Union Pacific 844
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| Union Pacific 844 | |
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| UP 844 at Painted Rocks, Nevada, on September 15, 2009 | |
| Power type | Steam |
| Builder | American Locomotive Company |
| Serial number | 72791 |
| Build date | December 1944 |
| Configuration | 4-8-4 |
| UIC classification | 2′D2′ h2 |
| Gauge | 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) |
| Driver diameter | 80 in (2,032 mm) |
| Wheelbase | Loco & tender: 98 ft 5 in (30.00 m) |
| Weight on drivers | 266,490 lb (120.9 tonnes) |
| Locomotive weight | 486,340 lb (220.6 tonnes) |
| Locomotive & tender combined weight |
907,890 lb (411.8 tonnes) |
| Fuel type | No. 5 fuel oil, originally coal |
| Fuel capacity | 6,200 US gal (23,000 l; 5,200 imp gal) |
| Water capacity | 23,500 US gal (89,000 l; 19,600 imp gal) |
| Boiler | 86 3⁄16 in (2189.2 mm) diameter |
| Boiler pressure | 300 lbf/in² (2.07 MPa) |
| Firegrate area | 100 sq ft (9.3 m2) (grate removed in 1945) |
| Heating surface: Tubes |
2,204 sq ft (204.8 m2) |
| Heating surface: Flues |
1,578 sq ft (146.6 m2) |
| Heating surface: Firebox |
442 sq ft (41.1 m2) |
| Heating surface: Total |
4,224 sq ft (392.4 m2) |
| Superheater area | 1,400 sq ft (130 m2) |
| Cylinders | Two |
| Cylinder size | 25 in × 32 in (635 mm × 813 mm) |
| Tractive effort | 63,750 lbf (283.6 kN) |
| Factor of adhesion |
4.18 |
| Career | Union Pacific Railroad |
| Class | FEF-3 |
| Number | 844 |
| Retired | Never retired |
| Disposition | operates in occasional excursion service |
Union Pacific 844 is a 4-8-4 steam locomotive owned by Union Pacific Railroad. Built in 1944, it was the last steam locomotive delivered to Union Pacific and is the only steam locomotive never retired by a North American Class I railroad.[1]
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History [edit]
Union Pacific 844 was one of 10 locomotives that were ordered by Union Pacific in 1944 and designated as class FEF-3. The FEF-3 class represented the epitome of dual-service steam locomotive development; funds and research were being concentrated into the development of diesel-electric locomotives. Designed to burn coal, they were converted to run on fuel oil. Like the earlier FEF-2 class, FEF-3 locomotives were designed as passenger engines. They pulled such trains as the Overland Limited, Los Angeles Limited, Portland Rose and Challenger.
Some enthusiasts think UP 844 could pull 26 passenger cars at more than 100 mph (161 km/h) on straight and level track; they say it was designed to safely operate up to 120 mph (193 km/h) with its one-piece cast-steel bed frame, 80-inch (2,032 mm) drivers, massive boiler/firebox and lightweight reciprocating parts, which were common on late-era steam locomotives. (UP's timetables showed a speed limit for steam locomotives of 80 mph.)
From 1957 to 1959, UP 844 was reassigned to freight service in Nebraska when diesel-electric locomotives took over passenger service.
Saved from scrapping in 1960, UP 844 was chosen for restoration and is now used on company and public excursion trains, along with revenue freight during ferry moves.
