SOME THINGS TO GET STEAMED UP ABOUT.

Once Union Pacific restored Big Boy 4014 to steam, their smaller Challenger 3985, which had been the world's largest active steam locomotive, shown off inter alia on a stack train and rolling The Greatest Show on Earth, was put into honorable retirement.

That retirement is short-lived.  Sometimes there is mutual benefit in downsizing.

Union Pacific has agreed to donate more than a dozen pieces of historic railroad equipment — including one of the world’s largest steam locomotives to run in the preservation era and a rare 2-10-2 that hasn’t run in decades — to the non-profit Railroading Heritage of Midwest America.

Officials with Railroading Heritage of Midwest America, which also owns Milwaukee Road 4-8-4 261 and recently acquired the former Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad shop complex in Silvis, Ill., said it plans to restore both steam locomotives, 4-6-6-4 ‘Challenger’ 3985 and 2-10-2 5511, to operating condition. The Challenger will be restored first and 5511 will follow.

Other rolling stock has potential for excursions or for show.

Besides the steam locomotives, the equipment being donated to Railroading Heritage of Midwest America includes the last operational DDA40X “Centennial” 6936; an un-restored E9B; four coaches and a diner lounge from the 1950s; a baggage car; a caboose; and two historic business cars, “Selma,” which was previously Western Pacific’s “Feather River,” and “Stanford,” a former Southern Pacific car built in 1928. The group plans to repaint the business cars into their historic WP and SP liveries and offer them for charters on Amtrak and private trips. Most of the remaining cars will be repainted in Milwaukee Road colors, like the rest of its passenger fleet.

All of the equipment will be moved to the Silvis shops later this year. Railroading Heritage of Midwest America plans on turning that massive 400,000-square-foot building into the largest historic railroad equipment restoration facility in the country.

That mudsucker returning to operation is interesting. Union Pacific had 5511 on hand for years, but never ran her.  "With Iowa Interstate’s two Chinese-built QJ 2-10-2s now out of service, No. 5511 will be the only the only operating 2-10-2 in the United States when completed."  Did I mention that Iowa Interstate run right past that shop complex, Silvis being the major repair shop of the Rock Island Lines.  Their Chinese mudsuckers were withdrawn from operation when they came due for their elapsed time inspection.  Whether they will steam again under Iowa Interstate auspices, or perhaps move to the steam shop that is taking shape in Silvis is yet to be determined.  The Milwaukee Road's 261 will also be based in Silvis.

Railroading Heritage of Midwest America will make good use of any tax-deductible contributions you send them.

IMPOSSIBLE TO BE EVERYWHERE. The Iowa Interstate Railroad recently took delivery of two Chinese-built QJ mudsuckers, one each built in 1985 and in 1986.

Image courtesy Steam Train Diaries.

As part of the sesquicentennial of the bridging of the Mississippi River, the locomotives were in steam to the great delight of Quad Cities boosters. Over the weekend, some excursions ran east along the Hennepin Canal to Bureau, where the trains could be wyed. Adding to the excitement, North Star Rail's super 4-8-4, Milwaukee 261, participated.

Tom Lampman photograph from a public Flickr archive.

Look how quickly Wikipedia picks up such things.


Tripleheaded SD90MACs or whatever variant on C60AC-9 GE calls its top-of-the-line diesel these days can walk off more expeditiously with whatever the yardmaster can cobble together. But tripleheaded steam really brings the public to trackside. (I'm not smart enough to figure out how to tap that enthusiasm for the Steam Age to develop awareness that in many ways, THESE are the Good Old Days of railroading. Is anybody at Union Pacific or BNSF or Iowa Interstate making that effort?)