YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – The crowd that turned out July 12 in downtown Struthers would match – and in many cases dwarf – the turnout at many area parades and celebrations of athletic achievements.
Some 20,000 people turned out that Sunday not to celebrate a celebrity or achievement but to witness the arrival of a piece of technology from more than 80 years ago. Union Pacific Railroad’s “Big Boy,” No. 4014 locomotive, rolled into downtown Struthers as part of a nationwide tour in conjunction with the celebration of the U.S. semiquincentennial.
The locomotive was one of 25 Big Boys commissioned for the railroad, the first of which was delivered in 1941, to haul heavy equipment over western U.S. mountains in support of the war effort. Retired in December 1961 after traveling 1.03 million miles, No. 4014 returned to service in 2019 following a multiyear restoration effort and is the only one that remains in operation, with another seven on display.
To celebrate the visit, the city of Struthers organized a daylong festival featuring live entertainment, displays by local organizations and vendors selling buttons, T-shirts and other merchandise to commemorate the event. Several downtown restaurants opened Sunday morning for patrons, and the city established a Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area for the festivities.
“We wanted to make a day of it. We wanted to make it something that people enjoyed, and we wanted to showcase what we have here in Struthers,” Mayor Catherine Cercone Miller said.
Attendance at the event far exceeded the 5,000 Miller said she was told to expect.
“This is what we see everywhere we travel with the Big Boy. It unites people, brings them together,” said Ed Dickens, Union Pacific senior manager-heritage operations. “They get to see with their own eyes the magnificent machine that this is.”
It presented a unique opportunity to witness living history in a Mahoning Valley community that was prepared to show its best face – and succeeded.
