On May 19, 2007,
Union Pacific's FEF-3 Class 4-8-4
steam locomotive #844 was scheduled to pull the Puget Sound Steam
Special, an excursion train between Tacoma and Everett, Washington, as a
fund raiser for the
John W. Baringer
III National Railroad Library at the
University of Missouri in
St. Louis. The schedule was in place well in advance for #844 to be
in the Pacific Northwest as part of the Pacific Northwest Portland
Rose Heritage Tour, though by mid-April the "official" announcement
had yet to be made.
Union Pacific #844
Union Pacific's #844 is one of the most famous and
most well-traveled steam locomotives in the world. A member of Union
Pacific's third version of the Four-Eight-Four locomotive (the FEF-3
Class), it was built in 1944 as the
last of a group of ten locomotives that would be Union Pacific's last
steam locomotives, making #844 was Union Pacific's last steam engine. It was
built to pull either freight or passenger trains and originally burned
coal, though it was converted to burn oil with two years. Though diesel
locomotives took over the duties it was built for, #844 was never
retired with its sisters as the age of steam came to an end on the Union
Pacific in 1960. Instead it was saved for special service, pulling
excursion trains and making special appearances across Union Pacific's
vast system. In June 1962, a new diesel locomotive was assigned its
number of 844, and so it was renumbered to #8444, but on June 2, 1989, the
diesel had been retired and the steam locomotive reclaimed its original
number. Today, a modern Union Pacific diesel wears the number 8444. The
locomotive has worn several paint schemes over the years. When it first
entered excursion service it was painted black with a silver smokebox
and a white pinstripe along the running boards. In September 1987 it was
repainted into two-tone-grey with yellow pinstripes, a paint scheme used
on some Union Pacific passenger steam locomotives in the late 1940s (but
not necessarily 844). Since emerging from a major overhaul on September
20, 1996, it has remained it the basic black it wears today, as it was
originally delivered in 1944.
Though it is the only one in
operation, #844 is not the only surviving Union Pacific 4-8-4. Sister
locomotive #838, another FEF-3, was also retained by Union Pacific as a
parts source for #844. It is kept in storage in Cheyenne with #844. Other
survivors are FEF-1 #814, on display at the
Railswest Railroad Museum in
Council Bluffs, Iowa and FEF-2 #833, on display at the
Utah State Railroad
Museum in Ogden, Utah.
#844 is the only steam locomotive owned by a major
railroad to have never been retired, and, except for maintenance and
rebuildings, has remained in service since it was built. Union Pacific
is America's largest railroad, and from its home base in Cheyenne,
Wyoming, #884 has traveled across the entire system, from Nebraska to
Texas to California. It last came to Portland in 1989, so news that it
was returning again was significant.
Southern Pacific #4449
#4449 is perhaps
the only locomotive to be more famous than #844. A member of the fourth
type of Southern Pacific's "General Service" or "Golden State" 4-8-4
locomotives (the GS-4 Class), it was built in 1941 for glamorous service
pulling Southern Pacific's premier Daylight streamlined passenger
trains in Southern California, it too found itself replaced by diesels and
was retired on October 2, 1957 and donated to the City of Portland, Oregon
on April 24, 1958 and placed on display at
Oaks Park with SP&S #700
and Union Pacific #3203. It would be the only Daylight steam
locomotive to survive (though similar Southern
Pacific non-streamlined GS-6 Class 4-8-4 #4460 also survives and
is on display at the
National Museum of Transport in Kirkwood, Missouri,
it never wore Daylight
colors). While in the park, a railroad employee
named Jack Holst voluntarily kept the moving parts of the three
locomotives oiled until his death in 1972. This would set the stage for
#4449's resurrection.
In the early 1970s, as America's Bicentennial
approached, Ross Rowland, Jr., with help from actor John Wayne, began
planning a steam-powered museum train of American artifacts called the
American Freedom Train that would travel the United States in
celebration of the Bicentennial in 1976. By 1973, the project was
underway, but a locomotive still had to be chosen. A number of
locomotives were considered, including Union Pacific #8444, but in the
end, Southern Pacific #4449 was selected to be the American Freedom
Train's primary locomotive. On December 14, 1974, #4449 was removed from
Oaks Park and moved to Burlington Northern's Hoyt Street Roundhouse near
Union Station for restoration. Though #4449 would actually be one of
three steam locomotives that pulled the Freedom Train, it would become
the most famous, at it pulled the train throughout the American Midwest
and West. Former Reading Railroad #2101 (as AFT #1) was used in the east
and former Texas & Pacific #610 was used in Texas. The Freedom Train
opened in Wilmington, Delaware on April 1, 1975. As it was in the east,
it began its tour with the AFT #1. Meanwhile, newly restored #4449's
boiler is put to steam on April 18 for the first time since 1957. She
moves under her own power on April 21, and was christened on May 16. She
left Portland on June 20 to take over the Freedom Train in Chicago on
August 4, after display stops in Sacramento and Ogden (and an
unfortunate encounter with a dump truck in Nebraska). #4449 will pull
the Freedom Train for the rest of its tour until it ends in Miami on
December 31, 1976, except for a brief period in the fall of 1975 when
the Freedom Train was pulled by diesels while #4449 was undergoing
repairs, about a month in February-March 1976 when Texas & Pacific #610
pulls the Freedom Train in Texas, and four months in the summer when it
is pulled on the East Coast again by AFT #1. After the Freedom Train
tour, #4449 returned to Portland by pulling a series of
Amtrak excursions across the South and West in April, 1977, still in its
Freedom Train paint but with the "Amtrak" name added to the tender. This
was known as the "Amtrak Transcontinental Steam Excursion." #4449
arrived in Portland on May 1, having visited at least 30 states (many
more than once) during its Freedom Train and Amtrak Excursion travels,
and was placed in storage, although this time it would be stored
indoors, protected from the elements.
