Union Pacific Challenger

Last updated
Union Pacific Challenger
Union Pacific Challenger 3985 01.jpg
Union Pacific 3985 runs through Alton, Iowa, on October 1, 2008
Type and origin
Power typeSteam
DesignerCSA Class : Arthur H. Fetter
4664 Class : Otto Jabelmann
Builder American Locomotive Company (ALCO)
Build date1936–1944
Total produced105 + (6 Denver & Rio Grande Western)
Specifications
Configuration:
​
 •  Whyte 4-6-6-4
 •  UIC (2′C)C2′ h4g
Gauge 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Driver dia.69 in (1,753 mm)
Wheelbase 60 ft 4+1⁄2 in (18.402 m) Engine
121 ft 10+7⁄8 in (37.157 m) Engine + tender
Adhesive weight 4664-3/4 : 403,700 lb (183,115 kg)
4664-5 : 406,200 lb (184,249 kg)
CSA-1/2 : 399,840 lb (181,364 kg)
Loco weight4664-3/4 : 627,000 lb (284,000 kg)
4664-5 : 634,500 lb (287,800 kg) CSA-1/2 : 566,950 lb (257,160 kg)
Tender weight4664-3/4 : 436,500 lb (198,000 kg)
4664-5 : 434,500 lb (197,086 kg)
CSA-1/2 : 322,600 lb (146,329 kg)
Total weight4664-3/4 : 1,063,500 lb (482,400 kg)
4664-5 : 1,069,000 lb (484,890 kg)
CSA-1/2 : 889,550 lb (403,493 kg)
Fuel type Coal, oil
Fuel capacity32 short tons (29 t; 29 long tons)
6,450 US gal (24,400 L; 5,370 imp gal) UP3985
Water cap.25,000 US gal (95,000 L; 21,000 imp gal)
Firebox:​
 • Grate area4664 Class : 132 sq ft (12 m2) (grate removed in 1990)
CSA-1/2 = 108.25 sq ft (10 m2)
Boiler94 in (2,400 mm)
Boiler pressure4664-3/4/5 : 280 lbf/in2 (1.93 MPa)
CSA-1/2 : 255 lbf/in2 (1.76 MPa)
Heating surface:​
 • Firebox4664-3/4 : 602 sq ft (55.9 m2)
4664-5 : 602 sq ft (55.9 m2)
CSA-1/2 = 548 sq ft (50.9 m2)
 • Tubes527 sq ft (49.0 m2)
 • Flues3,687 sq ft (342.5 m2)
 • Total surface4,795 sq ft (445.5 m2)
Superheater:
​
 • Heating area2,162 sq ft (200.9 m2)
Cylinders Four
Cylinder size 4664-3/4/5 : 21 in × 32 in (533 mm × 813 mm)
CSA-1/2 : 22 in × 32 in (559 mm × 813 mm)
Performance figures
Maximum speed70 mph (110 km/h)
Tractive effort 4664-3/4/5 : 97,352 lbf (433.04 kN)
CSA-1/2 : 97,305 lbf (432.83 kN)
Factor of adh. 4664-3/4 : 4.15
4664-5 : 4.17
CSA-1/2 : 4.11
Career
Operators Union Pacific Railroad
Class CSA-1, CSA-2, 4664-3, 4664-4, 4664-5
PreservedTwo (Nos. 3985 and 3977)
Restored No. 3985; April 1981
Disposition No. 3985 under restoration, No. 3977 on display, remainder scrapped

The Union Pacific Challengers are a type of simple articulated 4-6-6-4 steam locomotive built by American Locomotive Company (ALCO) from 1936 to 1944 and operated by the Union Pacific Railroad until the late 1950s.

Contents

A total of 105 Challengers were built in five classes. They were nearly 122 ft (37 m) long and weighed 537 short tons (487 tonnes). They operated over most of the Union Pacific system, primarily in freight service, but a few were assigned to the Portland Rose and other passenger trains. Their design and operating experience shaped the design of the Big Boy locomotive type, which in turn shaped the design of the last three orders of Challengers.

