| Union Pacific 844 | |
|---|---|
| UP 844 at Del Rio, Texas | |
| 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 × 32 in (635 × 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. It was the last steam locomotive delivered (in 1944) to Union Pacific and is unique in that it is the only steam locomotive never retired by a North American Class I railroad.[1]
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Union Pacific 844 was one of 10 locomotives that were ordered by Union Pacific in 1944 and were designated as class FEF-3. The FEF-3 class was similar to the earlier FEF-2 class as both were designed as passenger engines and pulled such trains as the Overland Limited, Los Angeles Limited, Portland Rose and Challenger. UP 844 was reassigned to freight service when diesel-electric locomotives took over passenger service and operated from 1957 to 1959 in Nebraska. It was saved from being scrapped in 1960. It was chosen for restoration and is now used on company and public excursion trains, along with revenue freight during ferry moves.
The FEF-3 class locomotives represented the epitome of dual service steam locomotive development at the time, as funds and research were being concentrated into the development of diesel electric locomotives. Like the rest of Union Pacific's FEF-3 locomotives, UP 844 was originally designed to burn coal, but was later converted to run on fuel oil. Some enthusiasts think it could handle 26 passenger cars at over 100 mph (161 km/h) on straight and level track; they would 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.)
Since 1962 the engine has run hundreds of thousands of miles as Union Pacific's ambassador of goodwill. It has made appearances 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 along with performing 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 in honor of the 100th birthday celebration 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, Kansas was General Eisenhower’s "Bayonet" code named command train 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.
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 with both steam locomotives pulling a Union Pacific passenger train consisting of three to four dome cars and several coaches.
Today the locomotive 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.
In Fall of 2010, the Union Pacific opened voting to rail fans to decide where the coming season's excursion trains will operate. [4]
From 1962–1989, the locomotive was numbered UP 8444 due to a conflict with the railroad's numbering plan for the EMD GP30 locomotives that UP owned at the time. After the conflicting GP30 was retired from service in June 1989, 8444 was renumbered back to 844. Interestingly, the GP30 is preserved and operable[5] and there is now an EMD SD70ACe in UP's roster numbered 8444.[6]
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 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]
The UP 844 appears in the opening and closing credits of the 1989-1995 PBS show Shining Time Station.
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.
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