Union Pacific 3985

Union Pacific 3985
UP 3985 running through Alton, Iowa in October 2008
Type and origin
Power type Steam
Builder American Locomotive Company (ALCO)
Serial number 70174
Build date July 1943
Specifications
Configuration:
 ​
 • Whyte 4-6-6-4
 • UIC (2′C) C2′ h4
Gauge 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Driver dia. 69 in (1,753 mm)
Adhesive weight 404,000 lb (183,000 kg; 183 t)
Total weight 1,073,900 lb (487,100 kg; 487.1 t)
Boiler pressure 280 lbf/in2 (1.93 MPa)
Cylinders Four
Cylinder size 21 in × 32 in (533 mm × 813 mm)
Performance figures
Power output 5,000 hp (3,700 kW)
Tractive effort 97,350 lbf (433.03 kN)
Factor of adh. 4.15
Career
Operators Union Pacific Railroad
Class 4664-4
Number in class 11 of 25
Numbers
  • UP 3985
  • UP 3967
  • UP 3718
  • Clinchfield 676
Nicknames "Challenger"
Last run 1957
Retired 1962
Restored 1981
Disposition 1472-day rebuild, based on Cheyenne, Wyoming, at roundhouse

Union Pacific 3985, or UP 3985, is a four-cylinder simple articulated 4-6-6-4 Challenger-type steam locomotive owned and operated by Union Pacific Railroad in the Western United States. It was built in 1943 by the American Locomotive Company of Schenectady, New York. The locomotive is one of only two of the original 105 Union Pacific Challengers in existence, along with UP 3977, which is on static display in North Platte, Nebraska. UP 3985 was the largest and heaviest operational preserved steam locomotive in the world until mechanical problems took it offline in 2010.[1]

Since then, UP 3985 has been stored at Union Pacific's Steam Shops in Cheyenne, Wyoming. In 2015, UP officials announced that the locomotive would be repaired and returned to excursion service in 2021 or 2022. If so, it would become the world's second-largest operating steam locomotive, after UP 4014.

Design

Designed by UP chief mechanical engineer Otto Jabelmann in 1941, UP 3985 was part of the second order of this second version of the Challenger. The design drew on recent experience with the enormous 4-8-8-4 Big Boy locomotives, and resulted in a locomotive in working order weighing some 317 short tons (288 t; 283 long tons) accompanied by a tender weighing 174 short tons (158 t; 155 long tons) when 2/3 loaded. Calculated tractive effort is 97,350 lbf (433.0 kN). The Challenger class was intended to speed up freight operations on the 0.82% grades across Wyoming; the 1.14% Wasatch climb east from Ogden was to be conquered by the Big Boys without helpers. The Challengers and Big Boys arrived on the scene just as traffic was surging in preparation for American participation in World War II.

Service and restoration

UP 3985 Westbound at Sloat, California, 2005

UP 3985 operated in its last "revenue" train service in 1957.[1] The locomotive was retired in 1962 and, after many years of storage in a roundhouse at Cheyenne, Wyoming, UP 3985 was placed on an outdoor display beside the Cheyenne depot in 1975.

Beginning in 1979, a group of Union Pacific employee-volunteers started work on restoring the locomotive, and it was returned to operational condition in 1981.[1] Originally a coal-burner, to prevent lineside grass fires it was successfully converted to oil firing in 1990.

In 1991, No. 3985 was chosen to pull the Clinchfield Santa Train (as Clinchfield 676). Stationed at Cheyenne with other equipment in the UP's heritage collection, it was used for excursion trains and occasionally mainline freight on ferry moves. It was in the maintenance shop at Cheyenne in 2007 and underwent necessary repairs for service in 2008.

In September 2010, No. 3985 was selected to pull the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus Train from Cheyenne to Denver, Colorado, where the circus held a special performance to celebrate P.T. Barnum's birthday.

The locomotive last ran in October 2010. In need of repairs, it was then stored in Cheyenne, where it was placed second in line behind Union Pacific 4014 in the restoration order. On February 26, 2015, Union Pacific senior manager of Heritage Operations Ed Dickens Jr. announced that UP 3985 will be returned to excursion service in 2021 or 2022. The work on UP 4014 is slated for completion in 2019, after which the restoration of UP 3985 will begin.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "The History of the Challengers". www.uprr.com. Archived from the original on 2009-04-02. Retrieved 2009-03-23.
  • Ehernberger, "Challenger Portraits", Challenger Press, Cheyenne, WY, 1993.
  • Kratville, "The Challenger Locomotives", Kratville Publications, Omaha, NE, 1980.
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