| Union Pacific 844 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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.jpg) Union Pacific No. 844 running through Painted Rocks,Nevada on April 15, 2009 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Union Pacific 844 is a class "FEF-3"4-8-4 "Northern" typesteam locomotive owned and operated by theUnion Pacific Railroad for itsheritage fleet. Built in December 1944 by theAmerican Locomotive Company (ALCO) ofSchenectady, New York, No. 844 is one of four survivingFEF series locomotives and the only one in operation.
The locomotive operated in revenue service until 1959. It was stored while awaiting scrapping, along with the rest of the UPsteam locomotive fleet. In 1960, railroad leaders recognized the benefits of having a steam program and retained No. 844 for special activities, the kernel of what has become the Union Pacific's heritage fleet.[3] Today, it is one of UP's oldest serving locomotives[4] and the only steam locomotive never retired by aNorth AmericanClass I railroad.[5]
In the late 1930s, Union Pacific (UP) appointed Otto Jabelmann as vice president of research and mechanical standards, where he and his team began building a brand-new 4-8-4 design; theFEF class, which could handle both freight and passenger service.[6] In 1937, the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) of Schenectady, New York collaborated on the building first batch of FEFs, which were designated asFEF-1s and were the first UP steam locomotives to operate at a boiler pressure of 300 psi (2.07 MPa).[6]
The FEF-3 could reach and regularly run at 120 mph; one locomotive reportedly pulled a 1,000-ton passenger train at 100 mph. Union Pacific considered all FEF classes to be capable of producing between 4,000 and 5,000 drawbar horsepower.
The FEF-3 class represented the apex of dual-service steam locomotive development; funds and research were being concentrated on the development ofdiesel-electric locomotives. Originally designed to burn coal, they were converted to run onfuel oil in 1946. Like the earlier FEF-1 and FEF-2 classes, the FEF-3 locomotives were ultimately reassigned to freight service.
UP 844 was the laststeam locomotive delivered to theUnion Pacific Railroad,[2] constructed as a member of the FEF-3 class of4-8-4 "Northern" type locomotives. Upon its entry into service, the locomotive spent most of its career pulling a variety of passenger trains, such as theOverland Limited,Los Angeles Limited,Portland Rose andChallenger.[7] From 1957 to 1959, UP 844 was reassigned to fast freight service in Nebraska when diesel-electric locomotives took over passenger service.
After commercial steam operations ended in 1959, No. 844 was retained to be kept as an experimental snow melter along withChallenger class No. 3710 while the rest of the FEF-3s were scrapped. In 1960, UP saw the potential of having a steam locomotive for public relations and excursions in a world where steam locomotives are a rare sight.[2] As such, No. 844 was chosen for rebuilding and is now used on company and public excursion trains, along with hauling revenue freight trains during ferry moves.
Since 1960, No. 844 has run hundreds of thousands of miles as Union Pacific's publicity locomotive. The locomotive often pulled the annualDenver Post-sponsoredCheyenne Frontier Days train that ran round-trip from Cheyenne toDenver every July before it was discontinued in early 2019.[8][9][10]
It appeared atExpo '74 inSpokane, Washington; the 1978 dedication of theUtah State Railroad Museum inOgden, Utah;[11] the1984 World's Fair inNew Orleans; and the 50th anniversary celebration ofLos Angeles Union Passenger Terminal in 1989, when it performed a side-by-side run withSouthern Pacific 4449. On February 14, 1975, it pulledAmtrak'sSan Francisco Zephyr fromDenver, Colorado toCheyenne, Wyoming with a pair ofEMD SDP40Fs.[12] In 1981, it traveled to the opening of theCalifornia State Railroad Museum inSacramento, along withUnion Pacific 3985, which had recently been restored to operational condition.
In 1987, No. 8444 was repainted into UP's Greyhound Scheme and was invited to an event to celebrateLAUPT's 50th anniversary along with Southern Pacific 4449, UP E9A No. 951, SP E9A No. 6051, and ATSF F7A No. 347c. 8444 raced 4449 downCajon Pass on their respective trackage with 8444 winning by default as 4449 had to stop due to a roller bearing issue.
Over the weekend of October 14, 1990, No. 844 led a procession of special trains fromKansas City Union Station toAbilene, Kansas for World War II veterans to celebrate the 100th birthday of U.S. PresidentDwight D. Eisenhower. The "Eisenhower Centennial Special" was composed of cars from the Union Pacific,Burlington Northern andSanta Fe Railway business fleets, with additional passenger cars provided by theNorfolk Southern andChicago and North Western railroads. Also present in Abilene was General Eisenhower's command train, code-named "Bayonet", including the BritishA4 steam locomotive No.60008 and communication and staff cars from WWII'sEuropean Theater of Operations.
After the end of the 1991 excursion season, No. 844 was put in the shop for a major running gear overhaul in addition to other repairs. During that time, No. 844 was repainted from the passenger greyhound scheme to the freight black. It emerged from the shop in 1996.
On June 21, 1997, on the way to the National Railway Historical Society (NRHS)'s annual convention in Salt Lake City, Utah, No. 844 and Union Pacific's Executive E units pulled 18 passenger cars on the Union Pacific's soon-to-closeTennessee Pass line, which included tracks on a narrow canyon shelf along theArkansas River.
