Union Pacific Steam Locomotives

The first Mikado (2-8-2) wheel arrangement came to the ORR&N in July of 1910. The first locomotives of this wheel arrangement were built for the Japanese Government Railways by Baldwin in 1897, from which the type derives its name. The Union Pacific changed the name from Mikado and adopted the name MacArthur (the commanding General in the Pacific during World War II), because of our conflict with Japan. Attempts to change the name by other railroads were made with only a little success. The UP and affiliated lines purchased hundreds of Mikado-type locomotives between 1911 and 1921. The early locomotives were provided with the Harriman Common Standard 57-inch drivers. All later versions had 63-inch drivers and were suitable for both freight and passenger service. Locomotives of this class remained supreme until the arrival of heavier power (2-10-2s and 2-8-8-0s) starting in 1917. Into the 1940-era many worked on main line runs where moderate gradients existed. Many were used in yards where heavy switching service was a requirement, and continued to work regularly on main line local freight assignments (and some branch lines where heavier rail and traffic volumes existed) until replaced by diesel locomotives in the mid-1950s.

This class survived the Great Depression, and none of them were scrapped until after World War II due to an acute motive power shortage at that time. A drop in business after the war, along with the purchase of additional diesels assigned to the western lines, allowed the UP to retire 87 MacArthur's in 1946 and 1947. An additional 49 were scrapped in 1948 and 1949. In subsequent years, one by one, the total number of steam locomotives on the roster continued to decline as more diesels were purchased. The last 2-8-2 to be scrapped was UP number 2272 at Cheyenne on July 30, 1958. Four of them survived and have been preserved and donated for display in various communities (the 2564 was later relocated to the Orange Empire Railway Museum at Perris, CA.) along the UP.