Union Pacific Challenger No. 3985 was designed by Union Pacific and built in 1943 by the American Locomotive Company. It is one of 105 Challengers built for Union Pacific between 1936 and 1943 and is the only operating engine of its class in the world today – the largest and most powerful operating steam locomotive.
We were able to visit this train at Union Station. We took the trip down on Sunday afternoon because we had been studying steam power earlier in the week. Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel was the story of the week. I had no idea how big the train would be. It was pretty neat to compare the train wheels to Ainsley. We also met a boiler inspector and watched as they cleaned some of the train parts.
Ainsley also had the opportunity to meet the trains conductor. He told us all about his journey from Cheyenne, Wyoming with the train. He punched an old-fashioned ticket for Ainsley and showed her his pocket watch. He came from a family of conductors (dad, and grandfather) and his pocket watch was still running from 1906.
After waiting an hour, we finally got to go up and see the inside of the engine car. We saw the whistle pull, the bell wheel, the gauges, the speedometer, and got a quick lesson in watching out the train window. It was probably a once in a lifetime experience to see the train this up close and working.
No comments:
Post a Comment