Downtown Poplar Bluff Director Morgan McIntosh has arranged for SMTS buses to transport area residents and visitors to see Union Pacific steam engine 4014 while it is parked in the UP yards.
She was told by UP officials Tuesday the locomotive is expected to arrive at 4:30 p.m. Friday. It will be traveling from North Little Rock, Arkansas, with stops in Bald Knob, Tuckerman and Walnut Ridge.
Train buffs will be taking photos of the historic steam engine at various locations, including overpasses, as it approaches Poplar Bluff.
“Riding a bus will be on a first-come, first-served basis,” McIntosh said.
A waiting line for bus riders will form in front of the Moark Regional Railroad Museum, which will be open from 4-7 p.m. Friday and 1-4 p.m. Saturday.
Downtown Poplar Bluff will sell sodas, water and T-shirts in front of the railroad museum. A snow cone truck will be present
UP is limiting each busload to 15 minutes on its property, according to McIntosh. The last bus ride will be at 6:45 p.m. so UP workers can prepare the locomotive to continue on its tour at 8 a.m. Saturday.
“No pedestrians will be allowed to walk onto UP property,” she said. UP security personnel will keep people off railroad property.
Police Chief Danny Whiteley urges everyone to park in the Black River Coliseum parking lots and walk to the Fifth Street overpass if they do not want to wait for a bus ride.
He will have an unmanned police car parked along Fifth Street with its emergency lights on to help slow traffic.
Whiteley urges drivers and pedestrians to be extremely cautious due to the expected number of people wanting to view the huge steam engine.
“UP’s biggest concern is everyone’s safety,” Whiteley said.
The Poplar Bluff Fire Department has been contacted to refill the tender with water.
Visitors can also walk to the historic 1910 Iron Mountain Depot and staircase up to Main Street.
Railfans from Knoxville, Tennessee, Memphis, Tennessee, and Springfield, Missouri, are among those planning to travel to Poplar Bluff to see 4014. Some plan to follow the train to St. Louis.
“The steam engine’s visit is quite the buzz on social media,” said Steve Halter, president of the Greater Poplar Bluff Area Chamber of Commerce.
For more information about the railroad museum located in the historic 1928 Frisco Depot, call 573-785-4539 or 573-686-2241 and leave a message. Private tours can be arranged earlier Friday for those coming from long distances.