“The Bell,” the first of six Norfolk Southern locomotives painted at the Juniata Shops to represent historic American icons marking the nation’s 250th birthday, makes its way through the Gallitzin Tunnels on Monday. Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski

The first of six Norfolk Southern locomotives that will be painted at the Juniata Shops to represent historic American “icons” to mark the nation’s 250th birthday this year rolled out of the local railyard and up and over the Horseshoe Curve Monday, with several NS executive office cars in tow.

The “consist” was led by Locomotive 1776, called “The Bell,” emblazoned with an image of Philadelphia’s Liberty Bell, and was heading to Chicago, where on June 3, it will meet the Union Pacific Big Boy — the world’s largest operating steam locomotive, which itself will be in Altoona from July 8 to 11 as part of the America250 celebration, according to information from a Norfolk Southern Facebook page.

Decorating “The Bell” took more than 1,000 labor hours of sanding, priming, masking and painting at the local shops, and required 96 gallons of primer, paint and clear coat, according to a May 22 post.

Ribbons depicted on the locomotive are painted on, while the bells are two-piece vinyl decals applied over primer, then masked so workers could put on all the other colors around them, according to a Facebook post.

One of the predecessors of Norfolk Southern and the original creator of the local shops — the Pennsylvania Railroad — transported the actual Liberty Bell on flatcars seven times between 1885 and 1915 to major fairs and expositions around the country, according to an online source. In chronological order, those trips took the bell to New Orleans, Chicago, Atlanta, Charleston, Boston, St. Louis and San Francisco, according to the source. After the trip to San Francisco, the bell was deemed too fragile for further travel, and it has remained in Philadelphia ever since.

Workers at the Juniata Shops will also decorate Locomotive No. 2026, called Lady Liberty, with an image of the Statue of Liberty; No. 250, Freedom, with the image of a bald eagle in flight; No. 8118, Stars & Stripes, with American flag imagery; No. 8096, Soaring, with an eagle image consisting of stars and stripes; and No. 8143, Patriot, with an image of the NS thoroughbred composed of stars and stripes.

The final three locomotives on the list were built by Wabtec/General Electric in Erie, according to information from Norfolk Southern.

The others in the America250 series built by EMD/Progress Rail in Muncie, Indiana, according to Norfolk Southern.

“We take pride in every engine that comes through here,” said carman Tim Lasure, as quoted in a Norfolk Southern news release. “These units are no different, but it does mean a little more.”

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