My brother Bruce called to inform me that Union Pacific 4-6-6-4 3985 was going to be visiting Pocatello, Idaho for the city's 100th Anniversary, followed the next weekend by its first public excursion from Salt Lake City to Provo, Utah. The excursion was sponsored by the Promontory Chapter of the National Railway Hitsorical Society, formed in 1967.
I planned a trip which would have me arrive in Pocatello two days before the steam train's arrival and leaving Ogden the night of the excursion. My friend Bill Compton would join us on the day Union Pacific 3985 was going to Salt Lake City. Bruce bought us three tickets for the steam excursion and made my Amtrak reservation on the Desert Wind to Ogden, and Bruce picked me up and took me to Pocatello.
After riding one of the Family Days excursions on June 19, I spent part of that night in the cab of the Challenger listening to the fireman's railroading stories over the years, which were most fascinating.
Union Pacific 3985 First Public Excursion 6/26/1982
Early Saturday morning, the three of us drove down to Salt Lake City for Union Pacific 3985's first public excursion to Provo, Utah.
Coming out of North Yard on the way to the station.
My ticket for the excursion.
Union Pacific's Provo Subdivision.
The route map. This and the above taken from the handout that everyone received. The consist was Union Pacific 3985, baggage car 5716, coaches 5468, 5472, 5473, lounge car 6203, coaches 5474, 5475, 5480 and 5482, lounge car 6206, coaches 5485, 5484 and 5486, and dome coach 7006. Many people were chasing the train.
We stopped at Point of the Mountain for a runby and I walked to the sunny side and was told to come back to the shady side.
The photo runby from the shady side of the train. We continued to Provo and the train was wyed at the yard south of town before returning north and setting trackside fires as it had been very dry in Utah, unlike Idaho, which had
had plenty of rain, so no fires were started there. We stopped for another photo runby at Point of the Mountain and Union Pacific 3985 threw sparks, setting the hill behind us on fire.
The train reversed and the wind changed direction, blowing the fire towards the photo line, which was moved forward three times before the runby itself occurred. The wind shifted again and as we rounded Point of the Mountain, the fire came over the ridge towards us, after which the train returned to Salt Lake City.
Union Pacific 3985 wyeing at Grant Tower. Bruce drove us back to Ogden, where Bill and I waited for the Desert Wind to take us home.
Note: A few years later, Union Pacific's Steam Crew converted the Challenger from a coal burner to an oil burner, which allowed it to be run almost anywhere on their system, thereby ended most of the trackside fire problems.| RETURN TO THE MAIN PAGE |
