World's largest steam locomotive rolls through Chicago area

WEST CHICAGO (FOX 32 NEWS) - Thousands of Chicago-area residents got to feast their eyes on "Big Boy," the world's largest steam locomotive, Friday as it rolled through the suburbs.

The historic Union Pacific locomotive is traveling around the country to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the First Transcontinental Railroad.

The train was built in 1941 and restored recently in Cheyenne, Wyoming.

Jim Leonard has been along for the ride.

"We drug it from a museum back to Cheyenne. We built the whole engine and you see the final product today. You see all these people out to see the final product," Leonard said.

People came from all over to bear witness to the hulking train.

"We came from western Kentucky all the way up here," Stewart Wade said. "It was great. Just to feel the ground vibrate a bit. It's a magnificent engine."

Big Boy will be on display in West Chicago through Monday afternoon before heading back West on Tuesday.