Former UP Steam Engineer Steve Lee has retired.
But UP 844 has not.
Steam engines are alive.
BZ
UP 844: steam engines are alive
Bloviating Zeppelin
Right thinking from a Left brain.
Former UP Steam Engineer Steve Lee has retired.
But UP 844 has not.
Steam engines are alive.
BZ
Had the pleasure of seeing UP 844 many times. Occasionally the UP holds tours of their steam shop in Cheyenne. Well worth the time and trouble. I’m looking forward to seeing this bad boy running next year.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7MOBSIdPuU&t=13s
The UP’s goal is to have 8014 at Promontory Point, UT for the Golden Spike Jubilee.
Assuming I’m still ambulatory, I will be somewhere on Sherman Pass to see it.
The UP is still redoing their Challenger 3985. Saw it run a few years ago when they pulled the Ringling Brothers Circus with it.
My father was a foreman on the Denver & Rio Grande. He was able to get me a ride on a 2-8-8-2 helper engine from Toland, CO to the West Portal of the Moffat tunnel. What a thrill for a small boy! The D&RG had some steep grades on their standard gauge tracks. 3.5% on Tennessee Pass and 3.7% at Thistle, UT.
The UP 844 is powerful!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RU9uEwSGp9M
Takes a skilled hand on the throttle (and a little sand) to keep maximum thrust without spinning out.
Oh man, can you possibly imagine seeing an OPERATING Big Boy engine??
BZ
I’ve seen it apart in the shop and I’m confident they will have it running. When it runs I WILL see it unless I’m dead.
If you would like to see my Challenger snaps, shoot me an email address.
What a lovely haunting other worldly sound. Sadness, yearning, mystery, determination… Gives me chills each time.
I am awestruck by the length of that train.
UP’s Big Boy locomotives were constructed ONLY for that railroad, specifically for hauling freight up the Wasatch Mountains. It is the largest steam locomotive ever created in production.
BZ