The 844

Today we saw a mechanical marvel from 1944—Union Pacific Engine #844, the last steam train in use in the United States. The train is HUGE at 454 tons, 23,000 gallon water capacity, and 6,200 gallons of No. 5 oil. According to the engineer we talked to, the train uses recycled oil from cars and other trains. I asked the delicate question of MPG and he said, he did not even want to know!

The 844 is based in Cheyenne, WY and once in awhile makes goodwill runs across the US. The train is on an anniversary run this time from Wyoming to California. In Roseville, where we saw it, the train was part of the Roseville Centennial Celebration. The next stop is Oroville, CA, then the Railroad Museum in Portola, CA. The train is scheduled to roll into Promontory Point, UT on May 10, to celebrate the 140th anniversary of the first Transcontinental Railroad. It was on that day that the last spike, The Golden Spike, was driven into the track to celebrate the joining of the eastern and western United States by rail. That was quite an accomplishment. You can follow the progress of the train by clicking here.


It’s fun to look at the behemoth. There is nothing tiny about this train. The wheels are over 6 feet tall. The water tender is enormous. The nuts and bolts are oversized too. The train is a plumbers delight with faucets and pipes and valves littering every spare inch of space. In order to keep this monster running properly it needs to be oiled and lubed every 100 miles! I have not seen the train moving, but we plan to be in Oroville when it arrives to see how well this monster moves. It’s said it can reach 70 miles per hour! That’s a lot of steam!