VILLA GROVE, Ill. — Villa Grove Mayor Cassandra Eversole-Gunter sat behind Engineer Ed Dickens, Union Pacific’s Heritage Program manager, Monday as the Big Boy tour “Heartland of America” ​​made a scheduled service stop in Watseka, Ill.

The second-term mayor took the 4014 from Watseka back to Villa Grove, arriving at dusk.

Eversole-Gunter smiled and waved proudly to members of the Villa Grove Fire Department, rail fans and townspeople as No. 4014 slowly rolled to a spot where volunteer firefighters were filling 52,000 gallons of water into the Big Boy’s auxiliary tender. A tractor-trailer carrying No. 5 heavy fuel oil waited to fill the locomotive’s tender with fuel. As the massive steam locomotive rolled to a maintenance stop in this Douglas County town of 2,467, the mayor was still smiling as she stepped out of the cab of the only working Big Boy.

“It was incredible, that was the icing on the cake! Just seeing the people lined up and waving and cheering as we drove by was just an incredible experience,” said Eversole-Gunter.

On Tuesday, the mayor said, “I ran after my four-year-old grandson, Gray Gunter. He was very excited to see the Big Boy before he left Villa Grove. He was jumping up and down. It definitely helped the economy, all the businesses were booming and they are still busy today. It has had a very positive impact on Villa Grove,” said Eversole-Gunter.

Like many small towns, Rochelle, with its popular Rochelle Railroad Park, is accustomed to railroad enthusiasts contributing to the city’s coffers in the form of tax revenue.

“Last weekend, 60,000 people were in the city of Rochelle to see the Big Boy. This happened over a three-day period, with Saturday night being a private event for UP employees and families. The Global III facility was open to the public from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday, with extended hours due to crowds. There was a stop at our Railfan Park in town on Monday,” Rochelle City Manager Jeffrey Fiegenschuh told Trains intelligence service.

According to Fiegenschuh, it was the largest event they have ever held. Tricia Herrera, executive director of the Rochelle Area Chamber of Commerce, and Jenny Thompson, marketing director and assistant to the city manager for the City of Rochelle, assisted the UP in marketing the event.

“All our hotels were fully booked for the three days and many of our restaurants were sold out of food due to the large number of visitors,” he continued.

“Due to the way revenue is reported by the State of Illinois to our finance department, we won’t know the true economic impact until November. However, many of our local businesses have told us it was one of the busiest weekends they’ve ever had,” Fiegenschuh confirmed.

“I am so proud of our mayor and city council for supporting the event and giving us the resources we needed to manage traffic and public safety. This event really helped put Rochelle on the map for the world. We had travelers from as far away as the United Kingdom and Australia. I grew up in Sidney, Nebraska, and my grandfather lived next to the Burlington Railroad,” he said. “I was very proud that my hometown of Sidney, Nebraska, and Rochelle hosted the event.” No. 4014 departed Sidney on August 29.