Union Pacific 844

Union Pacific 844
UP 844 at Del Rio, Texas
Type and origin Power type Steam Builder American Locomotive Company
Specifications Configuration: ​  • Whyte 4-8-4 Gauge 4 ft 8½ in (1435 mm) Wheelbase 98 ft. 5 in. (locomotive and tender) Adhesive weight 266,490 lb. Total weight 907,890 lb. Fuel type No. 5 fuel oil, originally coal Tender cap. 23,500 gallons water, 6,200 gallons oil Firebox: ​  • Grate area grate removed in 1945 Boiler 86-3/16 in. diameter Boiler pressure 300 psi Heating surface: ​  • Firebox 442 ft²  • Tubes 2,204 ft²  • Flues 1,578 ft²  • Total surface 4,224 ft² Superheater: ​  • Heating area 1,400 ft² Cylinder size 25 in. diameter, 32 in. stroke
Performance figures Factor of adh. 4.18
Career Delivered 1944 Retired never retired Disposition operates in occasional excursion service

Union Pacific 844 is a 4-8-4 steam locomotive owned by Union Pacific Railroad. It was the last steam locomotive delivered to Union Pacific and is unique in that it is the only steam locomotive never retired by a North American Class I railroad. It was designed as a passenger engine and pulled such trains as the Overland Flyer, Los Angeles Limited, Portland Rose and Challenger. It was reassigned to freight service when diesel-electric locomotives took over passenger service and operated from 1957 to 1959 in Nebraska. It was saved from being scrapped in 1960 and is now used on excursion trains.

From 1962-1989, this locomotive was numbered UP 8444 due to a conflict with the railroad's numbering plan for the EMD GP30 locomotives that UP owned at the time. After the conflicting GP30 was retired from service in June 1989, 8444 was renumbered back to 844.

A second 4-8-4, UP 838, is kept in the shops at Cheyenne, Wyoming so that spare parts for 844 can be cannibalized from it.

Union Pacific 844 approaching Hutchinson, Kansas.

External links

• UP Steam Locomotive No. 844 - official website maintained by Union Pacific Railroad
• UP historical locomotives
• The Otto C. Perry Collecton of UP 844