In 1981, #4449
emerged, restored to the post-WWII version of its Daylight paint
(with "SOUTHERN PACIFIC
" in large
lettering in the orange band) to travel to Railfair at the newly-opened
California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento. It would retain this
paint scheme for nearly 20 years (far longer than it had worn it while
in regular service & even longer than the locomotive had even been IN
regular service), as its travels included a trip to New Orleans to
promote the 1984 World's Fair, a trip to Hollywood to be featured in the
1986 motion picture
Tough Guys, a trip to Los Angeles to be a guest at
the 50th Anniversary of the Los Angeles Union Passenger Terminal in
1989, additional trips to Sacramento for the 1991 and 1999 Railfairs,
and numerous excursions in the Pacific Northwest.
In 2000, #4449
had the opportunity to pull
Burlington Northern Santa Fe's Employee
Appreciation Special. As BNSF didn't want to have a locomotive painted for
one of the predecessors of its competition, #4449 had to be painted black
with white pinstripes and BNSF heralds for the trip. After the BNSF trip,
the black scheme was modified to recall the all-black paint applied during
World War II as a cost saving measure and to make locomotives less visible
in the event of an aerial attack by the enemy. In 2002, rather than
retuning to Daylight paint, #4449 returned to its American
Freedom Train paint in remembrance of the September 11, 2001 terrorist
attacks. In 2004, #4449 was repainted back into Daylight colors,
this time the original, as-delivered version, with "SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES
" spelled out in
smaller letters in the upper red band. This is the paint scheme she
wears today.
The Plan Comes Together
#4449 went to the
Portland & Western Railroad's
locomotive shop in Albany, Oregon on April 7 to have the right-side
bearing of the #2 axle inspected and repaired if necessary. The axle had
been getting warm, but inspecting it required removing the axle & drive
wheels on a drop table, and the nearest drop table large enough to do
the job was in Albany. The cause of the overheating was found to be a
worn babbitt, which was replaced and #4449 left Albany fully operational
on April 14. The
Albany Democrat-Herald newspaper did a series of articles about
#4449's visit, and it was in the first of these articles that it was
revealed that #4449 was schedule to be doubleheading with "a Union
Pacific steam locomotive coming from Cheyenne, Wyo." It was mid-April
before Union Pacific's website reflected that the trip would be a
doubleheader, and Union Pacific did not issue a
press release about the event until April 24. Perhaps they were
waiting to make sure that #4449's repairs didn't become anything
serious. At any rate, #844 was scheduled to arrive in Portland on
Saturday, May 12, and meet up with #4449 at Peninsula Junction at 10:00
AM and the two locomotives would travel together to Fife, Washington,
where they would spend a week on public display before the public
excursion between Tacoma and Everett the following weekend.
Map of #844 and #4449's Route
These two locomotives do have a history together. In
the fall of 1975, while #4449 was pulling the American Freedom Train, it
had to have the contour of its driving wheels corrected at a Union
Pacific shop. The Freedom Train itself continued on its tour, pulled by
two of Burlington Northern's Bicentennial diesels until #4449 could
rejoin the train. While away from the Freedom Train, Union Pacific #8444
accompanied #4449 on Union Pacific rails. This is the only other time
the two locomotives have doubleheaded, and it was not a public
excursion. The two locomotives have both been guests at various events,
including the 1981, 1991, & 1999 Railfairs, and the Los Angeles Union
Passenger Terminal's 50th Anniversary in 1989. At the 1989 event, the
two locomotives arrived at LAUPT side-by-side on parallel tracks, and
when they left, they raced along the parallel main lines in Cajon Pass.
Despite their different appearances, the two
locomotives are actually quite similar. Here is a comparison of their
specifications.
Southern Pacific #4449
Union Pacific #844
Builder
Lima Locomotive Works
American
Locomotive Co.
Builder Number
7817
72791
Class & Wheel Arrangement
GS-4 Class 4-8-4
FEF-3 Class
4-8-4
Delivered
May 1941
December 1944
Tractive Effort
64,760 lbs.
