VILLA GROVE, Ill. — Villa Grove Mayor Cassandra Eversole-Gunter sat behind engineer Ed Dickens, manager of Union Pacific’s Heritage Program on Monday as the Big Boy “Heartland of America” tour made a scheduled service stop at Watseka, Ill.
The mayor, in her second term, rode No. 4014 from Watseka back to Villa Grove arriving at dusk.
Eversole-Gunter smiled and proudly waved at members of the Villa Grove Fire Department, railfans and townspeople as No. 4014 slowly rolled to a spot where the volunteer firefighters added fifty-two thousand gallons of water to Big Boy’s auxiliary tender. A semi tractor trailer of No. 5 heavy fuel oil, waited to top off the locomotives tender with fuel. As the epic steam locomotive rolled to a servicing stop in this Douglas County city of 2,467 residents, the mayor was still smiling as she descended from the cab of the only operating Big Boy.
“It was amazing, this was the icing on the cake! Just seeing the people lined up waving and cheering as we passed, it was just an incredible experience,” said Eversole-Gunter.
On Tuesday, the mayor said, “I was chasing my 4-year-old grandson Grey Gunter, he was very excited to see the Big Boy prior to its departure from Villa Grove. He was jumping up and down. It definitely helped the economy, every business was buzzing, they are today still busy. It has had a very positive impact on Villa Grove,’’ said Eversole-Gunter.
Like many small towns, Rochelle and its popular Rochelle Railroad Park is accustomed to railfans adding to the city coffers in the form of tax income.
“Last weekend the City of Rochelle hosted 60,000 people who came come to our community to see the Big Boy. This was over a three-day period, with Saturday night being a private event for UP employees and family. The Global III facility was open to the public on Sunday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., with extended hours due to the crowds. Monday there was a whistle stop at our Railfan Park in town,” said Rochelle City Manager Jeffrey Fiegenschuh to Trains News Wire.
According to Fiegenschuh it was the biggest event they have held. Tricia Herrera, executive director of the Rochelle Area Chamber of Commerce and Jenny Thompson, director of marketing and assistant to the city manager city of Rochelle assisted the UP with marketing the event.
“All of our hotels were booked solid for the three days and many of our restaurants ran out of food due to the number of people visiting,” he continued.
“Due to how revenues are reported back to our finance department from the state of Illinois we will not know the real economic impact until November. However, we have heard from many of our local businesses that told us it was one of the busiest weekends they have ever had,’’ Fiegenschuh confirmed.
“I am so proud of our Mayor and City Council for supporting the event and giving us the resources we needed to help manage traffic and public safety. This event really helped showcase Rochelle to the world, we had travelers from as far away as the UK and Australia. I grew up in Sidney, Neb., and my grandpa lived next to the Burlington Railroad,” he said. “I was very proud to see my hometown of Sidney, Neb., and Rochelle host the event.’’ No 4014 departed Sidney on Aug. 29.
At one time, Villa Grove must’ve been one heck of a railroad town. Examining Google Maps, the foundation of a roundhouse is evident. Wondering how big the associated yard really was back in it’s C&EI days.