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The arrival of "Big Boy" in our little town of Altoona left a big impression on me as I know it did for thousands of others. I was transported back in time over 60 years. As a child, I would lie in my bed at night hearing the steam whistles, dispatchers and the screeching of cars, a haunting yet comforting sound.
Altoona was once a bustling railroad hub; my father and grandfather were employed by the PRR. Big Boy brought that lost era back.
Seeing that gigantic steel monster was like my early childhood years were flowing into my present. I could feel the intense radiating heat and smell the long-forgotten coal smoke.
What impressed me most was seeing the thousands of people who showed up to witness this awesome event. Children experiencing the thrill of seeing this giant steam workhorse from the past -- Big Boy -- the 1.5 million-pound colossal machine that brought everyone to their feet.
I can't recall another event in my lifetime that brought out young and old, neighbors and strangers, exchanging stories, and the renewed feeling of patriotism, felt over 250 years as a proud nation, America, the land that we love.
This masterpiece that helped to build our nation -- a rolling monument to America's ambition -- the hands that helped to shape the steel to unite a continent.
Where most of our lives are now digital and fleeting, here stands the test of time -- permanent and mighty -- the historic heartbeat of America.
Barbara (DeHaas) Fischer
Altoona