Union Pacific 844 is a class " FEF-3"

4-8-4 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles, eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles and four trailing wheels on two axles. The type wa ...

" Northern" type

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 ...

owned and operated by 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 ...

for its

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 ...

. Built in December 1944 by the

American Locomotive Company The American Locomotive Company (often shortened to ALCO, ALCo or Alco) was an American manufacturer that operated from 1901 to 1969, initially specializing in the production of locomotives but later diversifying and fabricating at various time ...

(ALCO) of

Schenectady, New York Schenectady ( ) is a City (New York), city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the United States Census 2020, 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-most populo ...

, No. 844 is one of four surviving FEF series locomotives and the only one in operation. The locomotive operated in revenue service until 1959. It was stored while awaiting scrapping, along with the rest of the UP

fleet. In 1960, railroad leaders recognized the benefits of having a steam program and retained No. 844 for special activities, the kernel of what has become the Union Pacific's heritage fleet. Today, it is one of UP's oldest serving locomotives and the only steam locomotive never retired by a

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

Class I railroad Railroad classes are the system by which Rail freight transport, freight railroads are designated in the United States. Railroads are assigned to Class I, II or III according to annual revenue criteria originally set by the Surface Transportatio ...

History

Background

In the late 1930s, Union Pacific (UP) appointed Otto Jabelmann as vice president of research and mechanical standards, where he and his team began building a brand-new 4-8-4 design; the FEF class, which could handle both freight and passenger service.. In 1937, the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) of Schenectady, New York collaborated on the building first batch of FEFs, which were designated as ''FEF-1s'' and were the first UP steam locomotives to operate at a boiler pressure of . The FEF-3 could reach and regularly run at 120 mph; one locomotive reportedly pulled a 1,000-ton passenger train at 100 mph. Union Pacific considered all FEF classes to be capable of producing between 4,000 and 5,000 drawbar horsepower. The FEF-3 class represented the apex of dual-service steam locomotive development; funds and research were being concentrated on the development of diesel-electric locomotives. Originally designed to burn coal, they were converted to run on

fuel oil Fuel oil is any of various fractions obtained from the distillation of petroleum (crude oil). Such oils include distillates (the lighter fractions) and residues (the heavier fractions). Fuel oils include heavy fuel oil (bunker fuel), marine f ...

in 1946. Like the earlier FEF-1 and FEF-2 classes, the FEF-3 locomotives were ultimately reassigned to freight service. UP 844 was the last

delivered to the

, constructed as a member of the FEF-3 class of

" Northern" type locomotives. Upon its entry into service, the locomotive spent most of its career pulling a variety of passenger trains, such as the ''

Overland Limited Overland Limited may refer to: Trains * Overland Limited (ATSF train), 1901–1915 * Overland Limited (UP train), 1895–1931 Films * The Overland Limited (1925 film), ''The Overland Limited'' (1925) * Several short films made in 1899 and 1901: ** ...

'', '' Los Angeles Limited'', ''

Portland Rose Garden roses are predominantly Hybrid (biology), hybrid roses that are grown as ornamental plants in private or public gardens. They are one of the most popular and widely cultivated groups of flowering plants, especially in temperate climates. An ...

'' and '' Challenger''. From 1957 to 1959, UP 844 was reassigned to fast freight service in Nebraska when diesel-electric locomotives took over passenger service. After commercial steam operations ended in 1959, No. 844 was retained to be kept as an experimental snow melter along with Challenger class No. 3710 while the rest of the FEF-3s were scrapped. In 1960, UP saw the potential of having a steam locomotive for public relations and excursions in a world where steam locomotives are a rare sight. As such, No. 844 was chosen for rebuilding and is now used on company and public excursion trains, along with hauling revenue freight trains during ferry moves.

Excursion service

Since 1960, No. 844 has run hundreds of thousands of miles as Union Pacific's publicity locomotive. The locomotive often pulled the annual

Denver Post ''The Denver Post'' is a daily newspaper and website published in the Denver metropolitan area. it has an average print circulation of 57,265. In 2016, its website received roughly six million monthly unique visitors generating more than 13 mil ...

