UP Steam

[pajrr]

Hi, Can anybody tell me about the status of UP 844 and 3985? No UP steam has run for a while. I'm just curious what type of repairs are going on with them.

[Wizlish]

There have been threads on this in several places over the past few months.

UP is taking a 'total quality' approach toward Steam Shop operations.  Some people here think that is a good idea, some think it is a misguided approach with machinery that has the characteristics of large American steam.  There have been several presentations since March by Ed Dickens, and you can find them fairly easily on YouTube.

844 is supposedly set to run by the end of the year.  It will be interesting to see what happens as we get further into the fall to make that come about.

I expect work on 4014 to substitute almost entirely for work on restoring 3985 to service, and I also expect that operations involving 4014 will take up most of the time that woujld be spent on 3985 after the Big Boy restoration is done.  I think I have seen indications that work on 3985 will actively resume sometime around 2023 ... the 'good news' being that so far there are no indications whatever that 3985 will be left unrestored, or 'stuffed and mounted'.

I am still keeping an eye on the popcorn source when the oil firing system for 4014 starts to get full-scale road testing.  If there are problems there, work on 3985 might well be bumped up in priority.

 

[rgbpainter]

"I am still keeping an eye on the popcorn source when the oil firing system for 4014 starts to get full-scale road testing." There is, of course, a huge difference between the firing requirements in Flatland and those on Sherman Hill. The loco might be perfectly suited to running to Cheyenne Wells (does UP go there?) but unable to get out of Cheyenne when westbound. I'm not an expert, I hope that fact isn't showing.