The Union Pacific heritage fleet includes commemorative and historic equipment owned by the Union Pacific Railroad. The fleet currently consists of two historic steam locomotives, three historic diesel locomotives, seventeen modern diesel locomotives in historic or commemorative paint schemes and nearly four dozen passenger cars used on office car specials and excursion trains.
Since 1960, the Union Pacific has operated steam locomotives on a variety of excursions. These include:
UP 4015: a EMD SD70M, assigned to steam operations as the dedicated helper unit to the steam locomotives. No. 4015 operates behind the water cars, providing positive train control data, dynamic braking, and additional motive force to the train as necessary. [2] [3] It is painted in a heritage livery with a green nose and silver trucks, which pay homage to the paint scheme worn by E9s 949, 951, and 963B.
UP 949, 951 and 963B are a trio of streamlined General Motors Electro-Motive Division E9 passenger locomotives built in 1955. They are used to haul the UP business cars during excursions and charter specials. Originally built in 1955, the original twin 1,200-hp 12-cylinder 567 series engines have been replaced with single EMD 16-645E 2000 hp (1.5 MW) engines and the electrical and control equipment similarly upgraded, making them more compatible with more modern locomotives. [4] The set is made of two A units and one B unit, the latter which contains an HEP engine-generator set for powering passenger cars. They are painted in a historic paint scheme that Union Pacific Streamliners wore on such trains as the City of San Francisco and the City of Los Angeles.[ citation needed ] The two A units have been modified to eliminate the nose doors to increase safety in a collision.
UP 951 has carried its original number since its entry into service. UP 949 was built with its current number, but later was sent to the Chicago and North Western Railway and Regional Transportation Authority as CNW/RTA #511 before being reacquired by the UP. [5] UP 963B was built as UP E9B 970B and served as a heater car on Amtrak upon its formation before being reacquired by the UP. [6] [7]
The locomotives last ran in 2017. Since then, they have remained stored in the roundhouse at Cheyenne, WY, awaiting wheel work.[ citation needed ]
Six EMD SD70ACe locomotives are painted in the liveries of railroads acquired by Union Pacific. The company says the locomotives "pay homage to those railroads and the generations of men and women who helped to build a great nation and the foundation for our future". [8]
Six locomotives are painted to honor various people, organizations and sports events:
Five locomotives painted to honor sports events, one organization, a military victory and a U.S. president have been retired or repainted in standard Union Pacific livery:
The Union Pacific operates a fleet of passenger cars that are often used for excursions and office car specials. Originally ordered by a variety of railroads, the oldest dates to 1912, but most were built in the mid-20th century, at the height of passenger train service. The fleet also carries a variety of important people, such as presidents, senators, generals, soldiers, artists, architects, singers and actors. [30]
On April 28, 2022, Union Pacific announced that several pieces of equipment from their Heritage Fleet roster would be donated to the Railroading Heritage of Midwest America (RRHMA), a non-profit organization in Silvis, Illinois. [72] The full list of equipment being donated includes three main pieces: [73]
Besides the three locomotives, other pieces of equipment being donated include an unrestored E9B locomotive, four coaches, a diner lounge car, two business cars, a baggage car, and a caboose. [80] [81]
RRHMA has plans to eventually restore the No. 3985 and 5511 steam locomotives to operating condition. As part of the deal, the Union Pacific has the option to reclaim the equipment at any time upon reimbursing the museum for its costs. [82] On May 13, 2022, RRHMA launched a fundraiser to raise enough money for the restoration of the Nos. 3985 and 5511 steam locomotives. [83] The first five cars were moved to Silvis in August 2022, [84] while the rest of the donated equipment were moved to their new home in November 2022. [85] [86] Restoration efforts on the No. 3985 began in January 2023. [87] [88] [89] As of September 2023, Nos. 3985 and 5511 are under restoration, No. 6936 is undergoing operational repairs, and passenger cars are being repaired and repainted. [90]
The Union Pacific Big Boy is a type of simple articulated 4-8-8-4 steam locomotive manufactured by the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) between 1941 and 1944 and operated by the Union Pacific Railroad in revenue service until 1962.
The Broadway Limited was a passenger train operated by the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) between New York City and Chicago. It operated from 1912 to 1995. It was the Pennsylvania's premier train, competing directly with the New York Central Railroad's 20th Century Limited. The Broadway Limited continued operating after the formation of Penn Central (PC) in February 1968, one of the few long-distance trains to do so. PC conveyed the train to Amtrak in 1971, who operated it until 1995. The train's name referred not to Broadway in Manhattan, but rather to the "broad way" of PRR's four-track right-of-way along the majority of its route.
The Superliner is a type of bilevel intercity railroad passenger car used by Amtrak, the national rail passenger carrier in the United States. Amtrak commissioned the cars to replace older single-level cars on its long-distance trains in the Western United States. The design was based on the Budd Hi-Level cars used by the Santa Fe Railway on its El Capitan trains. Pullman-Standard built 284 cars, known as Superliner I, from 1975 to 1981; Bombardier Transportation built 195, known as Superliner II, from 1991 to 1996. The Superliner I cars were the last passenger cars built by Pullman.
The Super Chief was one of the named passenger trains and the flagship of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. The then-modern streamliner was touted in its heyday as "The Train of the Stars" because it often carried celebrities between Chicago, Illinois, and Los Angeles, California.
