Better late than never but I thought I would share a few photos of the Union Pacific 844 from September during her westbound trip over Donner Pass. I was able to take some time off work to head up and join a few friends (along with many, MANY other fans) to chase the big FEF over the Sierra's, the weather couldn't have been better and the 844 looked great. We caught the 844 at several places starting off at Sparks, NV. Below are a few shots from the chase...
We arrived in Sparks just after 0700 Thursday morning Sept. 27th to find the 844's crew getting her ready for the journey over the mountain. After getting some shots of the 844 under swirls of steam in the morning light we headed west to our first location of choice... Verdi, NV. After getting to Verdi we began the wait. We were treated to a warm up westbound (Amtrak 5) before the 844 came charging up the eastern slope.
After Verdi we made our way up to Boca, CA then up to Truckee where the 844 would be serviced before heading up to the Summit. After catching the 844 pull into Truckee we made our way up to Andover and before long we could hear the 844 working up Coldstream canyon below us. The sound of the 844's whistle echoing through the canyon was haunting. Even if we didn't shoot one picture at Andover it would have been worth the effort to hike up there just to hear the hard working 844 work up grade.
Here's one more view of the 844 this time from the western slope. We would catch the 844 at a few more locations between Soda Springs and Gold Run before getting to Colfax. This was a close call as there were lots of people getting off I-80 at Colfax to see the steamer pull in. Even though it seemed like we would lose the race to the 174 overpass east of town we decided to go for it anyway. We made it with less than a minute to spare.....
Well, that's all for now. Thanks for looking,
~Ryan
Thanks for showing!
Very nice. Thanks!
Crandell
Great shots. Thanks for sharing.
Tourist Railroads
TheRailroadNation
Great shots, postcard perfect! And whoever's firing 844 really knows his business, no excessive smoke at all, especially in the last two shots. As it should be.
Firelock76 Great shots, postcard perfect! And whoever's firing 844 really knows his business, no excessive smoke at all, especially in the last two shots. As it should be.
We paced the 844 from Verdi to Sacramento and I was wondering how they were firing without the normal amount of smoke. It might be the burner has been reworked or a different fuel was used. The 844 arrived at Truckee with only a light trace of smoke and immediately lifted the pops when they stopped. The fire was very hot and yet very little smoke was made at any time on the Hill. Anyone know what the difference is this year. This locomotive has made this trip at least three times prior leaving a lot of smoke, much more than this trip in September of 2012.
CZ
Homage to Theodore Judah.
With three diesels pushing her I am not surprised there is any smoke. Probably wasn't much throttle either. The 844 was just a hood ornament for that run.
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