday, Aug. 28 from Cheyenne, Wyo. As part of the tour, the train is traveling across nine additional states: Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas. The eight-week tour concludes in late October.
Big Boy No. 4014 will be on display and open to the public to see in Rochelle, Ill., Sunday, Sept. 8, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The train will also be visible to residents in Mount Vernon and Lisbon Friday morning, as it passes along the Union Pacific railroad from Cedar Rapids to Grand Mound.
The train is expected to depart Cedar Rapids at 9 a.m. Friday morning and arrive in Grand Mound for a whistle stop at 11 a.m., placing the train to be in the Mount Vernon/Lisbon area in the 9:30 a.m. ballparks.
Union Pacific reminds people stay back 25 feet from all railroad tracks as the train is passing. Railroad tracks, trestles, yards and right of way are private property. Do not trespass.