Union Pacific's Heritage Fleet, Steam Locomotives

General Notes:

1. Built by American Locomotive Company.
2. UP 838 was retired July 1962; stored at Cheyenne, Wyoming; used as a source of parts for 844.
3. UP 844 has been in continuous service on Union Pacific since it was built in 1944; renumbered from UP 844 to UP 8444 in June 1962 to avoid confusion with newly delivered GP30 844; renumbered back to UP 844 on June 2, 1989 (27 years later) after the GP30 had been retired.
4. When UP 844 was renumbered to UP 8444 in 1962, its headlight number plate was changed from its original metal plate, to a wooden replacement. In May 1972 a replacement cast aluminum number plate was donated to UP by Ronald Peterson, a student at University of Wyoming in Laramie. (UP Info magazine, December 1972, page 11)
5. UP 8444 received a complete rebuilding by Omaha shops in 1971, including new flues, firebrick, dynamo, and superheaters, along with new brasses, staybolts, and paint. After powering the last UP passenger train over Sherman Hill prior to the start of Amtrak on May 1, 1971, later in May 1971, UP 8444 was sent to Omaha for a complete rebuild. A break-in run was made between Omaha and Valley, Nebraska on November 7, 1971. UP 8444 returned to Cheyenne on January 10, 1972. Five days later, on January 15th, UP 8444 was used to power a train to Denver for Wyoming Day at the National Western Stock Show. (Railroad magazine, May 1972, page 54; Fifty Years of Union Pacific Steam Excursions, page 23)
6. UP 844 received limited boiler repairs at Omaha shop in May 1985, and was released in time to be part of National Transportation Week at Denver on May 13-17. (UP Info magazine, June 1985, page 5)
7. UP 844 was painted in two-tone gray with yellow lettering and striping in September 1987, and was repainted back to its original black paint scheme in June 1996, while out of service since September 1991.
8. UP 844 was out of service from September 1991 to September 20, 1996, for an overhaul which included work mostly on the running gear. Following the overhaul, it has been reported that almost everything below the running boards was either replaced, or reconditioned.
9. UP 844 was out of service from July 1999 to March 2005, repairing damage from a boiler tube failure at Railfair 1999 in Sacramento, California.
10. UP 844 overhaul and rebuild was completed during March 2005, including firebox, backhead, and all staybolts and flues; break-in run to Denver on May 5; displayed at Cheyenne on June 9, 2005; second break-in run operated between Cheyenne and Denver on June 22, 2005; operated on public excursion service on the annual Denver Post train for Cheyenne Frontier Days on July 23, and for UPHS Denver convention on July 24, 2005.
11. UP 844 was last used during Cheyenne Frontier Days on July 18-20, 2013, and a special excursion for Cheyenne Depot Museum on July 21, 2013.
12. UP 844 was removed from service on July 21, 2013, pending a complete overhaul.
13. UP 844 was returned to service on July 23, 2016 on the Cheyenne Frontier Days special; the overhaul was completed and a test run to Greeley was made on July 12; a positioning move from Cheyenne to Denver made on July 21.
14. (Read more about the special runs UP 844 was used on between 2005 and 2013)

General Notes:

1. Built by Cooke Locomotive & Machine Works.
2. Stored out of service at Cheyenne, Wyoming, until mounted on a heavy duty flat car (UP 903008) for display purposes; displayed at Railfair 1991 at Sacramento, California; moved in June 1996 for display to the Western Heritage Museum at Omaha, Nebraska; removed from flat car and placed on permanent static display in October 1996.

General Notes:

