Former “Tonight Show” host Jay Leno hitched a ride aboard a classic Union Pacific steam engine during a stop in western Iowa.
Leno surprised those who showed up to see “Big Boy Number 4014” in Denison Wednesday. Chad Stephens says it was surreal to see a celebrity in town.
“He was checking everything out and taking pictures and I wasn’t going to pass up that opportunity. I got my picture taken with someone with a net worth of 450 million dollars, so that’s pretty cool,” Stephens says.
Stephens is a volunteer firefighter and a Leno fan. “It was kind of neat after watching him on T-V for a lot of years and seeing some of his shows and the automobile collection he has, it was kind of cool to see him in Denison, Iowa,” Stephens says. A spokesperson for Union Pacific says the company was proud to host Leno in the cab of the locomotive Wednesday for his show “Jay Leno’s Garage.”
The train went on to Boone without Leno and will leave for Cedar Rapids today before heading for Illinois on Friday. Big Boy’s “Heartland of America” tour started in Wyoming last week and will wrap up in late October after rolling through nine other states.
You can find out more information on Big Boy’s Route here: https://www.up.com/heritage/steam/schedule/index.htm
(By Sheila Brummer, Iowa Public Radio)