As she awaited the arrival of Union Pacific’s Big Boy 4014 steam locomotive on Tuesday, Sterling Mayor Diana Merdian – decked out in blue and white striped overalls and earrings that featured tiny yellow train crossing signs – was dressed for the job she wanted.

“I know people think this is like a get-up, but I’ve been rocking the train conductor bibs since I was in high school,” she said. “I have photos to prove it.”

And while Merdian said she didn’t expect Big Boy’s crew would need additional help in the cab, she was ready.

“Oh, I’d go in a minute,” she said. “That would be a dream.”

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The Union Pacific Big Boy 4014 steam locomotive pulls into Sterling for a whistle stop Tuesday, June 2, 2026, as it heads east on a coast-to-coast journey. (Alex T. Paschal)

She was among the crowd of hundreds stretched along both sides of the Union Pacific tracks on Wallace Street in downtown Sterling on Tuesday to catch a look and a listen of Union Pacific’s Big Boy 4014 as it made its way east on its first coast-to-coast tour to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the U.S.

The world’s largest operating steam locomotive was delayed for around 30 minutes before crossing from Iowa into Illinois on Tuesday afternoon, passing through Morrison shortly after 1:45 p.m.

But the crowds that had gathered in Sterling around the Twin Cities Farmers Market and the new Northwestern Steel and Wire Park didn’t seem to mind.

Sterling Main Street and the city of Sterling had tables set up in the farmers market pavilion offering coloring books and train-themed coloring pages. In the parking lot, food trucks drew lines of hungry and thirsty customers waiting to see the 1.2-million-pound locomotive and additional cars pull into town.

Rail fans streamed into Sterling from near and far to see the train.

“Two years ago, I went to see the Big Boy in Watseka. My mom and dad and I went to that event. It was smaller than this, but it was nice to enjoy that time as a family. My mom, Nancy, is here with me today,” said the Rev. Brother Jamison Wheeler of Manteno.

Wheeler said he is a fan of not just watching trains but riding the rails as well.

“It’s part of history. I am an Amtrak Rewards member and have ridden the Texas Eagle and the Sunset Limited,” Wheeler said.

Brian John Palm came from River Forest, a Chicago suburb, to photograph Big Boy. Palm was going to follow the train back to the city, with plans to stop in Rochelle for more photos as the train progressed to an overnight stop in West Chicago.

“I am going to see it here and get some photos and video and follow it to the next stop to see if I can get it and then I am going to try to get it near St. Charles and once it gets into West Chicago,” Palm said.

[ Thousands flock to Rochelle Railroad Park for Big Boy 4014 whistle stop ]

Palm said he grew up learning about trains on a slightly smaller scale.

“I am a second-generation train fan,” Palm said. “My dad, John Charles Palm, was born in 1946 and was a huge Lionel train collector, so I grew up with that. He contributed to a number of books about toy trains, O gauge and Lionel. So I was born into this. I was a huge Thomas the Tank Engine fan. From then on, that started my love affair with steam.”

Palm said his love for trains is limited to steam.

“Basically, my interest in trains ends at 1959. Once the steam engines were gone, I’m out of it,” he said.

Palm and Big Boy 4014 are old acquaintances.

“I saw it in the railway museum in Los Angeles when I was about 11 years old. I remember hearing that they were going to restore it, and I thought it would never happen, that there was no way they were ever going to get Big Boy running. I remember the first year it came to Chicago, I had to go see it, and I spent the entire time it was on display in West Chicago there,” Palm said.

Palm said he believes the fascination with steam locomotives is not just a love for history but a fascination with something that is almost a living being.

“It’s as close to a living entity as something that is mechanical can get,” he said. “Any railroader will tell you that a steam locomotive is alive. Each steam locomotive has its own personality; it eats coal, it breathes steam, it bleeds water. It’s a living entity,” he said.

Palm said this was his first time visiting Sterling, but not his last.

“As I was driving through, I said, ‘This is actually a really neat little town.’ I want to come back on a motorcycle ride and explore it more,” he said.

Merdian’s enthusiasm for the visit and the Big Boy locomotive’s stop has been on full display at City Council and city commission meetings for the last two months.

“I live next to the train tracks, and I’ve lived next to the train tracks my entire life. So there’s that,” she said.

But Merdian’s desire to see the big locomotive stop in Sterling started over five years ago.

“In 2019, Big Boy came through. It didn’t stop. We had a lot of people in my yard. When I saw what the draw was just to see it come through Sterling, I knew if we could get it to stop, there would be even bigger crowds,” Merdian said.

From that moment, getting the train to plan a whistle stop became a priority; Merdian became well known to Union Pacific officials who were in charge of the train’s schedule.

“In 2024, I saw that it was going to go on tour, so I took it upon myself to scour Union Pacific’s website and semi-harass them to get them to stop, even just for a little bit,” she said. “I said we have a wonderful spot here at the farmer’s market. I don’t have a train station per se, but I have a great pavilion and parking.

“And we knew we would have the riverfront park, and the Union Pacific office is right here. I said ‘Can you please stop for a little bit or just slow down?’ In 2024, they granted us the Traintown USA designation but also allowed us to have a 15-minute whistle stop.”

That short stop only piqued Merdian’s desire not only to get the train back to Sterling but also to get it back for a longer stop.

“Last year, they started organizing the America 250 coast-to-coast tour, and this is the first time it’s going coast to coast. When I knew that was happening, that is when I started maybe bothering them again to see if we could get another stop. We got 15 extra minutes,” she said.

Merdian was informed a little more than a month ago that the train would be stopping in Sterling.

“I had 34 days to plan this. In 2024, we had 30 days,” she said.

Steve and Jennifer Rasmussen came from Lanark to see the locomotive.

“I love steam trains. We saw it five or six years ago in West Chicago, but it was parked. We wanted to see it moving,” Steve Rasmussen said.

“I’m a big fan of the Victorian era, so anything pre-Industrial Revolution is my thing,” Jennifer Rasmussen said.

As it makes its way east, Big Boy 4014 will end up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on July 4 before starting its westward return journey. The train is expected to travel through central Illinois in mid-July.