1. Built by American Locomotive Company.
2. UP 3985 was first retired in July 1962; stored at Cheyenne, Wyoming, until placed on display at the Cheyenne depot in October 1974.
3. Removed from display in September 1979 and returned to service April 1981 (reinstated to roster in March 1981)
4. Converted from coal-fired to oil-fired in July 1990.
5. On September 18, 1990, UP 3985 pulled an 8000-foot-long freight train eastbound from Cheyenne, over Archer Hill, to North Platte, Nebraska. The next day the 3985 was assigned to power the River City Roundup passenger special from North Platte to Omaha, Nebraska. On the return trip the engine again pulled freight, this time from Omaha to North Platte. Westbound out of North Platte, the engine was at the head of the Union Pacific Employees Special back to Cheyenne.
6. In May 1993 UP 3985 received a set of smoke deflectors (shown on UP engineering drawings as "Wind Wings") for a special one-day only (May 15, 1993) excursion to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Rocky Mountain Railroad Club; temporarily renumbered to UP 3967 and used as power for a round trip from Laramie to Denver and return.
7. On May 16, 1993, for its return trip to Cheyenne from Laramie, UP 3985 was temporarily renumbered to UP 3718, the next available number for Challengers that had been converted from coal-burners to oil burners.
8. UP 3985 received a limited overhaul beginning in late 2002; completed in mid May 2003 with a break-in run over Sherman Hill on May 15, 2003.
9. UP 3985 was last used on the "Missouri River Eagle Tour" (six states; 2,200 miles), from September 30 to October 14, 2010.
10. UP 3985 was removed from service on October 14, 2010, pending a complete overhaul.
11. (Read more about the special runs UP 3985 was used on between 2005 and 2010.)
12. UP 3985 was retired by Union Pacific on February 7, 2020.
13. On April 28, 2022, Union Pacific, in a joint press release with the non-profit Railroading Heritage of Midwest America organization, announced the donation of UP 4-6-6-4 3985, together with 2-10-2 5511 and other equipment. The equipment was moved as part of what was called a "Donation Special" that departed Cheyenne on November 11, 2022, and arrived at Silvis, Illinois, on November 19, 2022.
14. (Read more about the donation to RRHMA)
15. As of July 2023, the work by RRHMA in Silvis is making progress. "On Challenger 4-6-6-4 #3985, the safety valves have been removed and sent out for rebuild. Lube lines are in the process of being removed in order to have new ones made. Cylinder and valve heads have been removed for cleaning and inspection; the majority of the valve gear has been removed for the rear engine. Inspection of stay bolts and the firebox continues, along with plenty of cleaning and scrubbing on the rest of the engine and frame. The front flue sheet is being prepped for removal and replacement. The inside of the cab is having items removed it as well, in preparation for rebuilding."

General Notes:

