HERMANN – It was a crowd size that Hermann has not seen for many years. And it produced a traffic jam to match.

As visitors tried to leave downtown Hermann Monday afternoon after being on hand for the visit of Big Boy, one of the world’s largest steam locomotives, city streets and state highways became snarled with traffic. Gridlock had hit Hermann. The slow crawl made drivers as hot as the 90-degree temperatures many had been standing in while awaiting the arrival of the giant engine.

Hermann police and volunteers could be seen in almost every intersection downtown directing traffic, the drivers’ frustration level clearly shown through the squeal of tires as the lead car in a long line was given the sign to begin moving.

Traffic on Market Street (Highway 19) was bumper-to-bumper from the Market Street-Highway 100 intersection into the downtown area. Many of the vehicles trying to get one from end of Hermann to the other included dump trucks loaded with rock headed to the data centers’ construction sites in Montgomery County, the drivers wearing a look of frustration at having to creep along and constantly shifting gears in the stop-and-go process that put them several minutes behind schedule delivering rock.

Watching the traffic moving at a snail’s pace through town became a form of entertainment for some local residents who were not in a hurry to get caught up in the mix of vehicles, preferring to let the traffic thin before beginning their journey home.

The huge crowd that was gathered mostly in Riverfront Park withstood a hot and muggy day. Heat illness was a concern for local officials as ambulances from several districts were in Hermann for the event. Along with Hermann Area Ambulance District units, crews from ambulance districts in Osage County, Cole County and Montgomery County were on hand to help anyone suffering heat illnesses. They were busy; indeed, well after Big Boy had departed Hermann, the call went out for assistance from one of the ambulances of the New Haven Ambulance District.

Hermannhof Festballe, located a short walk away from Riverfront Park, opened its large dining are as cooling center. It was well used. A glance inside the Festhalle revealed a big crowd taking advantage of the air-conditioned room and cold water that was available.

This was Big Boy’s first visit since 2021 and Hermann officials were expecting a big crowd. They were not disappointed.