-sponsored Cheyenne Frontier Days train that ran round-trip from Cheyenne to

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

every July before it was discontinued in early 2019. It appeared at

Expo '74 Expo '74, officially known as the International Exposition on the Environment, Spokane 1974, was a world's fair held May 4, 1974, to November 3, 1974, in Spokane, Washington, in the Northwestern United States, northwest United States. It was the ...

Spokane, Washington Spokane ( ) is the most populous city in eastern Washington and the county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It lies along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south o ...

; the 1978 dedication of the Utah State Railroad Museum in

Ogden, Utah Ogden ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Weber County, Utah, Weber County, Utah, United States, approximately east of the Great Salt Lake and north of Salt Lake City. The population was 87,321 in 2020, according to the United States Census ...

; the 1984 World's Fair in

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

; and the 50th anniversary celebration of

Los Angeles Union Passenger Terminal Los Angeles Union Station is the main railroad station in Los Angeles, California, and the largest passenger rail terminal in the Western United States. It opened in May 1939 as the Los Angeles Union Passenger Terminal, replacing La Grande Stat ...

in 1989, when it performed a side-by-side run with

Southern Pacific 4449 Southern Pacific 4449, also known as the Daylight, is the only surviving example of the Southern Pacific Railroad's GS-4 class of 4-8-4 ''Northern'' type steam locomotives and one of only two streamlined GS class locomotives preserved, the oth ...

. On February 14, 1975, it pulled

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

's ''

San Francisco Zephyr The ''San Francisco Zephyr'' was an Amtrak passenger train that ran between Chicago and Oakland, California, Oakland from June 1972 to July 1983, when it was renamed to the California Zephyr History From the start of Amtrak in spring 1971 unti ...

'' from

Denver, Colorado Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

Cheyenne, Wyoming Cheyenne ( or ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Wyoming, most populous city of the U.S. state of Wyoming. It is the county seat of Laramie County, Wyoming, Laramie County, with 65,132 reside ...

with a pair of

EMD SDP40F The EMD SDP40F is a six-axle AAR wheel arrangement#C-C, C-C Diesel–electric transmission, diesel–electric locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Diesel, Electro-Motive Division (EMD) from 1973 to 1974. Based on Santa Fe's EMD ...

s. In 1981, it traveled to the opening of the

California State Railroad Museum The California State Railroad Museum is a museum in the California State Parks system that interprets the role of railroads in the Western U.S. It is located in Old Sacramento State Historic Park at 111 I Street, Sacramento, California. Featu ...

Sacramento Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...

, along with

Union Pacific 3985 Union Pacific 3985 is a four-cylinder Articulated locomotive, articulated 4-6-6-4 "Union Pacific Challenger, Challenger"-type steam locomotive built in July 1943 by the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) of Schenectady, New York, for the Union P ...

, which had recently been restored to operational condition. In 1987, No. 8444 was repainted into UP's Greyhound Scheme and was invited to an event to celebrate LAUPT's 50th anniversary along with Southern Pacific 4449, UP E9A No. 951, SP E9A No. 6051, and ATSF F7A No. 347c. 8444 raced 4449 down

Cajon Pass Cajon Pass (; Spanish: ''Puerto del Cajón'' or ''Paso del Cajón'') is a mountain pass between the San Bernardino Mountains to the east and the San Gabriel Mountains to the west in Southern California. Created by the movements of the San Andr ...

on their respective trackage with 8444 winning by default as 4449 had to stop due to a roller bearing issue. Over the weekend of October 14, 1990, No. 844 led a procession of special trains from

Kansas City Union Station Kansas City Union Station (station code: KCY) is a union station that opened in 1914, serving Kansas City, Missouri, and the Kansas City metropolitan area, surrounding metropolitan area. It replaced a small Union Depot built in 1878. Union Stat ...

Abilene, Kansas Abilene (pronounced ) is a city in and the county seat of Dickinson County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 6,460. It is home of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Libra ...

for World War II veterans to celebrate the 100th birthday of U.S. President

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...

