My brother Bruce called to tell me take Union Pacific 3985 would be visiting Pocatello for the town's 100th Anniversary. The next weekend it would be running its first public excursion from Salt Lake City to Provo. A trip was then planned with me arriving Pocatello two days before Union Pacific 3985's arrival and leaving Ogden the night of the excursion. Bill would come on the day Union Pacific 3985 would be heading to Salt Lake City. Bruce got us three tickets for the Union Pacific 3985 excursion and made my Amtrak Reservation. For the train riding story of this trip, click on the link below.
Train Trip6/16/1982 The day before the Union Pacific 3985 would be arriving, Bruce and I went east on US 30 to scout locations.
6/17/1982 Bruce and I drove east to Montpelier.
Here we found the Union Pacific 3985 being serviced. After a quick picture, we drove west to Mason where we set up for our first action shot.
The train came around the bend and click. I made the mistake of turning to watch it, getting a face load of hot cinders.
We drove west racing the Union Pacific 3985 easily to our next location of Alexander where the Grace Branch took off for this picture of Union Pacific 3985 racing by.
Back in the Pinto and moving west, we reached the west end of Topaz for this shot. We gave up the Challenger to go get Bruce's truck which had gotten stuck to day before by heavy rains when we were out wood cutting. It had dried out nicely and we returned to Pocatello in time to watch the end of the wying process. That ended our first day of Union Pacific 3985.
6/19/1982
Two mornings later, we went down to the west end of the yard and caught Union Pacific 3985 heading to the station for display, the start of Union Pacific's Family Days and the Pocatello Centennial Celebration.
Here is a picture of Union Pacific 3985 on display at the Pocatello Station with the Family Days Special diesel powered train waiting for its first passenger trip of the celebration.
6/20/1982 Today the Union Pacific 3985 would run east to McCammon to wye then return to Inkom where it would pick up the Governor of Idaho to bring him into Pocatello to cap the 100 Year Celebration in Pocatello. I drove out east to the beautiful Portneuf River Canyon at the East Inkom Hold to wait for Union Pacific 3985 to come by.
A Family Day train arrived first.
A few minutes later, Union Pacific 3985 appeared with its short special train.
I jumped into the Pinto and raced ahead of the train shooting him right before he reached McCammon where it would then would wye.
Here is a picture of Union Pacific 3985 wying at McCammon.
I drove back to the East Inkom Hold for my next picture of Union Pacific 3985.
The train then ran to Inkom to pick up the Governor of Idaho.
Later back in Pocatello, here is Union Pacific 3985 wying again.
Union Pacific 3985 to Salt Lake City 6/21/1982Up early Bruce and I went to the east end of the Pocatello Yard for the first shot of the day.
The Union Pacific 3985 left Pocatello for Salt Lake City.
We headed south down Interstate 15 to Arimo where we found a road up onto the bluff for this coming and going shot.
We drove down to pick up a waiting Bill in Ogden before back tracking north to Hot Springs, Utah where we found the Union Pacific 3985 heading towards us.
The chase was on and we got ahead of the Union Pacific 3985 again for this shot at Perry.
We headed south again getting back in front and running to Brigham City catching the Union Pacific 3985 there as well.
Due to slow trackage in Ogden, we got ahead of him getting the Union Pacific 3985 passing the Ogden Depot with the Desert Wind waiting for its nightly departure.
Back in the car we got ahead quickly catching Union Pacific 3985 coming around the wye at Ogden.
We got to Interstate 15 again and headed south to Farmington getting the Union Pacific 3985 running under the test centenary there for our last shot of the day. We returned to Pocatello.
Bill and I would venture out during the week to Salt Lake City to shot the Rio Grande Zephyr.
We went to Boise to see Morrison Knudsen.
Ex Rock Island units where all lined up waiting for future uses.
Union Pacific 3985 First Public Excursion Salt Lake City to Ogden 6/28/1982Bill, myself and Bruce drove down to Salt Lake City the morning of the excursion.
We caught Union Pacific 3985 coming out of the UP's North Yard heading towards the station.
Later aboard the train with Union Pacific 3985 setting track side fires as it went we stopped at Point of the Mountain to do a Photo Runby.
I got off and went to the sunny side for this shot before he backed.
We were all herded to the shady side for the runby picture. We then ran to Provo, wyed the train and on the way back stopped on the south flank of Point of the Mountain for another Photo Runby.
The Union Pacific 3985 did the Photo Runby and the ciders from the steam engine set the side of the mountain on fire and we could see the smoke from the major blaze all the way back to Salt Lake City.
The final shot of the trip of Union Pacific 3985 was at Grant Tower where it went to wye. Bruce drove Bill and I back to Ogden where we took the Desert Wind home to California.
