Early History of the Union Pacific Railroad

Notes by Bob Leathers with contributions from Paul McNulty and Randy Shipman

Transcontinental Railroad - End of Track
from Wyoming PBS

End of Track is the story of the Transcontinental Railroad’s construction march across southern Wyoming and the growing pains of a state in its infancy. It’s a story of incredible engineering achievements and boisterous “Hell on Wheels” towns. A story of greed and corruption, murder and mayhem; of a clash of cultures and Native American retaliation. But it’s also a story of hope and ambition, determination and unimagined success. (Wyoming PBS)

The early history of the Union Pacific Railroad is long and complicated. To help with that take a few minutes to read the book listed below.

Read the early history of the Union Pacific Railroad. A report by G. W. Dodge, Chief Engineer of the railroad.

Old Carbon Steam Engines and Trains - Switch Engine 929 and Mail Engine 924

Old time switch engine at Carbon, Wyoming: Engineer J. J. Mitchell in the cab; fireman unknown. (Picture from T. H. Butler, Union Pacific Coal Company Employe's Magazine, March 1927)

Picture from T. H. Butler, Union Pacific Coal Company Employe's Magazine, March 1927)

Old Carbon Mail Train and Engine No. 924, (Gert Milliken Collection from Gary Milliken)

Hanna Depot and Depot Station Agents

The Hanna depot served not only the Union Pacific Railroad, but also serverd as a church and dance hall as well.

The Station Agent was the man in charge of the railroad station or depot. In smaller towns, this job also included being ticket agent, baggage handler and telegraph operator.

Following the introduction of the telegraph, the Telegraph Operator communicated the status of trains to the dispatcher, notifying the train crews of any problems or unexpected trains that may be ahead of them and communicated train orders issued by the dispatcher. They also would send warning messages to other depots up and down the line. Telegraphers at most small stations, in addition to their railroad duties, worked for Western Union, commissions supplemented wages from the railroad. (RailsWest.Com)

The Hanna Depot was used on sundays for church and Saturday nights for dances. (McNulty Collection, Not Dated)

union pacific railroad, Hanna Depot, 1912 (McNulty Collection)

Union Pacific Railroad, Hanna, Wyoming (Undated) (McNulty Collection)

Hanna Depot, 1950's (Don and Phyllis Shipman Collection from Randy Shipman)

Gorden Roop worked as a Telegrapher in both the new and old union pacific railroad depot. (While Family Collection from Bill and Kristy Becker)

Herb Becker worked as a telegrapher in both the new and the old Union Pacific Railroad Depot. (While Family Collection from Bill and Kristy Becker)

Hanna Trains and Steam Engines

Union Pacific Steam Engine X3940 stopped at the Hanna Depot. The top of the Hanna Basin Museum (community hall at the time of the picture) and Love's are located at the left side of the picture. (not dated) (While Family Collection from Bill and Kristy Becker)

Union Pacific Railroad X2480 at the Hanna Depot (Not Dated) (While family Collection from Gordon Roop)

Union Pacific engine X2480 parked in front of the Hanna round house and maintenance shop. (Don and Phyllis Shipman Family Collection from Randy Shipman)

Steam Locomotive Number 8444 visits Hanna in 1979 and 2007

The Union Pacific steam locomotive 8444 pictured below visited Hanna in 1979. It was numbered x8444 in 1979 because from 1962–1989, its original number 844 was given to a different locomotive, the EMD GP30 locomotive. After the GP30 was retired from service in June 1989, the locamotive 8444 was renumbered back to 844.

Union Pacific Railroad Steam Engine Number 8444 parked next to the Tipple in Hanna. (Hanna Basin Museum)

Union Pacific Railroad Steam Engine Number 8444 rolls Into Hanna. (Hanna Basin Museum)

Union Pacific Railroad Steam Engine Number 8444 pulling up to the Hanna Tipple. (Hanna Basin Museum)

Union Pacific Railroad Steam Engine Number 8444 in Hanna. (Hanna Basin Museum)

Union Pacific engine X3967 in Hanna (Don and Phyllis Shipman Family Collection from Randy Shipman)

4000 type locomotive (UPCCEm, Dec. 1941)

4000 Type Locomotive

The 4000 type of locomotive was recently put into service by the Union Pacific Railroad. We present herewith a picture of the first to arrive, No. 4000, known as a 4-8-8-4 Mallet type, costing $250,000. A total of twenty of the new locomotives will be delivered by December 31, completing the order.

Designed by the Railroad’s staff officers, the new machines will handle fast freight in heavy grade territory, and, as they are the world’s largest and most powerful locomotives, our readers will be interested in noting some of the specifications: 132 feet, 10 inches long, weighing 1,189,500 pounds, it will hold 28 tons of coal and 25,ooo gallons of water, and has a tractive power of 135,375 pounds. Cab of the locomotive is all steel, insulated and there are four upholstered seats. Setting a world standard for size and power, the frame of the new locomotive is hinged in the center to permit it to make turns it otherwise would not be able to negotiate.

