UP Cars Sold To Mexico

U. P. Train Is Sold to Mexico -- The Union Pacific has sold an old streamlined, diesel powered train to the Mexican government. The train was the original City of Los Angeles and has been subbing for the Cities of Denver on the Denver-Chicago runs while they were being shopped. (Wyoming State Tribune, February 29, 1948, courtesy of Jim Ehernberger, January 27, 2011)

"In October [1986] a group of 20 Union Pacific passenger cars was placed in storage, including coaches, sleepers, boiler-dorms, lounges, diners, the dome coach and instruction cars. While this may reflect a cost-cutting measure on the UP, it remains to be seen if this will affect the availability of equipment for specials such as Old Timers or Junior Old Timers conventions next spring, or Rocky Mountain Railroad Club excursion planned to operate out of Denver next May." (Pacific Rail News, Issue 278, January 1987, page 32)

In 1986, certain people in UP's top management noticed that Drew Lewis and his wife were taking an interest in the Heritage Fleet cars and engines. Jack McDonough had been trying for years to get the company to get rid of the cars. He used an outrageous cost estimate for conversion to HEP as further ammunition, and that fit right in with the scheme. The idea was to get rid of as much of the fleet as possible, to keep Lewis from putting money into it and operating it more. The intent was to get down to 14 cars or less.

About 18 or 20 cars were sold to Mexico, maybe more, including a baggage, a dome coach, five coaches, several diners, cafe lounges, sleepers, a club lounge, and some business cars. A number of other cars, including the ex MP cars, and two of the boiler dorms were scattered around the country in other sales at about the same time.

Lewis stopped the sell-off before they went even further than that, and later began buying cars, but a lot of damage had already been done. Some of the cars sold were not much of a loss, such as the three business cars 110-112. But the dome coach, the five flat coaches, the lounge, the lunch-counter car, and a few others back are sorely missed for our current operations. We lost almost half the cars we had in the fleet at the time.

As a side note, the sell-off of passenger cars was accompanied by a panic to get the 4023 off UP property before Lewis could discover it belonged to the UP. That started the ridiculous tug of war between UP and the City of Omaha that resulted in Kenefick Park being built. The City didn't want the engine or the Park, and refused to take any part in it or to maintain it. So, in desperation, UP bought the property, built the park, maintained it the entire time it existed, and paid to have it torn down in 2001 to make way for Abbott drive to be rerouted and the entire site of the Omaha shop was being redeveloped. The abject fear of having another operating steam engine is the driving force behind the present [2004] circus to put the 4023 and 6900 out near I-80 and as far away from track as possible.

Passenger Fleet Cut In Half ... In a surprising move, UP sold nearly one-half of its passenger car fleet on January 19 to the Nacionales de Mexico. This sale leaves UP with 38 passenger cars, of which 12 are business cars and several are company service cars. It also greatly reduces the ability of UP to offer the extensive excursion train service that they have done in the past. N de M has been looking to purchase a large quantity of used passenger equipment for some time, but it was not thought that they had the ability to pay the current market rate for excellent equipment such as UP rostered. N de M had also looked at the Alaska Railroad's cars last fall but was apparently unable to offer acceptable terms.