Union Pacific Steam Alert - Cheyenee - Denver!

[JimDep]

The UP is running the Northern Class #844 later today between Cheyenne, WY and Denver. Leaving Cheyenne at 5:30pm today and due to arrive in Denver by 8pm.

#844 will be on display in Denver tomorrow, Sunday July 20th and then depart from Denver at 1pm and due back in Cheyenne at 5pm.

I caught up with it in Greeley, Co two days ago on the way to Cheyenne and managed to get a picture and video. I'll post the pic here in a little bit.

Here's a description:

Steam Locomotive No. 844 is 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.
Many people know the engine as the No. 8444, since an extra '4' was added to its number in 1962 to distinguish it from a diesel numbered in the 800 series. The steam engine regained its rightful number in June 1989, after the diesel was retired.
When diesels took over all of the passenger train duties, 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.
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 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.
Hailed as Union Pacific's "Living Legend," the engine is widely known among railroad enthusiasts for its excursion runs, especially over Union Pacific's fabled crossing of Sherman Hill between Cheyenne and Laramie, Wyoming.



JD

 

[engine49]

i heard about that, but couden't make it down 2 denver.

 

[JimDep]

Where are you coming from?

 

[JimDep]

Here's the shot from two days ago. I got there just as the train was pulling out of the UP Greeley Depot heading south to Denver. I got a nice blast from the steam whistle just after I took this picture. It was awesome!


I was hoping to catch up before it reached the UP yard in La Salle, but it got too far ahead of me. The speed limit between Greeley and La Salle is 50mph and it had already passed by the time I pulled into the yard at La Salle.

I'll be back out in the Greeley Depot area tonight around 6pm to make sure I have a chance to get set up before it goes through.

 

[mforner]

Great shot! I forgot all about the Cheyene Frontier Days this weekend. Please post more when you can.

Thanks.
Mike

 

[Klinger]

I went down to Union Station on thursday, since that was the only day I had off. I was literally kicked out by RTD since it was not the open house, which was friday. I had one day this whole week to see 844 and the DD40X in town and in action, and RTD ruined my chance

Im sick of having to look at other people's pictures, it would have been nice to get some of my own for a change.....oh well, I suppose I am just condemned to look but never do

 

[mforner]

Hi Klinger.

Where were you that you got kicked out by RTD? Couldn't you see the engines from Wewatta or the 20th St bridge?

Mike

 

[atsfrr3000]

Yeah, I tried getting to it from Platform 2 or 3 out of Union Station on Thursday, but an RTD dude told me the whole platform was closed. Ah well I did follow it into the station though, and got good shots of it from Wewatta.

I also chased it from Denver (well, Commerce City) all the way up to Cheyenne yesterday, wasn't too bad considering it was the first time I'd chased it into Cheyenne on my own I'll post photos/video later.

 

[Klinger]

I walked from union station to coors field, I figured I could get some good pictures form around coors, but the damn ski train was in the way. the guy in the parking lot told me to head back to the station. so I went onto the platform, and was told to leave

At that point I was pretty pissed, as I had walked halfway around downtown trying to get even one picture

like i said, all I have ever been able to do is look at other peoples pictures, I cannot ever seem to get my own. its just not the same as if you saw it for yourself

worst part is I spent $3 on the lightrail to go downtown to see 844, and it was some RTD guy that told me to leave. they basically stole my money in my opinion.

 

[JimDep]

I wish you could have joined me up here. The Greeley UP Depot was a really nice setting to relax and get some pictures and video.


July 20th, 2008

Shot 1) Greeley, Colorado_UP Depot

First view of #844 coming up from the south along the Greeley Subdivision :





Jumping to the east side of the tracks.................you can see the freight building on the right. This is the remodeled Greeley Freight museum scheduled for public opening in September. I'm very excited about this!

 

[JimDep]

#844 comes to a complete stop.

 

[JimDep]

Lots of activity up in the cab...




Enthusiastic rail fans are getting a real treat......

 

[JimDep]

6936 will give a little boost once the train gets above Carr, Colorado.
The elevation really climbs between Carr and Cheyenne.




Not a bad way to spend the afternoon....

 

[JimDep]

I think this engineer enjoys his job






Nice and clean machinery....

 

[JimDep]

After the quick Greeley stop, #844 is getting ready to depart.
The blast of that whistle made everyone cheer and clap.....some got a little emotional.




On the way to Cheyenne..........See ya next time! :wave:

 

[atsfrr3000]

Okay, my turn

I had intended to follow the locomotive out of Denver, but I left home a bit late and caught a few more lights than planned, so I stopped at the UP-BNSF diamondheads in Commerce City, a fairly popular photo spot, and waited.

Didn't take long...

