the almanac J U LY 19, 2026
SOUTH HILLS COMMUNITY NEWS
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OH BOY!
Big steam engine thrills train enthusiasts
By Eleanor Bailey ebailey@thealmanac.net
The Union Pacific Big Boy No. 4014 received A’s all around as the 85-year-old, 1.2-million pound steam engine, hauling 25 cars chugged into little Leetsdale during a whistle stop on July 11. The Ferry family from Bethel Park gave it a triple-A rating. Twelve-year-old Elizabeth and her parents, Tyler and Olivia, waited more than five hours to glimpse the legendary train. Each chimed in unison “amazing” regarding the experience. “It exceeded expectations,” continued Tyler. “Beautiful,” interrupted Elizabeth, who became a train fan after reading about the Hogwarts Express in the “Harry Potter” book series. “Emotional,” Olivia countered. Kayleigh Stultz of Washington agreed. A Trinity High School graduate, she currently is a special education teacher at South Fayette High School. “It was awesome,” she said. “I didn’t expect to become emotional but I did. It was very powerful.” Though a bit behind schedule, Big Boy 4014 thundered down the
Norfolk Southern tracks around 6:36 p.m. for a 30-minute stop in Leetsdale on its 7,000-mile coastto-coast trek that began on April 10 in Sacramento, California, where the Central Pacific Railroad began construction of America’s first transcontinental rail line in 1863. Built in 1941 to haul heavy freight over the Wasatch Mountains in Utah, the Union Pacific Big Boy is the world’s largest and most powerful operating steam locomotive. Only 25 were ever made and No. 4014 is the sole operating engine. It stretches 133 feet long. It also features a unique 4-8-8-4 wheel arrangement, with the driving wheels measuring an impressive 68 inches in diameter, and carries a fully loaded tender holding 25,000 gallons of water and 28 tons of coal (or oil in modern operation) at which is burns this supply in just 2.5 hours. These facts and others are quite familiar to Robert Wiggers. The 21-year-old Bridgeville native who graduated from St. Vincent College in Latrobe says he still wants to become an engineer for the railroad some day and has taught Stultz, his former teacher, more about trains than she’ll ever know. “It was retired in the 1960s but brought back into service in 2019,”
ELEANOR BAILEY
Train enthusiasts lined the rails in Leetsdale to get a glimpse as well as photograph the Big Boy.
ELEANOR BAILEY
ABOVE: Big Boy rounds the bend and is greeted by thousands of fans during a Whistle Stop in Leetsdale. LEFT: Big Boy weighs 1.2 million pounds and stretches 133 feet long. It stopped in Leetsdale during a leg through Pittsburgh on its cross country journey in celebration of the nation’s 250th birthday. BELOW: Cecilia Sullivan, 4, blows a train whistle as she awaits Big Boy’s appearance in Leetsdale.
Wiggers said. After rattling off additional facts about the Norfolk Southern and CSX lines he said sheepishly, “I like all kinds of railroads.” Wiggers traveled to New York and watched Big Boy 4014 pass through Dunkirk earlier this summer on its cross-country journey in honor of America’s 250th birthday. He also saw No. 4012, which is part of the collection and is on permanent display at the Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton. “So this is my third time seeing it,” he said. “I just love trains. They’re cool and so much fun to watch.” For Wiggers, this time seeing Big Boy 4014 was special. “I got to hear the bell ringing for the first time,” he enthused. Chris Lodge of Bulger and his father, Joe, from Bethel Park also had seen the Big Boy on display in Scranton but it was the first time either of them had seen the engine in action.
ELEANOR BAILEY
LEFT: Kayleigh Stultz from Washington and Robert Wiggers from Bridgeville wait for the arrival of Big Boy. BELOW: Elizabeth Ferry (left) and her parents Tyler and Olivia made the trek from Bethel Park to Leetsdale to see Big Boy.
SEE STEAM PAGE A2
REBELLIOUS ROOTS
Effort made to declare rye whiskey as Pennsylvania’s official state spirit By Mike Jones
mjones@observer-reporter.com
MIKE JONES
Jim and Ellen Hough of Liberty Pole Spirits are shown at their meetinghouse and production facility in North Strabane recently.
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Monongahela rye once helped foment an insurrection in Western Pennsylvania during the whiskey rebellion in the late 18th century. More than two centuries later, rye whiskey’s rebellious roots might be spreading elsewhere in the state. Last week, the state Senate approved state Sen. Camera Bartolotta’s bill declaring rye whiskey as the official spirit of Pennsylvania thanks to its spirited history. “Long before Kentucky became synonymous with bourbon, Pennsylvania rye whiskey set the standard for American distilling,” Bartolotta said in a written statement. “This bill honors that remarkable legacy while recognizing the farmers, distillers and small businesses that continue to carry it forward today.”
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It was in these hills where farmers from Washington County gathered at meeting houses to protest the federal government’s excise tax on whiskey. It led to a violent rebellion that challenged the young government’s authority, but ultimately was quashed by federal troops commanded by President George Washington in 1794. Afterward from the late 1700s until the 1840, Pennsylvania rye was the king of whiskey in these states united. According to Bartolotta, Pennsylvania led the nation in whiskey production, with federal records and the 1810 Census of Manufactures showing that the commonwealth once produced and distributed two to three times more whiskey than the next-largest distilling state. Senate Bill 1248 has bipartisan support with co-sponsors from across the state – including Republican state Sen. Devlin Robinson of western Allegheny County and Democratic state Sen. Lind-
sey Williams of the North Hills – as it received near unanimous support in the Senate’s State Government committee last week. To help spur the effort, Jim and Ellen Hough of Liberty Pole Spirits traveled to Harrisburg to lend their support and promote its passage. Jim Hough said so many distillers in the state make their own version of Pennsylvania rye, so it was difficult to settle on an official recipe. With that in mind, the group of distillers who gathered in Harrisburg decided to take a cue from the federal government – yes, the one that taxed our whiskey – and its definition of rye, which must be least 51% rye grain in mash bill and distilled under 160 proof before being poured into a charred oak barrel to be aged. Although the fiercely divided state government failed to pass a budget by the June 30 deadline, Republicans and Democrats came together to push Bartolotta’s bill through the Senate. It now moves to the House of Representatives for consideration. “It felt like we were on to something that was a no-brainer, but it’s great to see Harrisburg agree with us that someSEE ROOTS PAGE A2
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