Union Pacific’s Big Boy No. 1041 will be at the Railroaders Memorial Museum and the Horseshoe Curve in July. Courtesy photo

Of the three locations where there will be free public viewing of the Union Pacific’s Big Boy steam locomotive in the Altoona area between July 8 and 11 while the machine is parked, one spot — where the viewing opportunity is by far the most extensive — will require significant infrastructure preparation.

The world’s largest operating steam locomotive will be on display late in the afternoon of July 8 outside the Railroaders Memorial Museum between the 12th Street and 13th Street pedestrian crossovers, but only for half an hour, and it will be on display at Railroad Park in Cresson late on the morning of July 11, but again only for half an hour.

By contrast, it will be on display between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. on both July 9 and 10 on Norfolk Southern property roughly behind the Salvation Army rehabilitation center and the Altoona Bible Institute — 10 acres that will require Norfolk to construct a dedicated track for the Big Boy, remove a significant stretch of scrappy woods, create an accessible surface, provide temporary fencing to enclose the area and park a 1,500-foot-long train to keep visitors off the active mainline to protect an expected 10,000 visitors, who will be bused in on shuttles from Peoples Natural Gas Field in Lakemont, according to City Manager Christopher McGuire and other sources.

The entry and exit point for the viewing area will be approximately at the intersection of Fourth Street and Bellwood Avenue, near a gate for a warehouse now used by Ward Trucking, as McGuire understands it.

While Union Pacific is predicting 10,000 visitors, city officials suspect that many more may come, given the city’s history and its love for trains, according to McGuire.

If that is true, and the shuttles can’t handle the crowds, people are likely to park in nearby areas of Altoona, so they can walk to the viewing site, according to McGuire.

“We’re trying to get our heads around that,” he said. “That is our biggest concern.”

In the week just past, municipal officials met to discuss such issues, and in the coming week, officials from first responder organizations will meet to devise contingency plans, according to McGuire.

First responders will be standing by during the viewings, he said.

Union Pacific is handling all matters “inside the fence,” while local authorities are handling matters outside the fence, McGuire said.

Local officials, nevertheless, are trying to get more clarity from Union Pacific on its plans so they can be better prepared, according to McGuire.

Union Pacific has contracted with a bus service to provide the shuttles and with AMED to provide ambulance service, he said, adding that both Union Pacific and Norfolk are providing police services to complement the services of local police.

In addition to the free public viewings while the locomotive is parked, there will be a private event for Norfolk employees only on the evening of July 8 while the Big Boy is parked at the site behind the rehab center and Bible Institute, and there will be a ticketed event that is already sold out at the Horseshoe Curve for about a half hour mid-morning on July 11 while the train is on the way from Altoona to Cresson.

Authorities will restrict access at that time to the road leading to the Curve, according to Railroad Museum Executive Director Joe DeFrancesco.

During the Big Boy’s visit, the state Game Commission will be restricting access to the Altoona Water Authority’s wooded watershed property and gamelands through which the mainline runs, according to the Altoona Pennsylvania History Facebook page.

Anyone who secures a viewing spot while the Big Boy is on the move should stay back at least 25 feet for safety, according to DeFrancesco, citing Union Pacific guidance.

“This is going to be a big deal for the area,” McGuire said.

Mirror Staff Writer William Kibler is at 814-949-7038.