Two Union Pacific Challengers survive. The most notable is Union Pacific No. 3985, which was restored by the Union Pacific in 1981, then operated in excursion service as part of its heritage fleet program. Mechanical problems forced it out of service in October 2010; it was retired in January 2020 after the restoration of the 4-8-8-4 Big Boy 4014 [1] [2] and eventually donated to the Railroading Heritage of Midwest America in 2022, where the locomotive is undergoing a second restoration. [3] The only other surviving Challenger is UP No. 3977, which is on display in North Platte, Nebraska.

History

Description

The name "Challenger" was given to steam locomotives with a 4-6-6-4 wheel arrangement: four wheels in the leading pilot truck to guide the locomotive into curves, two sets of six driving wheels, and four trailing wheels to support the rear of the engine and its massive firebox. Each set of driving wheels is driven by two steam cylinders. In essence, the result is two engines under one boiler. Union Pacific developed five types of Challengers: the "light" CSA-1 and CSA-2 classes and the "heavy" 4664–3, 4664–4, and 4664-5 classes.

The railroad sought powerful locomotives that could handle mountain grades at high speeds. Previously, articulated locomotives had been limited to slow speeds by their design. Technical breakthroughs allowed the UP Challengers to operate with 280 lbf/in2 (1.93 MPa) boiler pressure, something usually reserved for passenger locomotives like the FEF Series. They had 69-inch (1,800 mm) drivers, mammoth wheels usually seen on passenger locomotives only because freight engines normally require the extra torque provided by smaller wheels.[ clarification needed ] Speeds in excess of 60 miles per hour (100 km/h), while unheard-of on most other railroads using articulated steam locomotives, became commonplace on the Union Pacific.

When the first Challengers entered service in 1936, on the UP's main line over the Wasatch Range between Green River and Ogden, the locomotives had problems climbing the steep grades. For most of the route, the maximum grade is 0.82% in either direction, but the climb eastward from Ogden, into the Wasatch Range, reached 1.14%. Hauling a 3,600- short-ton (3,300  t ; 3,200- long-ton ) freight train demanded double heading and helper operations, and adding and removing helper engines slowed operations. Those limitations prompted the introduction of the Big Boy in 1941, as well as a redesign of the last three orders from 1942 to 1944.

Using the experience from the Big Boy, UP chief mechanical engineer, Otto Jabelmann, redesigned the last three orders of Challengers in 1941. The result was a locomotive in working order weighing some 317 short tons (288 t; 283 long tons) accompanied by a tender weighing 174 short tons (158 t; 155 long tons) when 2/3 loaded. Calculated tractive effort is 97,350 lbf (433.0 kN). From 1941, the Challengers were intended to speed up freight operations on the grades across Wyoming; the Wasatch Range climb east from Ogden was taken over by unassisted Big Boys.

Construction

The 105 locomotives were ordered in five batches: the first two of light Challengers, and the final three of heavy Challengers. Along with the Big Boys, the Challengers arrived on the scene just as traffic was surging in preparation for American participation in World War II.

Table of orders and numbers [4]
ClassQuantityManufacturerSerial Nos.Year builtUP No.Notes
CSA-115American Locomotive Company68745–6875919363900–3914Converted to oil fuel in 1941–43; renumbered 3800–3814 in 1944. All scrapped between 1957 and 1958.
CSA-225American Locomotive Company68924–6894819373915–3939Converted to oil fuel; renumbered 3815–3839 in 1944. All scrapped in 1958.
4664-320American Locomotive Company69760–6977919423950–39693968 converted to oil fuel in 1946, renumbered 3944 in 1946. 3967 hauled an excursion train for the Rocky Mountain Railroad Club from Denver, Colorado to Laramie, Wyoming on May 17, 1953. [5] [6] All scrapped between 1958 and 1959.
4664-431American Locomotive Company70158–70162
70169–70182
70678–70683		19433975–399931 built but only 25 delivered to UP (see below); 3975–3984 converted to oil fuel in 1945; renumbered 3708–3717 in 1952. No. 3985 in excursion service from 1981 to 2010. 3977 preserved and on static display, remainder scrapped in 1957.
4664-520American Locomotive Company72792–7281119443930–39493930/31/32/34/37/38/43/44 converted to oil fuel in 1952 and renumbered 3700–3707. All scrapped between 1957 and 1959.