63,000 lbs.
Steam Pressure
300 psi
300 psi
Cylinder Diameter
25-1/2 in.
25 in.
Cylinder Stroke
32 in.
32 in.
Driving Wheel Diameter
80 in.
80 in.
Length of Engine
& Tender
110 ft., 2-1/4 in.
114 ft., 2-5/8
in.
Weight of Engine
& Tender
869,800 lbs.
907,980
lbs.
Weight of
Engine
475,000 lbs.
486,340
lbs.
Weight on
Drivers
275,700 lbs.
266,490
lbs.
Weight of Tender
(Loaded)
394,800 lbs.
421,640
lbs.
Water Capacity of
Tender
23,300 gallons
23,500
gallons
Fuel Oil Capacity of
Tender
5,880 gallons
6,200
gallons
May 12, 2007
Peninsula Junction, Oregon
As #4449 and #844 were to meet at
Peninsula Junction at 10:00 AM, I arrived at about 9:00 AM to wait for them.
I expected #4449 to come from the south, through the tunnel, and for
#844 to arrive from the east, and that the two would couple together in
the north half of the junction, so I parked at the west end of the
junction, where I thought I would have good access to my car, and
stationed myself in the junction's northeast quadrant where I would have
good access to both directions, as I didn't know which locomotive would
arrive first. A few other railfans soon joined me, while still more
gathered near the road, where they had a good view of the tunnel. While
we waited, some freight trains came through.
The first train came through
just after 9:00 AM. It was a southbound double-stack container train
that went through the tunnel toward Albina Yard.
Union Pacific
#5021 is an SD70M built by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors
(EMD) that was delivered on September 3, 2002.
Union Pacific
#9366 is a General Electric Dash 8-40CW, which Union Pacific refers to
as a C40-8W. It was built in January, 1990.
Union Pacific
#4100 is an EMD SD70M that was delivered on September 28, 2000.
Union Pacific #9644 is a General
Electric Dash 9-44CW, which Union Pacific refers to as a C44-9W. It was
built in November 1994 as Southern Pacific #8180. Southern Pacific was
acquired by Union Pacific in 1996. This locomotive was repainted to UP
colors and renumbered to #9644 on February 20, 2001.
About 45 minutes later, another
southbound double-stack train came though and went through the tunnel.
Union Pacific
#4364 is an EMD SD70M that was delivered on May 16, 2001.
Union Pacific #4413 is an EMD SD70M that was delivered on July 4, 2001.
Shortly after this train came
through, a Union Pacific railroad police officer arrived and asked those
of us out in the Junction to move closer to the road. We complied,
although after moving we were actually closer to the tracks than we were
before, though apparently the concern was that other people would think
it was OK to be out in what is technically railroad property and would
not be as careful and could possibly get hurt.
At about 10:00, #4449 arrived, right on time. Surprisingly, it did not
come through the tunnel, as I had expected. Instead, it had taken the
longer route around the peninsula, and backed up toward Peninsula
Junction from the North and turned East to back toward the Kenton Yard.
There was still no sign of #844 though.
With #4449 now east of the
junction, there was no point in remaining within sight of the tunnel
anymore, so I walked to the east end of the junction where a number of
other railfans had gathered. I waited here for a while, trying to find
an ideal vantage point. I was a little concerned though, now that my car
was all the way on the other side of the junction. After the train came
through, it would take a few minutes to walk back to it, costing me
precious time I might need to get ahead of the train to get more
pictures down the line. On the other hand, if I moved it now, I might be
down by my car and in a bad photo spot when the train came through. I
weighed this decision for about an hour.
After not seeing #4449, or #844,
or any other train for an hour, I decided to risk walking back to my
car. Instead of just moving it, I would take the opportunity to go and
find where #4449 was waiting. I could then find out if #844 was there,
and what the ETA was, and maybe find an even better photo spot. I got
back to my car and drove east on Columbia Boulevard. I spotted #4449
behind some warehouses near the west end of the Kenton Yard. I pulled in
and asked some bystanders what was going on. It turned out that #844 was
running very late, and had only left Hood River about 15 minutes
earlier, at about 11:00 AM. There was at least another hour of waiting.
At this point I made the statement, "Leave it to Union Pacific to be
late to their own party."
This map gives
an overview of Peninsula Junction's location in Portland, and the
movements of the locomotives.
#4449 was not in a very good
spot for photos, so I went back to my position at the east end of the
junction, with my car parked nearby and oriented for a quick getaway. I
was surprised to notice that in the short time I had been gone, a lot of
people had left. As I spread the word about what I'd discovered, I
learned that a couple of
Portland Police officers had come by while I
was gone. They were completely unaware of the steam locomotives that
were coming through, and though the large gathering of people was some
sort of protest. Though they didn't ask anyone to leave once they knew
what was going on, their brief presence, combined with the absence of
the train, might have led many of the waiting railfans to give up or
find other positions.
