Union Pacific's Historic Steam Locomotive to Pull Special Trains Between Denver and Cheyenne UP 844 Download (177K PDF File) UP 844 Fact Sheet Follow UP 844 with GPS Omaha, Neb., July 19, 2006 – Union Pacific Railroad historic steam locomotive No 844 will pull two public special passenger train excursions between Cheyenne, Wyo., and Denver, Colo. The excursions will celebrate railroad heritage on Union Pacific. In order to get in position to pull this year’s Frontier Days special train, No. 844 will move to Denver’s Union Station from its base in Cheyenne, Wyo. on Thursday, July 20. On Friday, July 21, the locomotive will be on public display at Union Station. The "Denver Post Frontier Days Special" will make a round trip on Saturday, July 22, between Denver and Cheyenne. This is the 15th operation of this special train in recent years. Special trains have taken passengers to Frontier Days activities from Denver as far back as 1908. The trains operated each year, with a time out for World War II, for invited guests until 1970. In 1992, the Frontier Days special train resumed as a public event. The 20-car passenger train is sold out for this year’s trip. The steam locomotive will again be on public display on Sunday, July 23 at Denver’s Union Station from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. MDT. "We are proud to have No. 844 pull this historic passenger special with our collection of historical railroad equipment, which is the largest of any U. S. railroad," said Steve Lee, Union Pacific’s manager – operating practices and locomotive engineer. A special train sponsored by the Lionel Collectors Club will also be pulled by No. 844 on Monday, July 24 from Denver to Cheyenne. This excursion is also sold out. No. 844, also known as Union Pacific’s "Living Legend," is returning to service after one of the most extensive steam locomotive overhauls in the United States since the 1950s. The overhaul began in 1992, and included extensive overhauls of its running gear, pumps, piping, valves and springs, along with replacement of its firebox and extensive boiler work. Even the cab interior has been refurbished. No. 844 was the last steam locomotive built for Union Pacific Railroad. It was delivered in 1944. A high-speed passenger engine, it pulled such widely known trains as the Overland Limited, Los Angeles Limited, Portland Rose and Challenger. When diesels took over all passenger train duties in the mid-1950’s, No. 844 was placed in freight service in Nebraska between 1957 and 1959. It was saved from being scrapped in 1960 and held for special service. No. 844 has run hundreds of thousands of miles for UP's Heritage program. It has made appearances at Expo '74 in Spokane, 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. The schedule for the special trains is: Union Pacific 844 Thurs., July 20Dep.: 9 a.m. MDT Arr.: 12:01 p.m. Cheyenne, WY - UP rail yard Denver Union Station 1701 Wynkoop St. Friday, July 21 Layover and Public Display8 a.m. – 5 p.m. MDT Denver Union Station - 1701 Wynkoop St. Saturday, July 22 Denver Post Frontier Days SpecialDep.: 7 a.m. Arr.: 9:45 a.m.Denver - Union Station Cheyenne - Depot Museum 121 W. 15th St. Dep.: 5:30 p.m. Arr.: 8 p.m.Cheyenne Denver Union Station 1701 Wynkoop St. Sunday, July 23 Layover and Public Display8 a.m. – 5 p.m. MDT Denver Union Station - 1701 Wynkoop St. Monday, July 24 Lionel Collectors Club SpecialDep.: 10 a.m. Arr.: 2:30 p.m.Denver - Union Station Cheyenne - UP rail yard A Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) transmitter was installed on one of the railcars that travel with No. 844. The GPS system has been integrated with a map on UP’s Web site. Enter the word "Steam" in the search box on the homepage for a shortcut to the map. Web site visitors will be able to access route maps with varying amounts of detail. The GPS system will update the map every five minutes showing No. 844’s location.
*sighs* I miss Cheyenne for this reason chiefly--steam.... Here's 844, last year, same trip, ripping by at Carr, CO doing track speed: Oh yeah, doubleheaded with 3985!
You came to the right place! Not in any particular order... Just north of Platteville is a wide, sweeping curve, great for a quick shot, if the insanity on US85 allows another shot. The Depot at Greeley is good, and track speed is limited to 25MPH, but once clear of the slow order, trains blast out of town up a short grade. Brighton is good, but most of these shots are crammed with foamers: http://www.trainboard.com/railimages/data/635/leaving_brighton.jpg http://www.trainboard.com/railimages/data/635/844_brighton.jpg The bridge over the river near LaSalle is a good one, as is the overpass shot north of Ault, about 35 miles from Cheyenne. Beyond that, it's dirt roads, and a hard chase. Carr is OK for pacing shots: http://www.trainboard.com/railimages/data/635/844_south_carr.jpg http://www.trainboard.com/railimages/data/635/844_wasteland.jpg http://www.trainboard.com/railimages/data/635/pacing_844.jpg And for head-on shots: http://www.trainboard.com/railimages/data/635/carr_844_2.jpg The next good place, and all of these will be crowded with foamers--is at east (south) Speer, WY. Just north of the CO/WY border off I-25. Take Terry Ranch Road east, and the overpass is your shot. The tracks sweep WIDE leaving Speer. http://www.trainboard.com/railimages/data/635/844_speer_2.jpg Closer to Cheyenne, Military rd offers a shot: http://www.trainboard.com/railimages/data/635/844_mil_rd.jpg Anything in and around Cheyenne is crammed with foamers. Traffic will be at a crawl on 85, and pacing it will be a challenge. Getting ahead of it will be nearly impossible. Hope this helps!
One small detail.. Correction: the chase of the deadhead trip south will be less crowded, and easier to chase. The CFD trip north will be mayhem to chase... Once the trip hits Eaton, CO, folks on cell phones tell thir buddies, and it gets more crowded as you head closer to Denver. As much of a hassle as this chase is, don't get me wrong, it IS WORTH IT! :shade:
Sadly could not chase/ride it this year But we did take some photographs on Sunday that I will post later... Maybe next year we will have the time and it won't be so dang hot too.
Hot, yep, it's hot here too. Had some rain last night--not enought to help my lawn, but enough to make it muggy as heck... *groan* This thread is worthless without pics!
Well OK, if you must have a picture... Coming Soon to Railroad Adventure (RRAdventures) - Cheyenne Frontier Days
Hemi, Your old buddy Nathan posted some, as did others, on that site which shall remain nameless. Chip Sherman had some great shots of the consist. :teeth:
Wonder if 844 will get the same "helpers" it did last year... What I'm referring to is that last year 844 and 3985 were to doublehead from Denver north to Cheyenne, but somewhere along the line 3985 got a hot bearing, and was sidelined. Three SD40-2s, all pretty ragged-looking, were swpied to assist the 844 on its trek to Cheyenne. I was at the Terry Ranch Road bridge and saw 844 and its diesel helper set approach. As it got closer, you could hear the stack talk from 844 as it struggled upgrade to Speer, and you could hear it for quite a while as it passed under the bridge and also under I-25 on the way to Speer. I wish I had a tape recorder- the sound of that vintage steamer moving uphill under load was awesome!!
I missed the 'deuces on the 844 trip, but caught the Centennial as its helper on the southbound trip... Nate always chases--wish he would post here...
I didn't get to chase this year, but last year, I chased. Oh, boy did I chase! Here's short vid (1.3MB) of the doubleheader at 50-60 MPH, and 19 passenger and tool cars, IIRC... http://www.trainboard.com/railimages/data/635/Doubleheader_Runby.WMV
OK, OK, here is another shot... Coming Soon to Railroad Adventure (RRAdventures) - Cheyenne Frontier Days
