(The following report appeared on the Marysville Advocate on January 8.)
MARYSVILLE, Kan. — Union Pacific Railroad’s Challenger, steam locomotive No. 3985, will make overnight stops in Marysville going and coming from the Super Bowl at Houston.
The first stop will be eastbound at 4 p.m. Tuesday, and the second westbound at 1:30 p.m. Feb. 10. The Super Bowl is Feb. 1. The locomotive is to leave Marysville at 8 a.m. Jan. 14 and Feb. 11 after an overnight stay.
The historic Challenger is to be spotted on the Bestwall spur in south Marysville.
The 60-year-old engine will be on a nine-state, 3,500-mile tour en route to Houston, where it will be on public display during Super Bowl XXXVIII activities. It will also be on display in Kansas City, St. Louis, Pine Bluff, Ark., and North Little Rock.
“The tour will celebrate railroad heritage,” the UP says in a press release. “Houston is steeped in railroad history and having the world’s largest operating steam locomotive on display during the Super Bowl seemed a natural fit.”
UP’s No. 3985 is so long, 122 feet, it needs a hinged frame to enable it to negotiate curves. The engine weighs more than 1 million pounds, has 6-foot diameter drive wheels and can reach a speed of 70 miles an hour. The engine was built in 1943 for fast freight service during World War II and was retired in 1959. It was restored to running condition in 1981 by UP employee volunteers. The Challenger is based at Cheyenne, Wyo.
The UP is the largest railroad in North America, covering 23 states across the western two-thirds of the United States. Marysville has played a key role in UP history and continues today as a crew-change point for local, Kansas City and North Platte engineers and crewmen.