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Kansas City, MO —
The Union Pacific’s No. 844, the company’s last steam locomotive, is on its way at this hour, headed south of Iowa toward Kansas City. Visitors to Union Station can get a look at it from 3:30 p.m. today until it leaves at 8 a.m. Tuesday.
The railroad says the train left Des Moines this morning and made a stop in Chariton, Iowa, before heading on to Trenton, Mo. It arrives there at 11:45 for a half-hour stop, then goes to Polo, Mo., arriving at 1:15 for a half-hour stop.
It then arrives at Union Station at 3:30 p.m. The company says visitors can step aboard a baggage car that’s been transformed into a rolling museum, with exhibits similar to the ones at the UP’s museum in Council Bluffs, Iowa, though the company has not posted hours for that during No. 844’s overnight stay.
At 8 a.m. Tuesday, the train heads out for Topeka and points west, making more than a dozen stops in Kansas and Colorado before arriving Saturday in Cheyenne, Wyo., where it’s housed and maintained.
The railroad is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year. No. 844 is one of two old steam engines that it sends out on goodwill excursions, and it’s been busy this year. It passed Independence, Buckner and Levasy on its way to St. Louis, then south into Arkansas, in March. The railroad took delivery of No. 844 in 1944 – its last steam locomotive – and used it until 1959, mostly for high-speed passenger service.
When the train is rolling, the railroad has been consistent about posting location updates on Twitter. Follow @UP_Steam. Or go to http://www.up.com/aboutup/special_trains/steam/trace.cfm
The Union Pacific’s No. 844, the company’s last steam locomotive, is on its way at this hour, headed south of Iowa toward Kansas City. Visitors to Union Station can get a look at it from 3:30 p.m. today until it leaves at 8 a.m. Tuesday.
The railroad says the train left Des Moines this morning and made a stop in Chariton, Iowa, before heading on to Trenton, Mo. It arrives there at 11:45 for a half-hour stop, then goes to Polo, Mo., arriving at 1:15 for a half-hour stop.
It then arrives at Union Station at 3:30 p.m. The company says visitors can step aboard a baggage car that’s been transformed into a rolling museum, with exhibits similar to the ones at the UP’s museum in Council Bluffs, Iowa, though the company has not posted hours for that during No. 844’s overnight stay.
At 8 a.m. Tuesday, the train heads out for Topeka and points west, making more than a dozen stops in Kansas and Colorado before arriving Saturday in Cheyenne, Wyo., where it’s housed and maintained.
The railroad is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year. No. 844 is one of two old steam engines that it sends out on goodwill excursions, and it’s been busy this year. It passed Independence, Buckner and Levasy on its way to St. Louis, then south into Arkansas, in March. The railroad took delivery of No. 844 in 1944 – its last steam locomotive – and used it until 1959, mostly for high-speed passenger service.
When the train is rolling, the railroad has been consistent about posting location updates on Twitter. Follow @UP_Steam. Or go to http://www.up.com/aboutup/special_trains/steam/trace.cfm