While I, and everyone else who was
left, waited for #4449 to return with #844, more freight trains started
coming through the junction. It was almost Noon when this double-stack
train came from the East to head North through the junction.
Union Pacific #5132 is an EMD
SD70M that was delivered on September 23, 2004.
Union Pacific #4610 is an EMD
SD70M that was delivered on April 3, 2001.
Union Pacific #3796 is an EMD
SD70M that was delivered on June 20, 2004.
About 30 minutes later, another
train, this time a general freight, came from the East. This train
turned south at the junction to cross Columbia Boulevard and go through
the tunnel to Albina Yard.
Union Pacific #5282 is a General Electric ES44AC, which Union
Pacific refers to as a C45AC-CTE. It was delivered on April 4, 2006.
Union Pacific #4191 is an EMD SD70M
that was delivered on July 22, 2000.
Union Pacific #6106 is an EMD SD60M that was built in January,
1989. At this point, it is one of only about a dozen out of about 280
Union Pacific SD60Ms to retain its original number. Since 2000, Union
Pacific has been renumbering SD60s and SD60Ms into the 2200 series to
make room for newer locomotives. Eventually, and probably very soon,
#6106 will be renumbered to its new assigned number of #2261.
Union Pacific #5476 is a General Electric ES44AC, which Union Pacific refers to as
a C45AC-CTE. It was delivered on May 28, 2005.
About 20 minutes later, this
train came from the North and turned East. The entire train consisted of
aging gondola cars, with their contents covered with plastic. We
speculated that this may have been some sort of trash train.
Union Pacific #4253 is an EMD
SD70M that was delivered on October 31, 2000.
Union Pacific #9244 is a General Electric Dash 8-40C, which
Union Pacific refers to as a C40-8. It was built in October, 1988. This
was the oldest diesel locomotive to come through Peninsula Junction
during the nearly 5 hours I was there.
At about 1:00, this general freight train with BNSF motive power and a
CSX pool unit came from the North and continued south into the tunnel.
BNSF
#5387 is a General Electric Dash 9-44CW, also called a C44-9W, that was
built in October, 2000. It wears the second version of BNSF's orange &
green "Heritage" paint scheme.
CSX
#7904 is a General Electric Dash 8-40CW, also called a C40-8W. I don't
know the history of this visitor from the east coast, but it would have
been built for CSX in the early 1990s.
BNSF
#769 is a General Electric Dash 9-44CW, also called a C44-9W, that was
built in September, 1997. Though it wears the Warbonnet colors of BNSF's
predecessor Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe, it was delivered as a BNSF
locomotive with BNSF lettering on the sides.
Finally, at about 1:40, three hours behind schedule, the two doubleheaded
steam locomotives came through Peninsula Junction.
I was actually a little
disappointed that #4449 was in the lead. I have seen #4449 many times
and will undoubtedly see it many more, while I may not have the
opportunity to see #844 again for years, and I was hoping that #844
would be in the lead so I could get some good pictures of it in action.
I ended up making due with some good pictures of #4449 and some merely
decent pictures of #844.
Note the yellow patch now under
the cab window on #4449. As a joke, #4449's crew "renumbered" the
locomotive as UPY #845, as a parody of Union Pacific's "patch" style of
renumbering former Southern Pacific locomotives it acquired through the
merger. These temporary patches were applied to both side of #4449's cab
be engineer Doyle McCormack while waiting at Kenton for #844, and were
removed when the train got to Vancouver.
Here is the consist of passenger
cars, all part of Union Pacific's Heritage Fleet.
Water Tender
#814, Joe Jordan, was originally built in
1937 as one of 20 20-C tenders for a Union Pacific FEF-1
Class Alco 4-8-4, a predecessor to the FEF-3 Class, of which #844 is a
part. The number 814 may be the number of the locomotive this tender was
assigned to. As built, the tender could carry 25 tons of coal and 20,000
gallons of water. In 1960, Union Pacific rebuilt the tenders from the
retired FEF-1 locomotives to serve as fuel tenders for the new General
Electric 8500-horsepower gas-turbine locomotives. The tenders were
resheathed with smooth sides, insulated and, with the coal bunker
removed, could carry 24,000 gallons of Bunker-C fuel oil for a
gas-turbine locomotive. The rebuilt tenders were classified as 24-C-GTE
tenders. After the turbines were retired, Union Pacific retained a few of
the tenders. This one ended up being used as a stationary fuel storage car
in Los Angeles as #907857, along with #907856. They were brought to
Cheyenne in 1988 and were put into service as water tenders for #844 and
Challenger #3985, retaining their appearance as when they were fuel
tenders for the turbines. Beginning in late 2005 and through the first
half of 2006, this tender was rebuilt by
Wasatch Railroad Contractors of
Cheyenne to increase its capacity and restore it to closer to its
original appearance. It returned to service in July 2006 as #814,
Joe Jordan, with a capacity of 28,000 gallons
of water, and its insulation and smooth covering removed. The paint scheme
is not even close to historically accurate, however, though it does match
the passenger cars. The tender is named
for Joe Jordan, Union Pacific's last steam pipefitter, who retired from
the steam shop in 1993.