1. UP 4014 was retired in June 1961 and donated to The Railway & Locomotive Historical Society, Southern California Chapter, for display at the Los Angeles County Fairgrounds in Pomona, California
2. Paused at Salt Lake City for about one week, en route to Pomona; given final inspection and paint touch-up; departed Salt Lake City on January 2, 1962 (Salt Lake Tribune, January 2, 1962, with photo)
3. Delivered to Pomona in January 1962, arriving on January 6th. (photo showing UP 4014 on AT&SF at Cajon in Trains magazine, April 1962, page 10)
4. "Union Pacific Donates 'Big Boy' To L.A. - The Union Pacific has donated engine 4014, 4-8-8-4, to the Southern California Chapter, R&LHS, for display at the Los Angeles County fairgrounds at Pomona. The Pacific Electric delayed abandonment of its fairgrounds spur to January 15th to permit switching of the engine into its new home." (Western Railroader, February 1962, page 2)
5. On July 23, 2013, the R&LHS Southern California Chapter and Union Pacific Railroad announced an agreement for return of Big Boy steam locomotive no. 4014 to Union Pacific. Union Pacific intends to restore and operate no. 4014 as part of its Heritage Locomotive fleet. The restoration will likely take until 2018 to complete.
6. On November 14, 2013, after preparation of the locomotive and the site itself, the process began to move the locomotive from its display site, across the large adjacent parking lot for approximately 5,000 feet by the use of temporary panel track sections. The move continued until November 26th when the locomotive, still on temporary track, was sitting at the far north end of the parking lot, adjacent to the tracks of MetroLink.
7. On January 21, 2014, to avoid confusion with UP's SD70M no. 4014 (built in 2001), UP steam 4-8-8-4 no. 4014 was renumbered in UP's computer system to UPP 4014; shown as having 2000 hp and a 6000-gallon fuel tank.
8. On January 25 and 26, 2014, UP 4014 was moved from the Los Angeles County Fairgrounds "Fairplex" to UP's West Colton yard. Preparation for the move began when the tracks of Metrolink were cut and moved to connect with adjacent temporary track that UP 4014 was sitting on. The connection was made at about midnight and UP 4014 was pulled onto the connection at about 2:50 a.m. by UP 1996, the SD70ACe SP Heritage unit. The special train was moved to Covina Metrolink station, arriving at about 4:30 a.m. Held for public display until about 8:00 a.m. The move was completed when the special train arrived at West Colton at about 2:30 p.m. UP 4014 was to remain at West Colton until late April 2014.
9. On January 26, 2014, after UP 4014 was moved from the fairgrounds at about 5:00 a.m., UP moved a donated SD40-2 (UP 3105), a boxcar (UP 453665) and a caboose (UP 24567) to the display site to replace UP 4014 as part of the railroad display at the Rail Giants museum; equipment was held outside the Fairplex grounds until February 15 due to car racing event; equipment was brought into the Fairplex using temporary panel track and moved using UP 3105 as motive power, across the parking lot along the same route used to remove UP 4014; the movement was completed on Saturday February 22 when the donated equipment was placed on panel track owned by the Rail Giants museum.
10. Equipment donated to Rail Giants to replace UP 4014:
    • UP 3105 EMD SD40-2, built as MP 6027 in June 1979; to UP by merger in 1982; renumbered to UP 3927 in January 1987; renumbered to UP 3105 in January 2003.
    • UP 453665, insulated boxcar Class BI-70-14, built January 1974.
    • UP 24567 Caboose, built as CRI&P 17149 in November 1967; to UP 24567 in April 1980; assigned to UP's steam program.
10. The move of UP 4014 from West Colton, California, to Cheyenne, Wyoming, began on April 28, 2014, and was completed with the arrival at Cheyenne on May 8, 2014.
11. Other than minor tasks to stabilize the condition of the locomotive, and initial inspection for planning purposes, restoration work on UP 4014 did not begin until after the rebuild of UP 844 was completed in mid July 2016.
12. UP SD70M 4014 was renumbered to UP 4479 on April 10, 2019, and on April 11, 2019, UPP 4014 was renumbered back (on UP's computer system) to UP 4014.
13. During its years of display in California, and return to Cheyenne in 2014, UP 4014 carried builder plates reproduced from an original plate from UP 4001, with builder number 69572 and builder date September 1941. The original left side builder plate on 4014 was stolen the first night after it arrived in Pomona in January 1962. The right side plate was cracked with a missing corner piece. After a few years, a local R&LHS member offered his original plate from UP 4001 to serve as an original to have reproduction copies made, and it is these reproduction copies that were mounted on UP 4014. During the rebuilding that was completed in May 2019, new builder plates were made and placed on the locomotive, with the correct builder number of 69585.
14. Restoration completed and UP 4014 first rolled under its own power in the late evening of May 1, 2019. A test run was made to Greeley, Colorado, late on May 2, 2019.

General Notes:

1. Built by Baldwin Locomotive Works.
2. Assigned to LA&SL service during the 1928-1931 period. During 1946 UP 5511 was assigned to the Nebraska Division. (Research by Gordon McCulloh)
3. Leased to SP at Ogden during June-July 1946, April-September 1947, August-December 1948. (Research by Gordon McCulloh)
4. Stored serviceable at Pocatello, Idaho, during early 1949; assigned helper service between Cheyenne and Buford during early 1950; stored serviceable at Ogden during September 1954; assigned work train service, and later stationary boiler service at Ogden during late 1955 and throughout 1956; stored unserviceable at Ogden during late 1957 and throughout 1958; moved to Green River, Wyoming, in late 1958 and stored unserviceable during late 1958 and throughout 1959, 1960 and 1961, still at Green River in June 1962. (Research by Gordon McCulloh)
5. Used in December 1958 during the filming of Union Pacific's "Last of the Giants" publicity film about the railroad's Big Boy steam locomotives.
6. Retired July 1962 and moved from Green River to Cheyenne, Wyoming; stored at Cheyenne until November 2022.
7. On April 28, 2022, Union Pacific, in a joint press release with the non-profit Railroading Heritage of Midwest America organization, announced the donation of UP 2-10-2 5511, together with 4-6-6-4 3985, and other equipment. The equipment was moved as part of what was called a "Donation Special" that departed Cheyenne on November 11, 2022, and arrived at Silvis, Illinois, on November 19, 2022.
8. (Read more about the donation to RRHMA)
9. As of July 2023, the work by RRHMA in Silvis is making progress. "Work continues on Union Pacific 2-10-2 #5511. The fire brick has been removed to facilitate the upcoming inspection of the firebox. The safety valves have been removed and are on their way for rebuilding, and the dynamo (used to generate electricity for headlights and lighting on the locomotive) has been removed as well."