On June 24, 1999, while on display during RailFair '99, one of the 844's boiler tubes failed, and the locomotive was subsequently towed dead back to Cheyenne by the recently overhauled No. 3985. The tube was found to have been made of the wrong material during the overhaul in 1996, a discovery that prompted the replacement of the firebox in a complete overhaul that lasted from September 2001 to 2004. On September 9, 2004, the UP steam crew successfully test-fired the 4-8-4. It returned to operating service on November 10, 2004.
On May 18–19, 2007, No. 844 teamed withSouthern Pacific 4449 to pull the "Puget Sound Excursion", a round trip fromTacoma toEverett on BNSF Railway tracks.
On June 25 and 26, 2010, it made an excursion trip toMilliken, Colorado's centennial celebration.
In September 2012, the No. 844 locomotive was used in "UP 150", a celebration of Union Pacific's 150th-anniversary celebration, hosted by theCalifornia State Railroad Museum (CSRM).[13] During that time, No. 844's tender derailed on a tightly-curved track from the Union Pacific's Martinez Subdivision to the CSRM.[14] The tender was rerailed at 7:30 p.m.[14]
In June 2013, the locomotive's gyratingMars Light, installed in 1946, was removed because its mounting bolts had deteriorated. It was also announced that year that the No. 844 and No. 3985 would eventually be joined by a third steam locomotive:Big BoyNo. 4014.[15]
After the 2013 season, the locomotive was taken out of service for boiler work required by a change in the water treatment. It spent 2014 in Cheyenne, then received an early 15-year inspection the following year.
On June 16 and 17, 2016, the 844 was test-fired. On July 12, 2016, the Union Pacific Steam Team took the locomotive on a "break-in run" as a sort of all-systems check and dress rehearsal for its return to service. The run was described as a complete success.[16] On July 23, 2016, it pulled the annual Cheyenne Frontiers Day excursion.
On October 13, 2016, the Union Pacific Steam Team started its 18-day "Trek To Tennessee" journey: the restored 844's first major trip.
In April 2017, No. 844 made its first run on theOregon Short Line Railroad to celebrate the 92nd anniversary of theBoise Union Pacific Depot. Because of heavy snows and a wet spring, the trip was cut short and the engine had to run light across theMalad River because of a washed-out bridge.
In December 2018,Union Pacific requestedFederal Railroad Administration (FRA) waivers to exempt UP Nos. 844, 3985, and 4014 from federalPositive Train Control (PTC) requirements;[17] in February 2019, the FRA officials responded that such waivers were not needed.[18]
On May 4, 2019, No. 844 participated in the inaugural run of the newly restored Big Boy No. 4014. The train departed the historicCheyenne Depot following a christening ceremony for No. 4014.[19] The two locomotives arrived at theOgden Union Station on May 9 for the city's Heritage Festival.[20][21] The two locomotives were on display at the station until May 12, when the return trip toCheyenne began. They arrived at Cheyenne on May 19, concluding the first run of No. 4014 inexcursion service.[21]
Since January 2020, Nos. 844 and 4014 are the only two operational UPsteam locomotives left on the active roster, following the retirement of No. 3985 fromexcursion service due to its poor mechanical condition.[22][23][a] However, due to theCOVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, UP cancelled all of its 2020 steam excursions and stated that Nos. 844 and 4014 would not operate for the 2020 operating season. UP eventually resumed excursion operations with No. 4014 beginning in August 2021. No future excursions have thus far been scheduled for No. 844 since 2019 and the locomotive had been running since then, although it is confirmed the locomotive is maintained to keep it in operational condition and UP have considered equipping the locomotive with the PTC system.[26]
From 1962 to 1989, the locomotive was numberedUP 8444 because the railroad had given the number 844 to anEMD GP30 locomotive. After the GP30 was retired from active service in June 1989, No. 8444 was renumbered back to 844.[27] That GP30 is now owned byNevada State Railroad Museum in Boulder City, Nevada, and operates periodically at theNevada State Railroad Museum Boulder City onexcursion runs. There is now anEMD SD70ACe on the UP roster numbered 8444.
On July 21, 2018, while pulling theCheyenne Frontier Days Special toDenver, Colorado, No. 844 struck and killed a pedestrian inHenderson, Colorado. The pedestrian was standing too close to the track photographing the train as she was hit. The train was stopped immediately following the accident.[28][29]
UP 844 was documented in the 1981 film "Eighty Four Forty Four" by the Union Pacific Railroad. Some of those clips would be later used for the opening andclosing credits of thePBS showShining Time Station, which ran from 1989 until 1995 (including the four hour-long Family Specials).[30][31]
UP 844 also appears inExtreme Trains in the episode "Steam Train", in which it pulled theFrontier Days special from Denver to Cheyenne.[32]
UP 844 also makes an appearance in the 2nd Episode of the 3rd Season on theTLC TV series,Mostly True Stories?: Urban Legends Revealed.
In the 1990PBS specialGhost Trains of the Old West, UP 8444, as it was numbered at the time of filming, is seen pulling a Union Pacific diesel locomotive and passenger train through Wyoming.
UP 844 (and several other restored steam locomotives) appear in the music video with thePat Metheny Group's "Last Train Home".
The 2014 short film "Locomotive Song"[33] features UP 844—particularly itsrunning gear—accompanied by the song of the same name byboogie-woogie pianistHoney Piazza.[34]
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