HOUSTON — A 600-ton piece of history is in Houston, allowing hundreds a chance to see the Big Boy locomotive up close.
The 80-plus-year-old engineering marvel is wrapping up its trip through the heartland, stopping at Houston's Amtrak station on Washington Avenue.
When Big Boy rolls into town, you can feel it, smell it and hear it.
"It’s American history. In 1941 it was created. And it’s still running today. It’s beautiful. When you hear that whistleblower is like nothing else," said train enthusiast, Gino Villalobos.
Villalobos and his son Asher Aguilar do quite a bit of train restoration too, but on a much smaller scale. It's a fascination that's stuck with Aguilar for quite a while.
"It is mind-blowing. I grew up with Thomas and The Polar Express. Just seeing this this gorgeous train behind me. It’s just really beautiful," he said.
Ed Dickens is the manager of Heritage Operations and sees this train through its travels. He was also part of the 12-member team to get this 1941 locomotive in working order by fully taking it apart and fabricating new parts to get the engine going.
"I think that’s what captures people's imaginations. Something as big as this is and it’s fully functional and that it was made in a time before computers," said Dickens.
This Big Boy is the one of eight remaining from a fleet of 25 that first hit the track during the World War II era. Today, it might as well be carrying a rock band or celebrity, judging by the swarms of fans.
"In Laramie, we saw John Wayne come in on one of these," said Bill Cloyd.
Bill Cloyd first saw it as a kid in Cheyenne, Wyoming. He and his wife moved about 40 years ago, so they wanted to see it again and reflect on the past journeys
"My dad, and my mom always talked about the Big Boy and the train. It used to burn coal and a lot of time they go across the prairie, and the cold would catch the prairies on fire," Cloyd said.
He said the fascination is simple. People love nostalgia, they love the olden days and they love trains.
Big Boy will leave Houston on Monday.