(The following article by Chuck Lentz was posted on the Grand Island Independent website on September 25.)
GRAND ISLAND, Neb. — Skies in Grand Island were a cloudless blue at noon Thursday, but at 12:15, they were smoky in the center of the city as Union Pacific’s huge steam locomotive stopped briefly on its way to Omaha’s River City Roundup.
Running slightly behind schedule, locomotive No. 3985 and its 15 passenger cars rolled to a halt in their two-day run across Nebraska from Cheyenne, Wyo.
The train, pulled by the largest operating steam engine in the world, dropped off several people and picked up approximately 25 at the U.P. freight office east of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe overpass. Passengers included state senators and other dignitaries from various communities.
Those embarking in Grand Island included state Sen. Vickie McDonald of Rockville.
“I’ve never ridden a train across the state of Nebraska,” McDonald said before boarding.
“We’ve seen literally thousands of people watching since we left North Platte this morning,” said Mark Davis, U.P.’s regional director of public relations, who was riding the train.
“This is the payoff for the crews’ months and months of preparation,” Davis said.
Most of the 50 or so observers near the freight office focused on the locomotive, 60 years old this year. Built for fast freight service, No. 3985 was retired in 1959 and restored to running condition in 1981. Almost 122 feet long including its tender, it weighs more than 1 million pounds, has 6-foot-diameter drive wheels and can reach top speeds of 70 miles per hour.