Express Box Car #9336
was built by the St. Louis Car Company in 1962. It was renumbered to
#24336 in 1968, and was assigned to Maintenance of Way service
as #915532 in 1971. The car was assigned to the steam program
and renumbered back to #24336. In 2003 it was renumbered back to #9336.
Tool Car
#6334, Art Lockman, was built by the St.
Louis Car Company in 1962 as Baggage Car #6334. In 1973 it was transferred
to Maintanence of Way service as Tool Car #904304. It was transferred to
the steam program in 1981. In 1991 it was named in memory of Art Lockman,
who was the retired foreman of Union Pacific's steam shop in
Cheyenne, Wyoming, and was the last full-time steam employee hired by the
railroad.
Power Car
#209, Howard Fogg, was originally built by
American Car & Foundry in 1949 as Baggage-Dormitory #6008. In 1962, it
was one of five such cars Union Pacific remodeled into
Boiler-Dormitory-Baggage cars to provide additional heating capabilities
in extremely long passenger trains and renumbered to #304. In July 1987 it
was assigned to the steam program as #209. In 1992-1993, the car was
equipped with a diesel generator to supply Hotel Electric Power (HEP) to
other cars, though it still retains its steam boiler as well. In 1997, an
additional generator was added, and the car was given the name Howard Fogg, in honor of the renowned railroad
artist who passed away on October 1, 1996. This car has the unusual
configuration of a four-axle truck on one end and a six-axle truck on
the other.
Baggage
Recreation Car #5714, Golden State Limited,
was built by American Car & Foundry in 1957 as a Postal Storage Car.
In 1990 it was remodeled into a Baggage Recreation Car for use in ski
train service to Sun Valley and given the name Western Lodge. In 1993 it was renamed Pony Express. In 2004 it was renamed Golden State Limited, after a train jointly
operated by the Southern Pacific and the Chicago, Rock Island &
Pacific between Chicago and Los Angeles from October 1902 to January 1948,
when it was replaced by the new streamlined Golden
State.
Concession
Car #5818, Sherman Hill, was built by the St.
Louis Car Company in 1960 as a Railway Post Office/Postal Storage Car. It
was later put into Maintenance of Way Service as #904828, and was
renumbered to 904306 when it was assigned to the steam program in 1990. In
1992, it regained its original number and was named Sherman Hill after Union Pacific's steep grade in
Wyoming.
44-Seat
Coach #5486, City of Salina, was built by
American Car & Foundry in 1954. It has remained in Union Pacific
service ever since. It was given the name Challenger in 1989, after Union Pacific's
all-coach Challenger train that ran between
Omaha, Nebraska and Los Angeles, California from May 1936 to April 1971,
and was renamed City of Salina in 1992, after
Union Pacific's first streamliner and America's first high-speed,
internal-combustion passenger train, which operated between Kansas City,
Topeka and Salina, Kansas from January 1935 to December 1941.
Dome Coach
#7015, Challenger, was built by
Pullman-Standard in 1958 as part of Pullman-Standard's last group of dome
cars: five for Union Pacific and one of the same design for the Wabash
railroad. This was the last of the Union Pacific cars, and was
originally assigned to service on the City of St. Louis, a train operated
jointly with the Wabash (the one car built for Wabash was also
assigned to this service). In June 1972, the car was sold to AutoTrain for
use between Virginia and Florida, becoming AutoTrain #702. (It is
rumored that before being sold to AutoTrain, it was accidentally
shipped to Alaska with a group of cars that had been purchased by the
Alaska Railroad, and had to be sent back, but this has not been verified)
After AutoTrain shut down in April 1981, the car was sold to A. J. Daniels
of Tulsa, Oklahoma in December 1981, and was subsequently sold to
Kansas City Southern via Mid-America Car Company in 1982. The car was
assigned KCS #22 and was intended for use on a revived Southern Belle
passenger train that was aborted. The car remained in storage in AutoTrain
paint at Mid-America Car Co. in Kansas City until being re-purchased by
Union Pacific via Northern Rail Car in October 1990. After being
refurbished, the car was given the name Challenger, after Union Pacific's all-coach Challenger train that ran between Omaha, Nebraska
and Los Angeles, California from May 1936 to April 1971.
44-Seat
Coach #5483, Texas Eagle, was built by
American Car & Foundry in 1954. In 1990 it was given the name Texas Eagle after the Missouri Pacific
streamliner that operated between St. Louis, Missouri and the major cities
of Texas from August 1948 to April 1971.
44-Seat
Coach #5480, Sunshine Special, was built by
American Car & Foundry in 1954. In 1989 it was given the name Sunshine Special after a Missouri Pacific train
that operated between St. Louis, Missouri and the major cities of Texas
from December 1915 to August 1948, when it was replaced by the Texas Eagle.
