CHAPPELL - Railway enthusiasts from across the globe converged on Nebraska this weekend to get a glimpse of the world's largest steam locomotive still in operation.

The Big Boy No. 4014 returned to Cheyenne after more than a week in Omaha for the 2023 Men's College World Series at Charles Schwab Field. The legendary train made stops in Ogallala, Julesburg, Chappell, Sidney, Kimball and Pine Bluffs on Sunday and Monday. It was the lone tour for the train in 2023.

Travelers as far as Colorado, Texas, North Carolina and Germany followed the locomotive through the southern Nebraska Panhandle, some seeing it for the first time.

Bill Conklin, of North Carolina, has been involved with restorations of smaller steam locomotives. He and his brother, Joe, traveled to Chappell to see the legendary steam engine for the first time in person. 

"I like the technology," Conklin said. "I like to work on mechanical things. It's just kind of fascinating what people were able to do back in the 1940's, 1930's and 1920's with just a slide rule, pencil and paper, no computers. Those guys really knew their stuff."

Joe, of Texas, jokes he was kidnapped by his brother to come see the train, but says they've had a lot of fun around the Chappell area. Joe restores old cars and enjoys the older technology like what's found on The Big Boy. 

"The complexity of the thing is just absolutely off this planet," Joe said. "They really accomplished something that lasted far beyond what they thought it would. The amount of power they can get from it and what they were trying to solve. Trying to move a large amount of freight with an engine no one thought they could really produce. It's pretty amazing."

Crowds gathered at the Vincent Ave. crossing in Chappell for photos and videos before The Big Boy No. 4014 departed for an overnight stay at Hickory Street Square in Sidney Sunday night. 

Riding steam trains around his hometown in southeast Colorado, and the nostalgia of The Big Boy's history, drew Robert "Sunny" Smith and friends to travel to Chappell Sunday morning. 

"We're coming to chase The Big Boy," Smith said. "We've seen the stationary one in Cheyenne, but we've never got to see The Big Boy 4014 run, so we're coming to see it run."

Union Pacific Railroad restored The Big Boy No. 4014 10 years ago. Before that, it was in a museum in California for more than 50 years.

News Channel Nebraska's Hunter Arterburn got a special behind-the-scenes look of the operation of the steam locomotive when he rode it from Chappell to Sidney on Sunday. View the full video at newschannelnebraska.com.