2017 April 18: The Union Pacific Steam Engine 844 Visited Hanna
Page by Bob Leathers
Union Pacific Steam Engine 844
Watch the "Living Legend," Union Pacific Railroad Engine 844, steam into Hanna on
Tuesday, April 18, 2017. The train stopped in Hanna to drop off a monetary donation to
the Hanna Basin Museum from the Union Pacific Railroad Foundation.
Pictures and Video by Bob Leathers
History
Union Pacific 844 is a 4-8-4 steam locomotive owned by Union Pacific Railroad. Built in 1944, it was the last steam locomotive delivered to Union Pacific and is the only steam locomotive never retired by a North American Class I railroad.
Saved from scrapping in 1960, 844 was chosen for restoration and is now used on company and public excursion trains, along with revenue freight during ferry moves.
No. 844 was one of ten locomotives that were ordered by Union Pacific in 1944 and designated as class FEF-3. The FEF-3 class represented the epitome of dual-service steam locomotive development; funds and research were being concentrated into the development of diesel-electric locomotives. Designed to burn coal, they were converted to run on fuel oil. Like the earlier FEF-2 class, FEF-3 locomotives were designed as passenger engines. They pulled such trains as the Overland Limited, Los Angeles Limited, Portland Rose and Challenger.
From 1957 to 1959, UP 844 was reassigned to freight service in Nebraska when diesel-electric locomotives took over passenger service.
Saved from scrapping in 1960, 844 was chosen for restoration and is now used on company and public excursion trains, along with revenue freight during ferry moves.
Union Pacific 844 has served longer than almost any other UP locomotive. It has been called an inspiration to many train conductors across the nation.
Since 1962, the engine has run hundreds of thousands of miles as Union Pacific's publicity locomotive. The locomotive often pulls the annual Denver Post-sponsored Cheyenne Frontier Days train that runs round-trip from Cheyenne to Denver in July. (From Wikipedia Encyclopedia)
Pictures by Bob Leathers
Union Pacific Railroad Engine No. 844 in Hanna. (Image from While Family Collection by Bob Leathers)
Click on the image for a larger view.
RawlinsTimes.com
Steam engine makes stops in Carbon County
by Thorn Compton and Iain Woessner
CARBON COUNTY — A piece of living history made its way through Carbon County on Tuesday, as the “Living Legend” No. 844 steam engine of the Union Pacific Railroad made stops in Hanna and Rawlins to the delight of residents in attendance.
In Hanna specifically, though the train had passed through the old mining town before, it had never made an official stop. Hanna Basin Museum Curator Nancy Anderson said she was thrilled to see the train in action.
“It was just breathtaking, I don’t think there is anything more wonderful than a steam engine,” she said while people posed for pictures with the train. “Of course we are on Front Street at the Museum, so trains go right by us regularly. When we have children visiting, especially those who aren’t used to seeing trains, we always make it a point to have them run out on the porch and wave and cheer the trains as they roll by.”
Kids from all the Hanna schools made the trip down to the tracks, and though there was a bit of a delay due to some transport engines making their way along the tracks, everyone in the end got to experience something special as the steam engine made its stop.
The 844 stopping in Hanna was especially memorable for the old timers that lived in Hanna when the engine regularly steamed through the town leaving a trail of smoke and sparks in its wake.
Behind the 844 came the diesel engine 8207 with a full load of freight bringing us back to modern times.
Union Pacific Diesel Engine 8207 Rolling Through Hanna (While Family Collection from Bob Leathers, April 2017)
Union Pacific Railroad Diesel Engine No. 8207 in Hanna (While Family Collection from Bob Leathers April 2017)