Baggage
Recreation Car #5769 was built by the St. Louis Car Company in 1962
as a Postal Storage Car, and it went on to serve as Maintenance of Way
Storage Car #904286. It was converted to Baggage Recreation Car #5769 in
2000 and was used as part of a special train sent to the 2000 political
conventions. Though it seems to be without a name due to its patriotic
livery, it is assigned the name Council
Bluffs, after Coucil Bluffs, Iowa, which has served as Union
Pacific's eastern terminus and the location of Mile Post 0 since
1874.
Dome Lounge
#9005, Walter Dean, was built by
American Car & Foundry in 1955. In June 1972, the car was sold to
AutoTrain for use between Virginia and Florida and was assigned
AutoTrain #905, but the car was never refurbished for AutoTrain service
and remained in storage until AutoTrain shut down in April 1981. In
December 1981 it was sold to Al Nippert for use in Great American Tours
service as #800621. The car was sold back to Union Pacific in March 1988
and regained its old number. It was named Harriman in 1989 after Edward H. Harriman
& his two sons Averell and Roland, who served as successive chairmen
of Union Pacific's board of directors: Edward from 1898-1909,
Averell from 1932-1941, & Roland from 1941-1953. Roland remained
a member of the board until his death in 1978. The car was renamed Walter Dean in 1990 in honor of a car attendent
who served on Union Pacific's Business Car fleet since 1971. The Walter Dean was the only Union Pacific passenger
car named after a living employee until Walter Dean passed away in 1999.
He worked as a car attendent until his death.
Dome
Dining Car #8008, City of Portland, was built
by American Car & Foundry in 1955. In June 1972, the car was sold
to AutoTrain for use between Virginia and Florida, becoming AutoTrain
#807. After AutoTrain shut down in April 1981, the car was sold to A. J.
Daniels of Tulsa, Oklahoma in December 1981, and was subsequently
sold to Kansas City Southern via Mid-America Car Company in 1982. The car
was assigned KCS #19 and was intended for use on a revived Southern Belle
passenger train that was aborted. The car remained in storage in AutoTrain
paint at Mid-America Car Co. in Kansas City until being re-purchased by
Union Pacific via Northern Rail Car in October 1990. After being
refurbished, the car was given the name City of
Portland, after the jointly operated Union Pacific/Chicago &
North Western streamliner that ran between Chicago and Portland, Oregon
from June 1935 to April 1971.
Dining
Car #4808, City of Los Angeles, was built by
American Car & Foundry in 1949. After Amtrak took over passenger
service in 1971, #4808 and sister car #4810 were retained for special
service. 4810 was named City of Los Angeles
in 1988, after the jointly operated Union Pacific/Chicago & North
Western streamliner that ran between Chicago and Los Angeles from May 1936
to April 1971. 4808 was sold to Northern Rail Car in 1989, but in 1991,
the two cars were exchanged and 4808 became the City of Los Angeles, while 4810 went to Northern
Rail Car and went on to be sold to Northern Star Rails in 1993.
Dome
Dining Car #7011, Missouri River Eagle, was
originally built by Pullman-Standard as Dome Coach #7012. It was part
of Pullman-Standard's last group of dome cars: five for Union Pacific
(including #7015 shown above) and one of the same design for the
Wabash railroad. In June 1972, the car was sold to AutoTrain for use
between Virginia and Florida, becoming AutoTrain #708. After AutoTrain
shut down in April 1981, the car was sold to the James E. Strates Shows
circus in December 1981, later to Kasten Rail Car in 1984 and eventually
to the Hartwell Lowe Corporation of Yucca Valley, California as HLCX
#1898, Marion Mattison. In 1988, the car was
sold to Scenic Rail Tours and was rebuilt by Northern Rail Car into Dome
Dining Car #7011, Mountain
View, in 1989. Scenic Rail Tours was bought out by Transcisco Tours
in October 1990, and the car was renamed Emerald
Bay. Transcisco Tours went bankrupt and the car was returned to
Northern Rail Car in August 1991, who immediately leased it to the
Kalamazoo, Lake Shore & Chicago for Michigan Wine Country Dinner Train
service. In May 1993, Northern Rail Car sold the car to Union Pacific and
it became #7011 and was named Missouri River
Eagle after the Missouri Pacific Railroad's first, and last
operating, diesel-powered streamliner, which operated from St. Louis to
Omaha from March 1940 to September 1965, when the route was cut back from
Omaha to Kansas City. Service on the shorter route continued
until April 1971.
Union Pacific did originally own a Dome Coach of this
design with the number 7011. That car is currently in Mexico. This car was
originally #7012.
Power
Car #208 was originally built by American Car & Foundry in 1949 as
Baggage-Dormitory #6006. In 1962, it was one of five such cars Union
Pacific remodeled into Boiler-Dormitory-Baggage cars to provide additional
heating capabilities in extremely long passenger trains and renumbered to
#303. In 1987 it was assigned to the steam program as #209. In 1991, the
car was equipped with a diesel generator to supply Hotel Electric Power
(HEP) to other cars. This car has the unusual configuration of a
four-axle truck on one end and a six-axle truck on the other.
