(The Associated Press circulated the following on June 16, 2009.)
OMAHA, Neb. — The last steam engine built for Union Pacific is preparing to cross Nebraska for this weekend’s Railroad Days events in Omaha.
The locomotive will leave Cheyenne, Wyo., on Thursday and travel to North Platte, Neb. Then on Friday, it will cross the rest of Nebraska on its way to Omaha.
UP’s No. 844 locomotive will be displayed at the Durham Western Heritage Museum on Saturday and Sunday during Omaha’s celebration of railroad history. It will also be displayed in Council Bluffs, Iowa, on Monday before leaving the area.
The locomotive was delivered for Union Pacific in 1944. The engine pulled passenger trains at first but in the 1950s was switched to freight duty in Nebraska.
UP 844 is now used on special occasions by Omaha-based Union Pacific.