844

Road trips; I just got back from an over-nighter to Omaha, Nebraska and Council Bluffs, Iowa. In 23 hours I renewed two life-long love affairs; one with baseball, the game. It plays with a sense of saving grace, not unlike religion. Leaning forward, slightly crouched as the pitcher delivers, you pray when they hit the ball it comes to you. Grace: simple elegance, a divine blessing. The other love affair stems from wheels that go ‘round, that make noise and go fast. The history of railroads is marked as much by greed and exploitation as it is by progress but those fire breathing machines are irresistible. A good engineer could play the steam whistle as deftly as Van Cliburn played Chopin. The largest of all operating steam locomotives was in town. 

Union Pacific RR steam engine 844 had come to town from its home in Cheyenne, Wyoming to help promote the College World Series. It was parked across the street from the stadium on a spur, unhooked and separated from the rest of the train by only a few yards. A high fence required passing through a gate but the only restraints were signs posted, not to climb on the equipment or touch cables and hoses that ran back to the train. We walked up to the shiny, black behemoth and laid on hands. My partner in this adventure was another old man, old friend. Both of us had stories about steam locomotives from childhood, hanging onto that long, throaty wail, the modulating Wooo-uooo-Woooooo. We were transfixed like ancient sailors, drawn to the siren’s song. Our fate was of straining ears to catch all of the fading whistle-wail. Wheels on the track beat out a clickity-clack but it too would die off in the distance and we were left alone at the crossing with our bicycles.

U.P. 844 is huge. Engine and tender are over 100 ft. in length, the driver wheels are nearly 7 ft. high. The top of the boiler is over 16 ft. Built in 1944 for high speed passenger service, the information placard said it was designed for a top speed of 110 mph. One of the machinists who travels with the train told us the official recorded top speed is 120 but he had been on board when, by his stop watch and mile markers, they topped 130. OMG, to be onboard at 130 mph! That’s how fast jets are going when they lift off the runway. It’s flying low, any way you shake it. WOOOOOOOOOO-uooo! The connecting rods that turn the drive wheels would be moving so fast, . . . so fast. 

I took photographs and talked to the engineer until I ran out of questions. They were moving the train the next day, over to the U.P. yard in Council Bluffs. That meant with some luck I could get photographs of the train, doing what it does best. Checking Google Maps I noticed, the rail bridge across the river was adjacent to a high rise parking structure at Harrah’s Casino on the Iowa side. When we checked it out, sure enough, the rooftop was the perfect spot to catch the train as it crossed over the Missouri River. 

After viewing U.P. 844 at the spur location and watching University of Florida win the final game of the NCAA Baseball Championship, all that was left to do was sleep late, catch breakfast and wait on the rooftop for 844. Several times we heard its whistle and got a glimpse as it made its way south, under the bridge on the Nebraska side. It looped around, had to back up a few miles to switch over to the right set of tracks. At 11:00 a.m. the headlight came into view. The bridge seemed like such a long span; you would think there was plenty of time. When you want it to fly it drags, and vise versa. Engine 844 came into my view finder, the shutter tripped 7, maybe 8 times and it was gone, that fast. There must have been 20 or more, mustard yellow cars with red trim but who wants photos of pullman and domed observation cars? Those passenger slots are reserved for past and present employees, stock holders and VIP’s. You can admire, even lay hands on the train but you can’t buy a ticket.

Two love affairs in 23 hours; that’s a good day by any measure. I’m thinking about a steam train excursion tour; all day out and back with meals served in the dining car and a few hours to walk around Summerville Georgia. Southern Railway’s 4501, out of Chattanooga, built in 1911: somehow it survived the diesel era and avoided the bone yard. Not as big or powerful as U.P. 844 but its story is just as compelling. It has been restored and rebuilt three times, still burns coal and you can buy a ticket.