March: Union Pacific Steam Shop
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Union Pacific Steam Locomotive 844 with missing firebox
844 was undergoing some extensive work. They are replacing the firebox, all the superheaters have been pulled, the cover is off the smoke box and all the valves in the cab and exterior are being redone. Still, Bryce seems to think they will be done by the end of April and 844 will be back on the road by June. He doesn't know what the schedule is for 2013 excursions but expects it to be light since they logged 17,000 miles last year.
Union Pacific Steam Locomotive 844 cab interior
844 was undergoing some extensive work. They are replacing the firebox, all the superheaters have been pulled, the cover is off the smoke box and all the valves in the cab and exterior are being redone. Still, Bryce seems to think they will be done by the end of April and 844 will be back on the road by June. He doesn't know what the schedule is for 2013 excursions but expects it to be light since they logged 17,000 miles last year.
Superheaters from Union Pacific Steam Locomotive 844
844 was undergoing some extensive work. They are replacing the firebox, all the superheaters have been pulled, the cover is off the smoke box and all the valves in the cab and exterior are being redone. Still, Bryce seems to think they will be done by the end of April and 844 will be back on the road by June. He doesn't know what the schedule is for 2013 excursions but expects it to be light since they logged 17,000 miles last year.
Union Pacific Steam Locomotive 844 Smokebox interior
844 was undergoing some extensive work. They are replacing the firebox, all the superheaters have been pulled, the cover is off the smoke box and all the valves in the cab and exterior are being redone. Still, Bryce seems to think they will be done by the end of April and 844 will be back on the road by June. He doesn't know what the schedule is for 2013 excursions but expects it to be light since they logged 17,000 miles last year.
Union Pacific Steam Locomotive 844
844 was undergoing some extensive work. They are replacing the firebox, all the superheaters have been pulled, the cover is off the smoke box and all the valves in the cab and exterior are being redone. Still, Bryce seems to think they will be done by the end of April and 844 will be back on the road by June. He doesn't know what the schedule is for 2013 excursions but expects it to be light since they logged 17,000 miles last year.
Union Pacific 6936 "Centennial Diesel Side View
Union Pacific 6936 is an EMD DDA40X locomotive owned by Union Pacific Railroad (UP). It is the sole example of the "Centennial" type that is still in operation, and thus is the largest operational diesel-electric locomotive in the world. It is occasionally used on both excursion trains and in revenue freight service. In 2000 UP 6936 struck a vehicle at a grade crossing in Louisiana and suffered significant damage to its front end. An employee riding in the nose section was killed in the accident, as was the driver of the struck vehicle. After the damage was repaired, a winged UP shield logo was applied to the front. It was also repainted in the current Lightning Bolt paint scheme and had a rooftop air conditioning unit installed.
The tool car is another member of the "entourage". They have a lot of the tools that are available in the shop for performing repairs or maintenance of the locomotive while out on the road.
This display seems to show all the people who have worked on the UP Steam Crew. The two missing hard hats were for Lorry and me. Bryce Allen was our tour guide.
Union Pacific EMD-E9 Diesel Locomotive
The E9 was a 2,400-horsepower (1,790 kW), A1A-A1A passenger train-hauling diesel locomotive built by General Motors' Electro-Motive Division of La Grange, Illinois between April 1954 and January 1964. 100 cab-equipped A units were produced and 44 cabless booster B units, all for service in the United States. The E9 was the tenth and last model of EMD E-unit and differed from the earlier E8 as built only by the newer engines and a different, flusher-fitting mounting for the headlight glass, the latter being the only visible difference. Since some E8s were fitted with this, it is not a reliable way to distinguish the two. The E9 had two 1,200 hp (895 kW), V12 model 567C engines, each engine driving one generator to power two traction motors.
Union Pacific Steam Locomotive 3985 Tender
Closeup of where tender is attached to locomotive
I got to tour the inside of this car after it was moved to the Railroad Heritage Museum of America in November 2022 as part of a donation of Union Pacific Equipment to that museum.
Union Pacific Steam Locomotive 5511
UP 5511 is a 2-10-2 steam locomotive. This locomotive is very rarely ever heard of, because it was never donated for public display. This locomotive is reportedly in excellent condition, and a restoration probably would not take more than a couple of weeks. The only thing keeping it from being restored is that it would be limited to 40 mph (64 km/h) or lower due to its large cylinders and small drivers. As of August 2004, this locomotive is being offered for sale by UP. It is currently in storage at the roundhouse where 844 & 3985 are repaired in Cheyenne, Wyoming
Union Pacific Steam Locomotive 838
838 is the same series as 844 and was used for spare parts. According to our guide, Bryce, they don't do that anymore because someone realized that once a part was used it would be gone. Now they use 838 as a reference model, not only for casting new parts from the 838 originals but for seeing how things go together if something major happens to 844. As he said, when something breaks on one of these it usually takes out some parts around it.
