Union Pacific 6936 is an EMD DDA40X

locomotive A locomotive is a rail transport, rail vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. Traditionally, locomotives pulled trains from the front. However, Push–pull train, push–pull operation has become common, and in the pursuit for ...

built for the

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad is a Railroad classes, Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United Stat ...

( UP). Previously a part of UP's

heritage fleet Amtrak's Heritage Fleet consisted of the rolling stock provided to it when it assumed passenger service on commercial railroads. The name was applied to a 1977–1983 program that converted the older, mainly streamliner cars (rail), streamlined ...

, 6936 was for several decades the last remaining operational "Centennial" type, and thus the largest operational diesel-electric locomotive in the world. It is now owned by the Railroading Heritage of Midwest America in

Silvis, Illinois Silvis is a city in Rock Island County, Illinois, Rock Island County, Illinois, United States. It is part of a larger metropolitan area known as the Quad Cities. The Quad Cities Metropolitan Area is situated across four counties in Illinois and Io ...

, who plans to return the locomotive to operation.

History

Service with Union Pacific

Built in January 1971, the UP classifies No. 6936 as a DD40X rather than a DDA40X as indicated by the model designation on the cab of the locomotive. It served in revenue service over the next decade and into the mid-1980s across the

Union Pacific The Union Pacific Railroad is a Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United States after BNSF, ...

system. UP 6936 made its last regular freight trip on May 6, 1985. It went on to become a part of the railroad's

excursion An excursion is a trip, usually made for leisure, education, or Physical exercise, physical purposes. It is often an adjunct to a longer journey or visit to a place, sometimes for other (typically work-related) purposes. Public transportatio ...

fleet. The locomotive's last

with UP was in 2015, when it helped the UP's trio of

EMD E9 The E9 is a , A1A-A1A passenger train-hauling diesel locomotive built by General Motors' Electro-Motive Division of La Grange, Illinois, between April 1954 and January 1964. 100 cab-equipped A units were produced and 44 cabless booster B unit ...

units at the annual Cheyenne Frontier Days event. It was last used on July 12, 2016, when it helped to test

UP 844 Union Pacific 844 is a class "Union Pacific FEF series, FEF-3" 4-8-4 "4-8-4, Northern" type steam locomotive owned and operated by the Union Pacific Railroad for its Union Pacific heritage fleet, heritage fleet. Built in December 1944 by the Ameri ...

, a

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, Fuel oil, oil or, rarely, Wood fuel, wood) to heat ...

being returned to service. Its

dynamic brakes Dynamic braking is the use of an electric traction motor as a Electric generator, generator when slowing a vehicle such as an electric locomotive, electric or diesel locomotive, diesel-electric locomotive. It is termed "Resistor#Adjustable resisto ...

were used to simulate a load while being pulled. After the tests, it was placed into storage at the roundhouse in Cheyenne. At the time, the current operating condition of No. 6936 was unclear. As of 2017, a page posted on UP's website said the locomotive "now travels on occasion as part of the UP Heritage Fleet." But a page posted in 2019 did not describe No. 6936 as being operational.

Accident

In November 2000, UP 6936 collided with a dump truck at a grade crossing in Livonia, Louisiana. The accident killed a railroad employee riding on the nose section and the driver of the dump truck. The unit was stored in

North Little Rock, Arkansas North Little Rock (often abbreviated "NLR") is a city in Pulaski County, Arkansas, United States. Located on the north side of the Arkansas River, it is the Twin cities, twin city of Little Rock, Arkansas, Little Rock. In the late nineteenth ce ...

, until damage to its nose could be repaired.

Acquisition by RRHMA

In April 2022, Union Pacific announced that 6936—along with Union Pacific 3985, Union Pacific 5511, and several other pieces of equipment stored at the Cheyenne roundhouse—were to be donated to the Railroading Heritage of Midwest America, with plans to return the locomotive to operation. In November of that same year, UP moved 6936 and the rest of the donated equipment to the RRHMA's large shop facility in Silvis,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

. After undergoing inspection and repairs, 6936 made a successful test run on August 19, 2023.

References

External links

* , maintained by

* , maintained by Railroading Heritage of Midwest America {{UP Giants 6936 D-D locomotives Electro-Motive Division locomotives Diesel–electric locomotives of the United States Standard-gauge locomotives of the United States Individual locomotives of the United States Railway locomotives introduced in 1971