Westmoreland Towns Close Bridges for Big Boy No. 4014 Passage as 50 Model Trains Sell Out
Updated
Updated · WTAE Pittsburgh · Jul 10
Westmoreland Towns Close Bridges for Big Boy No. 4014 Passage as 50 Model Trains Sell Out
3 articles · Updated · WTAE Pittsburgh · Jul 10
Summary
Jeannette will shut the Second Street Bridge to traffic and pedestrians and the Seventh Street Bridge to traffic from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday for Big Boy No. 4014’s passage.
Officials said the closures are meant to handle substantial crowds seen in other states, create viewing areas and food-truck space, and keep spectators off tracks around the high-pressure steam engine.
Derry, Latrobe and Greensburg are also adding patrols and watch-party activities, with Derry promoting Chestnut Street as a prime viewing spot on the county’s longest, straightest stretch of track.
Brady’s Train Outlet in Greensburg said demand has been intense ahead of the visit, selling out 50 Big Boy model trains priced at $2,000 to $3,000 weeks before the locomotive arrives.
The event has become a regional draw across western Pennsylvania, blending railroad history, local business activity and what residents are calling a once-in-a-lifetime sighting of the world’s largest operating steam locomotive.