(The following article by Art Chapman was posted on the Fort Worth Star-Telegram on January 25.)
FORT WORTH — The world’s largest operating steam locomotive snaked its way across eight states and two time zones last week, slowly heading for Houston and Super Bowl XXXVIII.
Union Pacific Railroad’s Challenger No. 3985 left its home base of Cheyenne, Wyo., dipped briefly into Colorado, then crossed portions of Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois and Arkansas.
It was scheduled to spend the night in Tyler and leave this morning for Corsicana, where it will stop for a 30-minute layover before heading to Hearne — just north of College Station — and an overnight rest.
“A lot of this trip is just about history,” said Mark Davis, a Union Pacific spokesman who is on board the train. “We have served Houston for years. The track that we will be coming in on was built in 1860.
“We’re just matching the world’s largest operating steam locomotive with one of the world’s greatest sporting events.”
The tracks, among the oldest in Houston, were built by the Houston Tap & Brazoria Railway, a predecessor of Union Pacific.
The Challenger is a railroad lover’s delight. The Union Pacific Web site — up.com — describes No. 3985 as being built in 1943. “It is an articulated locomotive with a ‘hinged’ frame that allows it to negotiate curves,” the company literature explains.
The engine is 122 feet long, weighs more than 1 million pounds, has 6-foot diameter drive wheels and can reach a top speed of 70 mph.
“No. 3985 was built for fast freight service. It was retired in 1959, but UP employee volunteers restored it to running condition in 1981 for special service,” Union Pacific says.
The train is used every year on a trip from Denver to Cheyenne, Wyo., and the Cheyenne Frontier Days, Davis said. There are generally two or three special excursions each spring and summer.
This winter trip is even more dramatic.
“In this cold weather, the steam just billows out,” Davis said. “It looks impressive.”
The response to the train “has been phenomenal,” he said.
The Challenger was scheduled to spend one night in St. Louis, but because of mechanical problems it ended up staying in the Missouri city four days.
The public turned out every day to see the giant steam engine. In Chester, Ill., a small place along the Mississippi River, people actually stopped their cars along the roadside and ran down the tracks as the train passed by.
There are no dignitaries riding the special train; the local communities don’t get to send a chamber of commerce group for a free ride. The exhibit includes the massive steam engine and seven support cars.
When the 122-foot train arrives in Houston, it will be on display just east of Reliant Stadium.
No. 3985 was designed by Union Pacific and built by the American Locomotive Co. It is one of 105 Challengers built for Union Pacific between 1936 and 1943 and is the only operating engine of its class in the world, the company says.
The Challengers were designed for freight service but occasionally pulled passenger trains. No. 3985 originally burned coal and pulled a tender with a 32-ton capacity. In 1990, it was converted to use No. 5 oil.
It is scheduled to arrive at 7th and Beaton in Corsicana at 10:30 a.m. and at 2003 Market St. in Hearne at 2 p.m.
It will depart Monday for Houston at 8 a.m.
It will leave Houston Feb. 3 for its return trip to Wyoming.