As part of Union Pacific's fourth order in 1943, ALCO built thirty-one locomotives for Union Pacific using the same specifications. However, the War Production Board diverted six locomotives after completion to the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad via a lease through the War Department's Defense Plant Corporation. Locomotives 3900-3905 formed the Rio Grande's Class L-97. [7] These were later sold to Clinchfield Railroad in 1947 and were renumbered as 670–675, where they formed the Clinchfield's Class E-3; these six Challengers were eventually retired in 1953. [8]

Preservation

Only two Challengers survive, both from the 4664-4 order built in 1943. No. 3977 is on static display in North Platte, Nebraska. No. 3985 was restored to operating condition by Union Pacific in 1981 and used in excursion service until mechanical problems sent it back into storage in October 2010. It was officially retired in January 2020 and stored in Cheyenne, Wyoming, but has since been acquired by the Railroading Heritage of Midwest America (RRHMA) in Little Silvis Shops in Silvis, Illinois, where the locomotive is now being restored to operation once again. [9] [3]

Surviving Challenger locomotives
TypeNumberImageDate builtSerial numberLocationCoordinatesNotes
4664-43977 Union Pacific Challenger No. 3977.png June 194370160Cody Park, North Platte, Nebraska 41°08′52″N100°45′11″W / 41.147853°N 100.753113°W / 41.147853; -100.753113 (Challenger 3977) Was renumbered to 3710 in 1952.
4664-4 3985 Union Pacific No. 3985 "Challenger" (September 28, 2008) (2903831916).jpg July 194370174Railroading Heritage of Midwest America, Silvis, Illinois 41°7′46.9308″N104°48′49.1688″W / 41.129703000°N 104.813658000°W / 41.129703000; -104.813658000 (Challenger 3985) No. 3985 was restored in 1981 and used by Union Pacific on excursions until October 14, 2010, when mechanical problems forced it from service. It was officially retired from UP excursion service in January 2020. In April 2022, No. 3985 was donated to the RRHMA. In November 2022, the locomotive was sent to the RRHMA's workshops in Silvis, IL. [9] [3] Restoration work began in January 2023. [10]

See also

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References

  1. ↑ Keefe, Kevin. "The Challenger at high tide". Classic Trains.
  2. ↑ "Union Pacific No. 3985's next stop - Trains Magazine - Trains News Wire, Railroad News, Railroad Industry News, Web Cams, and Forms". cs.trains.com. Retrieved 2020-04-05.
  3. 1 2 3 Glischinski, Steve (April 28, 2022). "Railroading Heritage of Midwest America, Union Pacific agree to donation of Challenger, other locomotives, cars". Trains. Kalmbach Publishing. Archived from the original on April 28, 2022. Retrieved April 28, 2022.
  4. ↑ Drury 2015, p. 319.
  5. ↑ Wright (1942) , p. 413
  6. ↑ "Union Pacific's 40th Anniversary Steam Excursion DVD". Pentrex. Archived from the original on May 11, 2017. Retrieved June 14, 2019.
  7. ↑ Kalmbach, A.C., ed. (August 1944). "Almost Identical Twins". Trains Magazine. 4: 29.
  8. ↑ Solomon 2009, p. 72.
  9. 1 2 "Railroading Heritage of Midwest America - official website". Railroading Heritage of Midwest America. Archived from the original on April 28, 2022. Retrieved April 28, 2022.
  10. ↑ "Work begins on Union Pacific Challenger No. 3985". Trains. Retrieved 2023-01-07.

Bibliography

Further reading

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