. The "Eisenhower Centennial Special" was composed of cars from the Union Pacific,

Burlington Northern The Burlington Northern Railroad was a United States–based railroad company formed from a merger of four major U.S. railroads. Burlington Northern operated between 1970 and 1995. Its historical lineage begins in the earliest days of railroad ...

and

Santa Fe Railway The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the largest Railroad classes, Class 1 railroads in the United States between 1859 and 1996. The Santa Fe was a pioneer in intermodal freight tra ...

business fleets, with additional passenger cars provided by the

Norfolk Southern The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States. Headquartered in Atlanta, the company was formed in 1982 with the merger of the Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. The comp ...

and

Chicago and North Western The Chicago and North Western was a Class I railroad in the Midwestern United States. It was also known as the "North Western". The railroad operated more than of track at the turn of the 20th century, and over of track in seven states befor ...

railroads. Also present in Abilene was General Eisenhower's command train, code-named "Bayonet", including the British A4 steam locomotive No. 60008 and communication and staff cars from WWII's

European Theater of Operations The European Theater of Operations, United States Army (ETOUSA) was a Theater (warfare), theater of Operations responsible for directing United States Army operations throughout the European theatre of World War II, from 1942 to 1945. It command ...

. After the end of the 1991 excursion season, No. 844 was put in the shop for a major running gear overhaul in addition to other repairs. During that time, No. 844 was repainted from the passenger greyhound scheme to the freight black. It emerged from the shop in 1996. On June 21, 1997, on the way to the National Railway Historical Society (NRHS)'s annual convention in Salt Lake City, Utah, No. 844 and Union Pacific's Executive E units pulled 18 passenger cars on the Union Pacific's soon-to-close Tennessee Pass line, which included tracks on a narrow canyon shelf along the

Arkansas River The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. It generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's source basin lies in Colorado, specifically ...

. On June 24, 1999, while on display during RailFair '99, one of the 844's boiler tubes failed, and the locomotive was subsequently towed dead back to Cheyenne by the recently overhauled No. 3985. The tube was found to have been made of the wrong material during the overhaul in 1996, a discovery that prompted the replacement of the firebox in a complete overhaul that lasted from September 2001 to 2004. On September 9, 2004, the UP steam crew successfully test-fired the 4-8-4. It returned to operating service on November 10, 2004. On May 18–19, 2007, No. 844 teamed with

to pull the "Puget Sound Excursion", a round trip from

Tacoma Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, southwest of Bellevue, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, northwest of Mount ...

to Everett on BNSF Railway tracks. On June 25 and 26, 2010, it made an excursion trip to

Milliken, Colorado Milliken is a statutory town in Weld County, Colorado, United States. The town population was 8,386 at the 2020 United States census. History The town was named for John D. Milliken, a Judge. The first community located near the Milliken to ...

's centennial celebration. In September 2012, the No. 844 locomotive was used in "UP 150", a celebration of Union Pacific's 150th-anniversary celebration, hosted by the

(CSRM). During that time, No. 844's tender derailed on a tightly-curved track from the Union Pacific's Martinez Subdivision to the CSRM. The tender was rerailed at 7:30 p.m. In June 2013, the locomotive's gyrating

Mars Light Mars Lights are signal-safety lights used in the United States and built by Mars Signal Light Company for railroad locomotives and firefighting apparatus. Mars Lights used a variety of means to cause the light to oscillate vertically, horizontally ...

, installed in 1946, was removed because its mounting bolts had deteriorated. It was also announced that year that the No. 844 and No. 3985 would eventually be joined by a third steam locomotive: Big Boy No. 4014. After the 2013 season, the locomotive was taken out of service for boiler work required by a change in the water treatment. It spent 2014 in Cheyenne, then received an early 15-year inspection the following year. On June 16 and 17, 2016, the 844 was test-fired. On July 12, 2016, the Union Pacific Steam Team took the locomotive on a "break-in run" as a sort of all-systems check and dress rehearsal for its return to service. The run was described as a complete success. On July 23, 2016, it pulled the annual Cheyenne Frontiers Day excursion. On October 13, 2016, the Union Pacific Steam Team started its 18-day "Trek To Tennessee" journey: the restored 844's first major trip. In April 2017, No. 844 made its first run on the

Oregon Short Line Railroad The Oregon Short Line Railroad was a railroad in Wyoming, Idaho, Utah, Montana and Oregon in the United States. The line was organized as the Oregon Short Line Railway in 1881 as a subsidiary of the Union Pacific Railway. The Union Pacific int ...

to celebrate the 92nd anniversary of the

Boise Union Pacific Depot The Boise Depot is a former train station in the western United States, located in Boise, Idaho. Opened in 1925, it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). At an elevation of above sea level on the rim of the first bench ...

