Union Pacific

The Big Boy No. 4014 is the world's largest operating steam locomotive. It's 133 feet long, approximately the length of three school buses end-to-end, and is hauling a set of cars with "America 250" displayed on the sides behind it.

There are still a lot of details to work through with a prospective contractor on the Uptown Normal underpass project for another revised bid, and with state, federal, and railroad partners. City Manager Pam Reece has more to say in a WGLT interview.

The updated tentative price to build the Uptown underpass project in Normal is about $33.7 million. That is above the roughly $32 million bid approved in November. The previous winning bidder withdrew over concerns about timing and its ability to meet the cost.

The bids for the long-awaited underpass project beneath the railroad tracks in Uptown Normal have come back. The low bid is $35.16 million.

Amtrak trains through Bloomington-Normal are getting later and later. A report of on-time performance during the last budget year shows a four-year decline of trains arriving within a half hour of the scheduled time.

Life is about to get quieter for residents near one of the main rail lines that cuts through Bloomington.A new train horn quiet zone goes into effect…