Of course, only after it goes by does it turn on the smokeworks

After it passes by I head back to the car, hoping to get out in time to get through Commerce City ahead of it. Tough luck...I had to stop at what seemed like every single traffic light By the time I finally got out of Commerce City and alongside the tracks on Highway 85, I had a strong suspicion it had left me in the dust; pulling off to join some folks near Ft. Lupton, my fears were confirmed, as they told me I had missed it by about five minutes. Knowing the train was doing the same speed as the highway speed limit, I figured I probably wouldn't see it again until Cheyenne.

Of course, that wasn't going to get me speeding, no-sir-ee...you see, last year, along this same route, I was following this exact same train (the post-CFD transfer to Cheyenne), and the exact same thing happened then, too. (Well, getting on the highway going the wrong way in Commerce City probably didn't help.) Being the young, exuberant teenage driver I was, I felt I could catch up to it - and got a speeding ticket for doing 63 mph through Gilcrest where the speed limit was 50. (Yeah, I went home after that.) So although I really wanted to catch up with it, I decided I didn't really want a repeat of last year, and calmly started driving towards Cheyenne.

I didn't really see any sign that I was making any headwya on catching up to it, and was starting to lose hope, when all of a sudden...smoke! Hanging in the air over Greeley, I think, "Hey, it'll have to slow down going through Greeley...maybe I can zoom north and catch it!" Going as fast as legally possible, I race through Greeley and find myself out on the open Northern Colorado Plains, still not sure whether I'm ahead of it or tailing it. Not wanting to risk the latter, I continue driving North until I reach the small town of Eaton, CO, where I see a group of people gathering near the railroad tracks in a small park, with a freigth train heading South. I've made it! I pull over and find a good spot and begin waiting.

And waiting.

And waiting...

And finally, another guy near me who I've been chatting with mentions that it had stopped in Greeley, apparently to let the earlier freight go by. So we're standing around the tracks, waiting for quite a while in the harsh July sun, and nothing's coming yet.

Finally, after about twenty minutes of deliberation and hesitance, I start to walk across the street to get a drink and a bite to eat form the gas station over there, and I hear it coming. Dashing back to the tracks, I see it approaching rapidly, and on a whim, flip my camera into video capture mode, taking the following footage:

http://www.chris-grossman.com/cfd08/Eaton.mov

So after taking this video, I jump into the car and find myself in a long chain of train-pacers....lucky me, I'm at the end of the train, and this is a single-lane road with heavy Southbound traffic, so I'm stuck in line here. After getting some non-exciting footage of the end of the train, I settle in and enjoy the long drive to Cheyenne.

I did get this photo while driving, though, near the point where the UP tracks leave the highway -

 

[atsfrr3000]

Quite a while later, I cross over the Cheyenne state line, panic a bit as I realize I've never driven alone in this state and have no idea where I'm going, and somehow eventually find my way into Cheyenne to watch the 844 pull into town. Figuring it was going to pull straight into the steam shops, I headed to the roundhouse there; I hadn't considered that since it had actual passengers, it might actually pull into the depot to unload them

After taking this shot I clamored back into the car and raced under the tracks to the depot, in time to see a rather dapper-looking group of folks disembark from the train and board a very quaint-looking stationwagon.

Not really knowing what was going on (other than it obviously being part of the Frontier Days stuff) I asked a guy who was directing the wagon what was going on. He told me it was a re-enactment (of what? He didn't say) and that they had brought the "largest operating steam engine today" to town. Being the know-it-all that I was/am, I remarked that it was actually the second largest (true, to my knowledge) and that the real largest was being stored in the shops over there. He turned to me and said "well then, I guess that still makes this one the largest operating one today" (he had said today earlier too.) Having been properly put in my place, I wandered off to get some shots of the steamer and the 6936 doing switching maneuvers, setting passenger cars aside.

After a while, the set-outs and switching maneuvers got boring and tedious, and I was eager to head home and see The Dark Knight with some friends (brilliant movie btw, go see it if you haven't already), so I made my way out of Cheyenne, having satisfied my train desires for the day.

 

[JimDep]

Great shots and good story, or great story and good shots. Either way.

Eaton makes for a good backdrop. Old 844 was flying! Keep in mind for next time, that the train stopped in Greeley for a few minutes every time going by, even picking up a couple passengers. There was no freight with the right of way yesterday. That was a planned stop.

La Salle is another good location for pics. On early Saturday evening, he slowed down to about 10mph going through the yard. Quite a few people turned out, some had just came down from Greeley, barely getting there in time. There's a crossing on 1st / Walnut street in La Salle that you'll get a nice blast from the whistle. It sounds great echoing off those towering old grain silos.

Next run for 844 will be toward the end of this August. Just one round trip from Cheyenne to Denver with a four day stay in Denver.

 

[mforner]

JimDep and atsfrr3000 --

Awesome shots! Thanks for sharing. I guess I'm going to have to make it a priority to get out and see these locos next year. :wave:

Thanks.
Mike

 

[Magicland]

Got some shots of it as well, seems they cut out the 2nd tender...