. Because of heavy snows and a wet spring, the trip was cut short and the engine had to run light across the Malad River because of a washed-out bridge. In December 2018,

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, ...

requested

Federal Railroad Administration The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is an agency in the United States Department of Transportation (DOT). The agency was created by the Department of Transportation Act of 1966. The purpose of the FRA is to promulgate and enforce railroa ...

(FRA) waivers to exempt UP Nos. 844, 3985, and 4014 from federal

Positive Train Control Positive train control (PTC) is a family of automatic train protection systems deployed in the United States. Most of the United States' national rail network mileage has a form of PTC. These systems are generally designed to check that trains a ...

(PTC) requirements; in February 2019, the FRA officials responded that such waivers were not needed. On May 4, 2019, No. 844 participated in the inaugural run of the newly restored Big Boy No. 4014. The train departed the historic Cheyenne Depot following a christening ceremony for No. 4014. The two locomotives arrived at the Ogden Union Station on May 9 for the city's Heritage Festival. The two locomotives were on display at the station until May 12, when the return trip to

Cheyenne The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. The Cheyenne comprise two Native American tribes, the Só'taeo'o or Só'taétaneo'o (more commonly spelled as Suhtai or Sutaio) and the (also spelled Tsitsistas, The term for th ...

began. They arrived at Cheyenne on May 19, concluding the first run of No. 4014 in excursion service. Since January 2020, Nos. 844 and 4014 are the only two operational UP

s left on the active roster, following the retirement of No. 3985 from excursion service due to its poor mechanical condition. However, due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

in March 2020, UP cancelled all of its 2020 steam excursions and stated that Nos. 844 and 4014 would not operate for the 2020 operating season. UP eventually resumed excursion operations with No. 4014 beginning in August 2021. No future excursions have thus far been scheduled for No. 844 since 2019 and the locomotive had been running since then, although it is confirmed the locomotive is maintained to keep it in operational condition and UP have considered equipping the locomotive with the PTC system..

Union Pacific "8444"

From 1962 to 1989, the locomotive was numbered UP 8444 because the railroad had given the number 844 to an

EMD GP30 The EMD GP30 is a four-axle diesel-electric locomotive built by General Motors Corporation, General Motors Electro-Motive Diesel, Electro-Motive Division of La Grange, Illinois between July 1961 and November 1963. A total of 948 units were b ...

locomotive. After the GP30 was retired from active service in June 1989, No. 8444 was renumbered back to 844. That GP30 is now owned by

Nevada State Railroad Museum The Nevada State Railroad Museum, located in Carson City, Nevada, preserves the heritage railroad, railroad heritage of Nevada, including locomotives and cars of the famous Virginia and Truckee Railroad. Much of the museum equipment was obtai ...

in Boulder City, Nevada, and operates periodically at the Nevada State Railroad Museum Boulder City on

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 ...

runs. There is now an

EMD SD70ACe The EMD SD70 is a series of diesel-electric locomotives produced by the US company Electro-Motive Diesel. This locomotive family is an extension and improvement of the EMD SD60 series. Production commenced in late 1992 and since then over 5,700 ...

on the UP roster numbered 8444.

Accident

On July 21, 2018, while pulling the ''Cheyenne Frontier Days Special'' to

, No. 844 struck and killed a pedestrian in Henderson, Colorado. The pedestrian was standing too close to the track photographing the train as she was hit. The train was stopped immediately following the accident.

