CHEYENNE – The Union Pacific steam crew has been busy preparing the Challenger No. 3985, along with the TTT-6 steam locomotive No. 5511 and Centennial diesel locomotive No. 6936, for delivery to ...

It was one of 100 Challenger Class locomotives built for the Union Pacific by the American Locomotive Company in Schenectady, N.Y. It had a job to do, keeping American servicemen overseas supplied ...

The 122-foot-long Challenger, which was built in 1943 ... and probably the last chance that I will ever have to see a steam locomotive," Kent said. "We had forgotten about it and then we drove ...

Beginning in the late 1930s, a UP design team led by Mechanical Department Research & Mechanical Standards Vice President Otto Jabelmann, working with ALCO, re-evaluated the railroad’s 4-6-6-4 ...

According to a news release, the Challenger UP 3985 is one of only two Challenger-type steam locomotives still in existence, and the only one to have operated in excursion service. The Centennial ...

When the train towing No. 3985 stops in the Canteen District, it likely will mark the last time that both surviving Challenger locomotives will be in North Platte — just a few blocks apart.

The trips will be to bring passengers to and from the Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo. The locomotives, one named Challenger No. 3985 and the other No. 844, will be locked together at the front of the ...

Around the curve roared a million-pound piece of America’s history: the Union Pacific “Challenger,” the world’s largest operating steam locomotive. Within seconds, it was gone. The 1943 ...

“It’s a long time coming.” It will be the first steam locomotive to visit Villa Grove since 1993, when the smaller Challenger came through. Villa Grove was once considered a primary railroad ...

Over 150 people visited on Saturday alone to see the world famous Union Pacific Steam Locomotive Challenger #3977 and Union Pacific Diesel Locomotive Centennial #6922 at the Railroad Museum.

"It happens everywhere we go, every crossing in every town," said Robert Krieger, engineer of the Challenger. "There are very few steam locomotives left and none of this size. People always stop ...

The steam locomotive 844 was the last of its kind ... the Portland Rose and Challenger. When diesels replaced steam to power passenger trains in the late 1950s, 844 was relegated to freight ...