CHICAGO – Union Pacific dispatched its business train from Council Bluffs, Iowa, eastward on Wednesday towards Croxton, N.J., via Chicago. The special, symbolled PCHCH3 30 departed early in the morning of May 30, according to a source close to …
Link to a really good video of the train going around Horseshoe Curve, from one of the comments to the News Wire article:
“Gorgeous Office Car Special at the Curve”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jl6NE8VZqC0
Well worth the 6:04 it takes to watch it all. Notice the young future railfans, too!
- PDN.
Thanks. I was surprised by it coming through the Chicago western suburbs several days ago, albeit moving considerably faster. It was so quiet compared to the often poorly maintained Metra trains (old engines needing retirement, rattletrap cars) and UP freights (some engines need rebuilding, many flatspot wheels on freight cars, etc).
What’s the difference between the UP and NS cab signals? Is it totally different operating systems and hardware, or similar hardware with different proprietary software?
Would it be possible to run UP thru on NS (and Vice-versa) with a switch in the cab to change systems, or is it more comlicated?
Not sure about the particulars of the UP system, but I’d guess the fundamental difference is the carrier frequency. NS uses the old PRR 100Hz system. Pretty much everyone else uses (or used) 60 Hz. The carrier is the thing that gets chopped into the “beats per minute” for the four aspects.
Amtrak used to (and probably still does) have multi-system cab signal system on their locomotives, so it is “switch flippable” at some level of complexity.
No surprise they’re coming east to New Jersey.
Where can you find a decent pizza in Council Bluffs?
Don’t think the UP business train depend upon on call ahead food service like Amtrak would desire to implement.
But they were in Croxton. It’d be a crime if they didn’t get some real pizza.
Can’t speak for Council Bluffs, but sometimes you’d be surprised…
Croxton is a long way from Chicago.
Thanks, Paul–I was going to point out that Council Bluffs is no longer the eastern terminus of the UP. And we have a couple of places a short walk from Proviso that offer fantastic pizza!
Also, I had some “New York” style pizza (one huge slice). They cook it and dump the ingredients on top! Maybe not in that order, but it’s not at all integrayed as a good pizza should be.
Well, that’s if you folks in the Chicago area want to call what you’ve got out there pizza!
Relax, my tongue is planted firmly in my cheek! It’s all good.
Besides, those folks on the UP business train might also be coming east to sample the Jersey bakeries, diners, and burger and hot dog joints!
And in that vein, and on a sad note, RIP Anthony Bourdain. Why, Tony? Why?
Sad. There is probably some back story here than we may never know.
Does anyone know when the return trip is/was?
Last Monday.
Did anyone ever find anthing official from UP about why they ran the train?
In all seriousness this time, that’s probably for them to know and for us to find out.
It may be something big and unexpected.
This was a special for the Harriman familly, which is still a major stockholder in Union Pacific. They were celebrating 125 years of ownership of Union Pacific. The special ran up the Southern Tier (former Erie) to Harriman, New York for an event. The first EHH - Edward Henry Harriman (who went by “Ned”) - bought numerous railroads that were in financial trouble and turned them around, including the Illinois Central, the Union Pacific and the Erie among others.
http://www.railpictures.net/photo/660026/
If you head over to railpictures.net and search for locomotive type "SD70ACe, railroad “Union Pacific”, and key word “1943” you will pull up numerous photos of the UP Office Car Special.
I am hoping it is a precursor to a Coast-to-Coast run of the Big Boy to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Transcontinental Railroad. Let’s keep our fingers crossed!
I’ve heard horror stories when they brought the challenger to the east all those years back. Stranger things have happened, but I won’t bet a full box of donuts.
The UP brought the Challenger east back in the 90’s per CSX request (My, how times have changed!) for use on the CSX/Clinchfield “Santa Train.” Actually it was a good fit, the Clinchfield did run Challenger types back in the old days.
Where the problem came from was CSX didn’t check the clearances as carefully as they should have resulting in damage to the Challenger. Nothing crippling, and nothing that couldn’t be fixed, but the UP steam crew were hopping mad over it.
IF the Big Boy does a coast-to-coast run, and there’s no reason why it can’t, you’d better believe clearances will be checked, double checked, and triple checked. If that Big Boy gets damaged someone’s likely to be pummeled beyond recognition!
Firelock76: Note: On that trip of 3985’s to participate with CSX in the annual Clinchfield RR’s Santa Train. It was in the Fall of 1992, and the 3985 [under the giuse of CRR#676] came off its run via St.Louis, and into Memphis. It was in Memphis that she blew out the forced draft fitting in the bottom of her smoke box[ a small cast iron piece that weighed much less than a pound (?)]. Long and short of it, was she spent 2 days parked [at site of the old Lenox ST. Station, nee; L&NRR]at the very east End of the UP’s track [nee; MoPac] in Memphis; while the steam crew cooled her down enough to open, and ;get in the smoke box for the repair.
For those of us who watched[ a one point i looked around and there were parked pick up trucks from every other railroad in town, not to mention also several of the management types, as well] the whole’ show’ it was really interesting. As 3985 was used to switch-out the cars in her train to get her to a fire plug for water, and close to where the fuel tanker could do the refueling. Then moved the steam generator car up close for the ‘re-start’. It was not often, one sees an engine that large used to ‘switch’ cars.
The 3985 then went to Bruceton, Tn. [nee: Div. point on L&N] eventually, to the CSX shops at Huntington WVA. Where she was morphed into CRR 676.
The incident you described where the engine was damaged was over on the CRR line. Apparently, some coal cars were spotted too close to a switch, and the running board on 3985 had several feet damaged and removed by the crew. The trip was very successful, otherwise. We were told in Memphis, the reason and rationale for the whoe trip was an anniversay of the CRR’s Santa Train, and at the behest of the Transportat