Business Car
#102, St. Louis, was built by
Pullman-Standard in October 1950 as Coach #5448. In March 1952, Union
Pacific rebuilt the car into its current form as a Business Car and
numbered it #100. At the same time, Coach #5449 was similarly rebuilt into
the Business Car Arden at the same time and
was assigned to Union Pacific's President, E. R. Harriman. Coaches #5446
& #5447 were rebuilt into similar Business Cars in 1956 and are in
service today as Kenefick and Pocatello respectively. All four of these
business cars are very similar in appearance. Business Car #100 was
renumbered to #101 in April 1957, and was renumbered again to #102 in
April 1971. The car was named St. Louis in
1989 after St. Louis, Missouri, former headquarters of the Missouri
Pacific Railroad.
This car is Union Pacific's second business car to
wear the name St. Louis. The first was built
by Pullman in 1926 as Missouri Pacific's Business Car #12, was rebuilt in
1957 to Business Car #1, Eagle, and came to
the Union Pacific with the acquisition of the Missouri Pacific in 1983. It
was renamed St. Louis in 1985 but lost the
name in 1986 in favor of the number 107. The car was sold in
1996.
Inspection Car
#203, Idaho, was originally built by American
Car & Foundry in 1950 as a 12-Roomette, 4-Double Bedroom Sleeper named
Western Mountain. Union Pacific rebuilt the
car in 1965 as 11-Bedroom Sleeper #1604 and named it Sun Lane. The car was retained for special
service in 1970, and was rebuilt in May 1980 into the Inspection Car Idaho, originally with standard-height windows
for the full-length of the sides, and three full-height windows (with
window wipers!) on the observation end. In 1992, the car was rebuilt into its
current configuration, with larger side windows at the back end of the
car, and a large seamless picture window built into the observation
end.
Union Pacific has a similar Inspection Car named Fox River, that was owned by the Chicago &
North Western and was acquired along with that railroad in 1995. I
initially thought that the Idaho was originally the Fox River, but that is
not the case. The pictures at the right are of the Fox River in 1995 for
comparison.
Here is the rear of the train curving through Peninsula Junction as it
turns north. I immediately got in the car to
head off to try to see the train again. Though I expected the train
would stop briefly in Vancouver, Washington, which it did, I doubted I
would have enough time to make my way through Vancouver to the depot.
Instead, I
headed for Kalama, Washington.
This map
summarizes the action at Peninsula Junction
As an aside, note that during
the nearly 5 hours I was at Peninsula Junction, not one train came OUT
of the tunnel, though several entered it. Also, there was not one EMD
SD40-2, which a few years ago was the standard diesel North America, nor
were there any four-axle diesels. The times they are a changing.
Kalama, Washington
The BNSF route between Portland
and Seattle is one of the oldest rail
lines in the West, and Kalama was once a very important place. By the
early 1870s, the Northern
Pacific Railway had built a transcontinental railroad across the
northern United States, with its western terminus in Seattle. Wanting to
build a connection to Portland, the Northern Pacific had built south
from Seattle, reaching Kalama, Washington by 1874. Passengers then had
to be transferred to steamboat to reach Portland. In order to try to
close the gap, Northern Pacific built north from Portland along the
Columbia River to Goble, Oregon, directly across from Kalama, arriving in 1883.
This allowed trains to cross the river on ferries and continue on their
way. This arrangement continued until 1908, when the Northern Pacific
completed the route on the Washington side of the river, and the drawbridge
between Vancouver and Portland. This route is still in use as the main
line today, while the route on the Oregon side became part of the
Spokane, Portland & Seattle's Astoria branch, which is operated today by
the
Portland & Western Railroad.
I also chose Kalama
because it offers a unique vantage point. A pedestrian overpass crosses
over the main line in Kalama, offering an elevated view of the trains
that is safe from automobile traffic. My dad and I photographed #4449 at
this same spot in June of 2000, when it was first painted black and ran a test
run from Portland to Longview and back in preparation for the BNSF
Employee Appreciation Special. It is also easy to get back on Interstate
5 and continue north. I hoped that would help me get ahead of the train
again.
This is not the
most well-known spot, though a fair amount of people, most of them
Kalama locals, turned out here to see the train, despite how late it
was. It was almost 3:00 when the train came through Kalama. Had it been
on time, it would have come through at about 11:00 or 11:30.
I used my digital
camera's "Continuous Shooting" feature to capture the train as it
approached the overpass, and again as it left.
The train came through Kalama
fast, and I expected I'd have to hurry if I was going to get ahead of it
again. I got in the car and hurried north on the freeway as quickly as I
dared. I looked for any sign of the train every time I came within sight
of the tracks, but never saw it. I wasn't sure, but I had to assume the
train was ahead of me, so I continued on to Centralia, Washington, where
the train was scheduled to make a service stop. It was the only place I
could be certain it would stop. Little did I know, the train had
actually stopped briefly at the depot in Kelso, Washington. I would
later find out that I'd actually been ahead of the train for pretty much
the entire trip.