Excursion career [edit]
Since 1962, the engine has run hundreds of thousands of miles as Union Pacific's ambassador of goodwill. It appeared at Expo ’74 in Spokane, the 1978 dedication of the Utah State Railroad Museum in Ogden, Utah,[2] the 1981 opening of the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento, the 1984 World's Fair in New Orleans and the 50th Anniversary Celebration of Los Angeles Union Station in 1989. It has performed a side-by-side run with Southern Pacific 4449. On February 14, 1975, it pulled Amtrak's San Francisco Zephyr from Denver, Colorado, to Cheyenne, Wyoming, with a pair of EMD SDP40Fs.[3]
Over the weekend of October 14, 1990, the UP 844 led a procession of special trains from Kansas City Union Station to Abilene, Kansas, for WWII veterans to celebrate the 100th birthday of President Dwight D. Eisenhower. The “Eisenhower Centennial Special” was a collaboration between the Union Pacific, Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railroad business fleets, with additional passenger cars provided by the Norfolk Southern and Chicago North Western railroads. Present also in Abilene was General Eisenhower’s command train, code-named "Bayonet", including the British A4 steam locomotive #60008, communication and staff cars from WWII European Theater Operations. The UP 844 consist for that weekend included 21 units, including the tool and power car, a super dome and regular dome, lounge and observation, concession/baggage cars and chair cars in the following order: Columbia River, Western Lodge, Sunshine Special, Sun Valley, Texas Eagle, Portland Rose, City of Los Angeles, Challenger, Columbine, Western Special, Powder River, St. Louis, Iowa River, Harriman, Cheyenne, Cedar River, Chicago, Minnesota and Fox River.[citation needed]
On May 18, and May 19, 2007, the 844 made another rare appearance with Southern Pacific 4449 in the Pacific Northwest for the "Puget Sound Excursion", on the Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad tracks from Tacoma to Everett, round-trip. This excursion was a tandem run; the locomotives pulled a Union Pacific passenger train consisting of three to four dome cars and several coaches.[citation needed]
Today, UP 844 runs occasional excursion and fan trips along UP trackage every year. On June 25 and 26, 2010, the 844 made an excursion trip to the Milliken, Colorado, Centennial Celebration. On rare occasions, it has been, and still can be used in revenue service.[citation needed]
In fall 2010, the Union Pacific allowed railfans to vote where the coming season's excursion trains will operate.[4]
In September 2012, the 844 participated in UP 150, a celebration of Union Pacific's 150th anniversary celebration, hosted by the California State Railroad Museum in Old Sacramento, California. During the event, 844's tender derailed on tightly curved track from the mainline to the museum. Later in 2012, Union Pacific officials said they were trying to acquire the 4-8-8-4 Big Boy 4014 for restoration and operation.
Union Pacific "8444" [edit]
From 1962–1989, the locomotive was numbered UP #8444 because the railroad had given 844 to a EMD GP30 locomotive. After the GP30 was retired from service in June 198 (it remains operable), 8444 was renumbered back to 844.[5] There is now an EMD SD70ACe in UP's roster numbered 8444.[6]
Surviving sister engines [edit]
A second 4-8-4 of the same class, UP 838, is kept in the shops at Cheyenne, Wyoming, as a source of spare parts. It is said[by whom?] that 838's running gear and boiler are in much better condition due to 844's extensive use.[7]
Others include FEF-1 814 in Council Bluffs, Iowa,[8] and FEF-2 833 in Ogden, Utah.[9]
Film history [edit]
The UP 844 appears in the opening and closing credits of the 1989–1995 PBS show Shining Time Station.[citation needed]
UP 844 also appears in Extreme Trains in the episode "Steam Train" in which 844 is pulling The Denver Post's Frontier Days special from Denver to Cheyenne.
In the 1990 PBS special Ghost Trains of the Old West, 8444, as it was numbered at the time of filming, is seen pulling a Union Pacific diesel locomotive and passenger train through Wyoming at about 75 mph.
Numbered as 8444, the locomotive was featured on a trip from Cheyenne, Wyoming to Los Angeles, California in the 1989 documentary film "Steam To Los Angeles"
References [edit]
- ^ UP historical locomotives
- ^ Strack, Don. "Utah State Railroad Museum at Ogden Union Station". Retrieved 19 January 2011.
- ^ Dorin, Patrick (1979). Amtrak Trains and Travel. Seattle, Washington: Superior Publishing Co. ISBN 0-87564-533-X., 47.
- ^ "Union Pacific's Great Excursion Adventure". X.up.com. Retrieved 2012-05-28.
- ^ "UP 844 Union Pacific EMD GP30 at Boulder City, Nevada". Retrieved 2009-05-02.
- ^ "UP 8444 Union Pacific EMD SD70ACe at Laramie, Wyoming". Retrieved 2008-09-18.
- ^ Union Pacific 838 and 5511
- ^ Pictures of UP 814
- ^ Pictures of UP 833
External links [edit]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Union Pacific 844 |
- UP: Living Legend No. 844 official website maintained by Union Pacific Railroad
- Union Pacific Steam Shop Information on locomotives and excursion schedules.
- The Otto C. Perry Collection of UP 844
- Just For Fun . . . Photos of UP 844's May 2007 visit to the Seattle area
- Video footage of UP 844 traveling coupled to EMD E9's, 22 cars total
- Video of 8444 taken July 3rd 1983
- Video: Union Pacific #844 Frontier Days Train, 7/21/2012
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