While the engine’s East Coast tour was previously announced, the itinerary — including tour dates, times and locations — wasn’t released until Tuesday. Within hours, tickets to the locomotive’s stop at the Horseshoe Curve were sold out, said Joseph A. DeFrancesco, executive director of the Railroaders Memorial Museum and the Horseshoe Curve National Historic Landmark.

Between regular admission tickets and VIP tickets, about 2,000 people will get to experience Big Boy on the famed Horseshoe Curve, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, as an engine this size has never traveled on the Curve and it’s doubtful it will again, DeFrancesco said.

The quick sell-out shows how huge a following trains — and Big Boy and the Horseshoe Curve — have, he said.

For those who didn’t snag a ticket to Horseshoe Curve, there are plenty of other viewing opportunities.

Courtesy graphic / The Big Boy is almost twice as large as a standard diesel locomotive.

Local schedule

Big Boy will begin its East Coast tour on May 25 from Cheyenne, Wyoming, and will be in Philadelphia for Independence Day celebrations.

On Wednesday, July 8, it will leave Enola at 9 a.m. and arrive at the Lewistown Station about 12:45 p.m. After a brief stop, Big Boy will steam toward Altoona, passing through Huntingdon and Tyrone, arriving at 5:15 p.m. at the Railroaders Memorial Museum.

The locomotive will depart the museum at 5:45 p.m. for a private Norfolk Southern employee event.

On July 9-10, Big Boy will be on display, with free admission, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. There will be shuttles running from Peoples Natural Gas Field to the display area. No parking will be available at the display site and visitors will need to use the shuttles to ensure entrance to the site, according to a news release.

Big Boy will depart Altoona at 9 a.m. Saturday, July 11, and arrive at the Horseshoe Curve National Historic Site about 9:30 a.m., departing at 10 a.m. and heading toward the Cresson Railroad Park.

The locomotive is expected to arrive in Cresson at 10:45 a.m. and depart at 11:15 a.m. for Leetsdale, Pa., where it is expected to arrive at 5:45 p.m. and depart at 6:15 p.m. for its next stop in Conway, Ohio, as it heads back across the United States.

Those missing out on the Horseshoe Curve experience can still catch Big Boy in action as it comes into and leaves the area.

But, therein lie some concerns.

Big Boy is just that — a “big boy” of a steam engine whose size most area residents have never seen.

Big Boys are 133 feet long and weigh 1.2 million pounds. In comparison, they are slightly more than half the length of a Boeing 747.

They are powerful and much larger than a diesel locomotive or regular steam engine.

They overhang the tracks and for safety purposes, it is imperative that spectators stay at least 25 feet back from the tracks when the locomotive is running, organizers said.

While DeFrancesco expects to have more information about traffic flow around the Horseshoe Curve and Railroaders Museum when its July stop draws near, he emphasized that the Horseshoe Curve will be closed to everyone except ticket holders and staff during the engine’s stop there.

In fact, regular ticket holders will be shuttled from the museum parking lot to Horseshoe Curve, while those who hold VIP tickets will be allowed to park at the site, he said.

Capitalizing on display

In the initial announcement of Big Boy’s East Coast tour, Hollidaysburg was considered for a stop, but Union Pacific changed the itinerary, said Ethan Imoff, Hollidaysburg Borough Manager.

That doesn’t take away from the excitement of having Big Boy coming through the area, he said.

Due to logistics, if Big Boy stopped in Hollidaysburg, that would have caused the Everett Railroad to cancel excursion trains. Now that Big Boy’s stop will be based in Altoona, that frees up the tracks for those excursion trains, thus drawing in visitors.

In addition, since Big Boy is expected to draw upwards of 30,000 people a day to stops, including Altoona, that means people will need places to stay and eat and other things to do.

“I’m sure our businesses, restaurants and such will still benefit,” Imhoff said.

Morgan Koziar, director of marketing and operations with Discover Blair County, said the itinerary announcement about the Altoona stop has already caused an uptick in hotel reservations for that week. And, she said, the Altoona-Blair County Airport has reported an increased interest in bookings corresponding to those dates.

“It’s an exciting, thrilling opportunity for the community,” she said, noting she is busy putting together information about area attractions, shopping, lodging and restaurants that will be available to visitors and posted on the Discover Blair County website.

Both Koziar and DeFrancesco said their phones have been ringing off the hook since Tuesday’s itinerary announcement.

The museum will be open, America250 and railroad merchandise will be available and there will be something for everyone, the duo said. In addition, the museum is working with the Union Pacific museum to bring in one of the UP’s traveling exhibits.

At the Horseshoe Curve site, repairs are being made to the funicular, brush is being cleared and trees trimmed to open up the viewing area. In addition, a UTV is available to be used as a shuttle to get people up to the viewing area and back down, DeFrancesco said.

Then when July 8 rolls around, it will be “all hands on deck,” he said, adding the museum will soon be putting out a call for volunteers, sponsors and vendors willing to be “part of something huge.”

No. 4014 will be hauling at least 10 passenger cars when it makes its way into Altoona, a mix of Norfolk Southern and Union Pacific cars, according to DeFrancesco.

There will be special paint schemes and he expects the America250 diesel engine to be a part of the mix, adding more interest.

“I would like to think that everyone in the community will come see it,” Koziar said.

“It will be very, very special for people to get pictures and see,” DeFrancesco said. “It’s just exciting.”