The EMD SD70 is a series of diesel-electric locomotives produced by the US company Electro-Motive Diesel. This locomotive family is an extension and improvisation to the EMD SD60 series. Production commenced in late 1992 and since then over 5,700 units have been produced; most of these are the SD70M, SD70MAC, and SD70ACe models. While the majority of the production was ordered for use in North America, various models of the series have been used worldwide. All locomotives of this series are hood units with C-C trucks, except the SD70ACe-P4 and SD70MACH which have a B1-1B wheel configuration, and the SD70ACe-BB, which has a B+B-B+B wheel arrangement.
The EMD SD40-2 is a 3,000-horsepower (2,200 kW) C-C diesel-electric locomotive built by EMD from 1972 to 1989.
The North Coast Limited was a named passenger train operated by the Northern Pacific Railway between Chicago and Seattle via Bismarck, North Dakota. It started on April 29, 1900, and continued as a Burlington Northern Railroad train after the merger on March 2, 1970 with Great Northern Railway and the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad. The next year, it ceased operations after the trains which left their originating stations on April 30, 1971, the day before Amtrak began service, arrived at their destinations.
The Chief was an American long-distance named passenger train of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway that ran between Chicago, Illinois and Los Angeles, California. The Santa Fe initiated the Chief in 1926 to supplement the California Limited. In 1936 the Super Chief was introduced, after the Super Chief was relaunched in 1948 with daily departures from LA and Chicago it gradually eclipsed the Chief as the standard bearer of the Santa Fe because of its timetable oriented to the Raton Pass transit. For some the Chief and San Francisco Chief as deluxe integrated trains with both Pullman sleepers and fully reclining coach seating with all facilities; lounges and pleasure domes, available to all passengers were at least equal flagships better suited to the business and executive market. From the mid 1960s the super Chief was only a small entirely separate section of the El Capitan seated vista train, the El Capitan passengers having no access to the Super Chiefs expensive eateries and bars which selling point was exclusion and service. The Chief was discontinued in 1968 due to high operating costs, competition from airlines, and the loss of Postal Office contracts.
Union Pacific 844 is a class "FEF-3" 4-8-4 "Northern" type steam locomotive owned and operated by the Union Pacific Railroad for its heritage fleet. Built in December 1944 by the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) of Schenectady, New York, No. 844 is one of four surviving FEF series locomotives and the only one in operation.
Union Pacific 3985 is a four-cylinder simple articulated 4-6-6-4 "Challenger"-type steam locomotive built in July 1943 by the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) of Schenectady, New York, for the Union Pacific Railroad. No. 3985 is one of only two Challengers still in existence and the only one to have operated in excursion service.
The Golden State was a named passenger train between Chicago and Los Angeles from 1902–1968 on the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad and the Southern Pacific Company (SP) and predecessors. It was named for California, the “Golden State”.
Union Pacific 6936 is an EMD DDA40X locomotive built for the Union Pacific Railroad (UP). Previously a part of UP's heritage fleet, 6936 was for several decades the last remaining operational "Centennial" type, and thus the largest operational diesel-electric locomotive in the world. It is now owned by the Railroading Heritage of Midwest America in Silvis, Illinois, who plans to return the locomotive to operation.
The Challengers were named passenger trains on the Union Pacific Railroad and the Chicago and North Western Railway. The economy service ran between Chicago, Illinois, and the West Coast of the United States. The trains had full Pullman service and coach seating and were an attempt to draw Depression-Era riders back to the rails. Food service was advertised as "three meals for under a dollar a day."
The Lark was an overnight passenger train of the Southern Pacific Company on the 470-mile (760 km) run between San Francisco and Los Angeles. It became a streamliner in 1941 and was discontinued on April 8, 1968. The Lark ran along the same route as the Coast Daylight and was often pulled by a locomotive wearing the famous Daylight paint scheme of orange, red, and black.
The Monticello Railway Museum is a non-profit railroad museum located in Monticello, Illinois, about 18 miles west of Champaign, IL. It is home to over 100 pieces of railroad equipment, including several restored diesel locomotives and cars.
The Museum of the American Railroad, formerly known as the Age of Steam Railroad Museum, is a railroad museum in Frisco, Texas. The museum has more than 70 pieces of steam, diesel, passenger, and freight railroad equipment sitting on 15 acres making it one of the largest historic rail collections in the US. Guests may walk through some of the equipment on guided tours.
The Cascade was a passenger train of the Southern Pacific on its route between Oakland, California, and Portland, Oregon, with a sleeping car to Seattle, Washington. The Southern Pacific started the train on April 17, 1927, soon after the opening of its Cascade Line between Black Butte, California, and Springfield, Oregon.
The Wisconsin Great Northern Railroad operates a historic train line centered in Trego, Wisconsin on 26 miles of track, between Spooner, Wisconsin and Springbrook, Wisconsin. It was founded on April 1, 1997. The line runs dinner trains, bed and breakfast trains, and scenic sight seeing tours.
Union Pacific 5511 is a 2-10-2 “Santa Fe” type steam locomotive built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1923 as part of the Union Pacific Railroad's TTT-6 class. It is the last remaining member of its class and the only remaining 2-10-2 to be operated by the Union Pacific.