The increasing demands to handle more and faster vital freight shipments, now being made upon Union Pacific and all other railroads during the current national defense crisis, makes the delivery of this railroad’s twenty new “4000” locomotives an important defense project—a further aid to “Keep ‘Em Rolling!” (UPCCEM, December 1941)

YouTube Video: The Union Pacific Steam Locomotive 8444
by Skip Weythman May 7, 2007

THE STEAM ENGINE THAT ROLLED THROUGH HANNA

Click on the play button to start the video.

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)

Hanna Coal Chute, 1955. Steam engine X3998 taking off after filling up with water and coal. (Don and Phyllis Shipman Family collection from Randy shipman)

Steam engine X3998 rolling through Hanna in 1955 (Don and Phyllis Shipman Family collection from Randy shipman)

2014 May 7: The Union Pacific steam engine "Big Boy" No. 4014 rolled through Hanna headed to Cheyenne, Wyoming for repairs. (While Family from Bob Leathers)

Hanna Switch Engine Crew

The locomotive Engineer was the most heroic and glamorous figure during the nineteenth century, for he was the one that was capable of making the steam locomotive come to life and pull the train on its journey. If the locomotive needed to be repaired in a remote area, he was the one who fixed it. The nineteenth century locomotive Engineer enjoyed the privileges of the office. On many railroads the engineer was allowed customize the ways his engine painted. Many altered the sound of the whistle by placing wooden stops in it, to create a unique and distinct sound. To become an engineer he had to work his way up. Quite often he started out years before as a Wiper in a yard house, then worked his way up to Engine Watchman, then to Switch-engine Fireman, then Road Fireman, then Hostler, then to Engineer.

The Engineer is the person in charge of and responsible for the locomotive(s). An Engineer is responsible for preparing equipment for service, checking paperwork and the condition of the locomotives. He is also in charge of the mechanical operation of the train including controlling steam pressure, boiler water level, fire box temperature, acceleration, braking and handling of the train underway. He needs to know the physical characteristics of the railroad, including passenger stations, the incline and decline of the right-of-way and speed limits. As the train is moving he watches for obstructions on the rails ahead. Along with the conductor, the engineer monitors time so the train doesn't fall behind schedule, nor leave stations early. The train's speed must be reduced when following other trains, approaching route diversions, or when regulating time over road to avoid arriving too early. (RailsWest.Com)

Front Row: Jim Richardson, Ivan Winchel, Bill Chapman Back Row: Jim Bell, Bernard LaBrie, Ted Rutchman, and Adam Uhrich (Don and Phyllis Shipman Collection from Randy Shipman)

Hanna Switch Engineer: Jim Richardson (Don and Phyllis Shipman Collection from Randy Shipman)

Hanna Mail Pickup and Delivery

The first recorded use of the railroads to carry the mail was on a route from Philadelphia to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, beginning in December 1832. The United States Congress officially designated all railroads as official postal routes in July 1838. Initially, mail was sorted only at the distributing post offices. Eventually the Postal Agents began opening the bags they picked up along the route and distributing the mail to the bags that were being dropped off further down the line. An increasing volume of mail during the Civil War led to the beginning of a national railway mail system in 1864. In 1869, the Railway Mail Service was officially inaugurated, employing RPO Clerks, or Railway Mail Clerks, to handle the transportation and sorting of mail aboard specially designed Railway Post Office cars on passenger trains. (RailsWest.Com)

Phyllis Shipman hung the mail bag each day for train pickup. The mail train speared the mail bag on its way through town each day.1950-1960. (Don and Phyllis Shipman Collection from Randy Shipman)

Hanna Section Crews

Section Crews, or Section Gangs as they were commonly known, were responsible for maintaining a several mile long section of track. They typically lived along the section of track they were responsible for and rode handcars to look for, and replace, rotted ties, tamp loose spikes, tighten bolts, reinforcing roadbeds and clearing weeds and debris.(RailsWest.Com)

Many of the men working to maintain the Union Pacific Railroad tracks after they have been laid were primarily non English speaking men. The work was hard and extremely dangerous.

Many of the men employed on the tracks speak little or no English. Their work includes riding many miles to and from their tasks on motor cars. They unload from railroad cars, steel rails that weigh as much as 100 pounds to the yard, a 33-foot rail weighing in excess of 1,200 pounds. Thousands of creosoted cross ties pass through their hands monthly and all this material, not to mention thousands of cubic yards of ballast is placed in the tracks. They dodge trains - the long, slow freight trains and fast mail trains. Wind. snow, sleet and below zero weather at times confront them. (UPCCEM, Feb 1929)

While the following video on railroad track work was not taken on the Union Pacific Railroad or in the Hanna Basin, it still demonstrates what track work was like.

Track Work - Then and Now: YouTube

The Gandy Dancer

A Gandy Dancer is a slang term for workers who maintained railroad tracks in North America. Over time the weight of trains over curves would cause the track to shift outward. Nineteenth and early twentieth century track crews used specialized hand tools known as gandies to align rail tracks into position. For each stroke, each worker would lift his gandy and force it into the ballast to create a fulcrum, then in unison with other workers use his full weight so the gandy would push the rail toward the inside of the curve. (RailsWest.Com)

While the following video about Gandy Dancers was not on the Union Pacific Railroad or taken in the Hanna Basin, it provides a classic representation of what the Gandy Dancer's job was all about, even in the Hanna Basin.

Gandy Dancers 1973: YouTube

Hanna Trains Today

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)