Film history

UP 844 was documented in the 1981 film "Eighty Four Forty Four" by the Union Pacific Railroad. Some of those clips would be later used for the opening and

closing credits Closing credits, aka end credits or end titles, are a list of the cast and crew of a particular motion picture, television show, or video game. While opening credits appear at the beginning of a work, closing credits appear close to or at th ...

of the

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

show ''

Shining Time Station ''Shining Time Station'' is a children's television series jointly created by British television producer Britt Allcroft and American television producer Rick Siggelkow. The series was produced by Quality Family Entertainment (the American bran ...

'', which ran from 1989 until 1995 (including the four hour-long Family Specials). UP 844 also appears in '' Extreme Trains'' in the episode "Steam Train", in which it pulled the Frontier Days special from Denver to Cheyenne. UP 844 also makes an appearance in the 2nd Episode of the 3rd Season on the

TLC TLC may refer to: Arts and entertainment Television * ''TLC'' (TV series), a 2002 British situational comedy television series that aired on BBC2 * TLC (TV network), formerly the Learning Channel, an American cable TV network ** TLC (Asia), an A ...

TV series, ''Mostly True Stories?: Urban Legends Revealed''. In the 1990

special ''Ghost Trains of the Old West'', UP 8444, as it was numbered at the time of filming, is seen pulling a Union Pacific diesel locomotive and passenger train through Wyoming. UP 844 (and several other restored steam locomotives) appear in the music video with the

Pat Metheny Group The Pat Metheny Group was an American jazz band founded in 1977 by guitarist and composer Pat Metheny, along with his core collaborating member, keyboardist and composer Lyle Mays. Other long-standing members included bassist and producer Steve ...

's "Last Train Home". The 2014 short film "Locomotive Song" features UP 844—particularly its

running gear In railway terminology the term running gear refers to those components of a railway vehicle that run passively on the rails, unlike those of the driving gear. Traditionally these are the wheels, axles, axle boxes, springs and vehicle frame of ...

—accompanied by the song of the same name by

boogie-woogie Boogie-woogie is a genre of blues music that became popular during the late 1920s, but already developed in African-American communities since the 1870s.Paul, Elliot, ''That Crazy American Music'' (1957), Chapter 10, p. 229. It was eventually ex ...

pianist Honey Piazza.

Gallery

File:The Pony Express Union Pacific locomotive 844.JPG, UP 844 hauling the ''Pony Express'' in 1949 File:Andover April 1981x4 (34790786951).jpg, UP Nos. 844 (as UP 8444) and 3985 running through

Donner Pass Donner Pass is a mountain pass in the northern Sierra Nevada, above Donner Lake and Donner Memorial State Park about west of Truckee, California. Like the Sierra Nevada themselves, the pass has a steep approach from the east and a gradual a ...

in April 1981 File:PDX 4449 071xRP - Flickr - drewj1946.jpg, UP 844 with SP 4449 on the Puget Sound Steam Special in 2007 File:July 19 2007 and July 21 030xRP - Flickr - drewj1946.jpg, UP 844 leads the now-discontinued ''Cheyenne Frontier Days Special'' near

Platteville, Colorado Platteville is a Statutory Town in Weld County, Colorado, United States. The population was 2,955 at the 2020 census. It is adjacent to Fort Vasquez on U.S. Highway 85. History Platteville was founded on May 27, 1871, and was incorporated o ...

in 2007 File:844 nov 19 2011 036xRP - Flickr - drewj1946.jpg, UP 844 traveling through

in November 2011 File:844 oct 4 034x4RP (8243923143).jpg, Union Pacific FEF-3 No. 844 running eastbound in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

after departing

on October 4, 2012 File:Union Pacific 844 (30421357366).jpg, UP 844 running through

Kansas City, Kansas Kansas City (commonly known as KCK) is the third-most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is an inner suburb of the older and more populous Kansas City, Missouri, after which it is named. As ...

on October 15, 2016 File:Ogden 150 Year Heritage Festival.jpg, UP 844 (right) and UP 4014 on display in Ogden, Utah in May 2019

Notes

References

External links

UP Steam
{{DEFAULTSORT:Union Pacific 0844 0844 ALCO locomotives 4-8-4 locomotives Individual locomotives of the United States Articles containing video clips Standard-gauge locomotives of the United States Railway locomotives introduced in 1944 Preserved steam locomotives of Wyoming 2′D2′ h2 locomotives