Centralia Union Depot,
Centralia, Washington
I made good time on the freeway
and I arrived at the depot in Centralia at a little after 3:30. Since I
though the train was ahead of me, I was a little surprised to find that
the train wasn't there, but I was relieved that at least there was a
large group of people there, so at least I knew the train hadn't already
been there and left.
The Centralia Union Depot at 210 Railroad Avenue was
built by the Northern Pacific Railway in 1912. This brick depot was the
Northern Pacific's third Centralia depot, following wood depots built in
1880 and 1905. An extensive restoration between 1996 and 2002 has resulted
in this beautiful stop for Amtrak's Cascades and Coast Starlight.
Outside the depot, a former Northern Pacific Railway
baggage cart is preserved.
A few
Burlington Northern Santa Fe locomotives and a
caboose were sitting just north of the depot. While I waited for the steam
train, I walked over to take a look. Since this rail line is owned by
BNSF, and they were a cosponsor of the Puget Sound Steam Special, its only
fair that I give them a little coverage as well.
BNSF
#3009 was built in December 1966 as an EMD GP40. It was originally
Chicago, Burlington & Quincy #185. After the Burlington Northern merger
of 1970, it was assigned BN #3015. In June 1989 it was rebuilt by
Morrison-Knudson as a GP40M and assigned #3510. After the 1995 BNSF
merger, it was assigned #3009.
BNSF 2125
is an EMD GP38AC built in March 1971 as St. Louis - San Francisco #648.
When Burlington Northern acquired the SLSF in 1980 it was assigned BN
#2125. It retained the same number with BNSF, and has even received
BNSF's orange & green paint.
BNSF 2936
was built in June 1964 as an EMD GP35. It was originally Chicago,
Burlington & Quincy #988. After the Burlington Northern merger of 1970,
it was assigned BN #2534. In August 1990, it was rebuilt by EMD into
GP39E #2936. It has retained this number with BNSF.
BNSF "Riding Platform" #10035 was originally
built by the International Car Company in 1969 as Northern Pacific
Railway's Caboose #10405. It was transferred to Burlington Northern in
1970, receiving #10035 and still serves BNSF today, though not really as a
caboose. The fact that it is now stenciled as a "Riding Platform" means
that much of the interior equipment & furnishings that a conductor would
need have been removed, so it can't actually be used as a caboose
anymore. It is intended simply as
a safe place for a brakeman to ride as a lookout on the rear of a train
during a long reverse move, which I assume is required for a local train
in the Centralia area to access a certain customer or customers.
I walked back over to the depot to wait for the train.
While I waited, I noticed another BNSF diesel locomotive arrive and join
the others that were gathered together north of the depot. I made a mental
note to walk back over after the train came through and check out the new
arrival, though I didn't expect it to be any more interesting that the
others.
I discovered that the steam train had arrived in
Chehalis, just south of Centralia, and was waiting for two of
Amtrak's
Cascades trains to make their station stops in Centralia before pulling
into the station for its service stop. If I had known I was ahead of the
train, I would have stopped in Chehalis for pictures as well.
The first Amtrak train to arrive was the Southbound
Cascades #507. The train was being pulled by Amtrak
F69PHI #469, built by EMD in 1998.
Bringing up the
rear was Amtrak NPCU #90252. It was originally built by EMD in 1977
as Amtrak's F40PH locomotive #252, using internal components from
Amtrak's EMD SDP40F #565, which had been built in 1974 and was traded
back to EMD for an F40PH instead. #252 was rebuilt in the late 1990s for
use as a Non-Powered Control Unit (NPCU) with its engine, traction
motors and all of its power equipment removed and the former engine
compartment sealed for use as a baggage section if needed. The control
cab retains its controls, but actually operates the locomotive on the
other end when the train is operating in the opposite direction.
After the first Amtrak train left, the second Amtrak
train arrived: Northbound Cascades #516. On this train, Amtrak NPCU #90253 was
leading. It was originally built by EMD in 1977 as Amtrak's F40PH
locomotive #253, using internal components from Amtrak's EMD SDP40F
#574, which had been built in 1974 and was traded back to EMD for an
F40PH instead. Like #252, #253 was rebuilt in the late 1990s as NPCU
#90253. Though it is leading and the crew is in this unit, the
locomotive at the other end is doing all the work.
Amtrak
EMD F59PHI #467, built in 1998, was pushing.
Almost immediately after the second Amtrak Cascades
pulled out of Centralia, we heard #4449's steam whistle in the distance
and the doubleheader made its appearance.
It was about 4:30 when the train came to a stop at the
Centralia depot. The original schedule had it arriving in Centralia at
12:30, so it was now a full four hours late. I took the opportunity to get
more photos of #4449 and #844, including some detail photos.
