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The Nowata Chamber of Commerce will present the Union Pacific 4014 Whistle Stop this weekend and you are welcome to attend this momentous occasion. Kelly Collins is assisting the Nowata Chamber with the event, and he says there will be plenty of fun to be had before the locomotive comes around on Saturday, Nov. 16th.

A story teller will be reading train specific books to children every twenty minutes. A trackless train for the kids to enjoy will also be on hand. There will be food trucks in the area of Cherokee Avenue for the occasion as well. Everything - with the exception of the food - will be free.

Even the Nowata History Museum located along S. Oak Street just off of Cherokee Avenue will be open. They will have historical displays of Nowata's history with the rail system. Collins said they do an excellent job in presenting what Nowata is all about at the Nowata History Museum and that it is great to have them on board with Saturday's event.

As for the events for the whistle stop before the train arrives, they will begin at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday.

The UP4014 itself will arrive in Nowata at approximately 3:00 p.m. at Cherokee Avenue for photo opportunities and more. Collins said Nowata is proud to be one of the five places in Oklahoma the locomotive will stop, and it is even believed that this will be historic because the unit has never been on Nowata's railways before. It could very well be the last time it stops in the town.

The train will be arriving from Van Buren, Arkansas that day. Coffeyville to the north of Nowata will be the last stop for the locomotive before it moves on Sunday.

We will have more on this story as we approach the event on Saturday, Nov. 16th.