Hey Ya’ll.
On May 19th, the Union Pacific 844 and Southern Pacific 4449 Doubleheaded a train from Tocoma to Everett, Washington.
However, there was a flaw. Not with the mechanics, but with the appeirance of the 4449. UP is so extreme on the no foreign steam policy that it patched the 4449, with a very noticable yellow UP Patch with the number 845 on it.
Ha. Now thats something to laugh about there.
Cheese
I don’t know this for sure, but it is conceivable that U.P. alreadys has a locomotive with the number 4449 and in order to keep from there being any confusion in communications they applied a different number to that engine. Hate for a dispatcher to tell a train that they can proceed after engine number 4449 passes and the crew in the hole see the wrong engine and move before the way is actually clear.
Oh,
Well, now that you mention that. I makes sense. I can forgive the UP now. LOL.
Cheese
UP 4449 is a EMD SD70M built in 2001. Unless it has been wrecked, it is somewhere on the property.
I know a patch was made for 4449 and presented as sort of a gag, but there are a lot of pictures taken in the last week showing it running unpatched.
There were two gag patches made up, one as UPY 845 and another as UP 844B. I’m sure that everybody had a good time with them.
Maybe not so much of a gag after all. While there are pics of her on this trip running with her normal number above the side windows, there are a couple in which her numberboards have been replaced with “X 844”.
Yeah, her numberboards said X-844, but the cab and smokebox plate still said 4449. Besides, in the steam era this was common practice. If you look at the train from a 50’s point of view, 4449 is the helper on train X-844, so it’s required to display the train designation on it’s numberboards, just like 844.
An instance of this was when UP 3985 and 844 doubleheaded a few years ago. 3985 was the “train” engine, and 844 was on the head end as a “helper”. So 844 display “X3985” on it’s numberboards, because that was the identidy of the train.
Ok, maybe someone else can explain it better…
True, but trains rarely operate in two sections these days, so there’s no need.
Seems to me that this is a non argument. Since UP ate SP a while ago, it would appear that 4449 is not “foreign” steam but “heritage steam”, to use the latest railway slang. If UP has a policy against locomotives running on their main line that have not been serviced by the UP folks in their steam program, that is their right to renumber the engine, even as a gag. It is their property, their main line, and probably their funding. At least they have a steam program…
As long as the UP lets the 4449 run on its main line, they paint the thing pink for all I care. No matter what the number and what the paint color are, it is still an operating steam engine, which is enough for me.
Bert
The SP-4449 doesn’t BELONG to U.P., does it? It IS their railroad, but I didn’t think they OWNED the 4449 Steam Locomotive.
They could force the owner to paint a different number of the side of the engine if they felt the present number would cause a problem with identification (what chance would there be of THAT!), and they can assign any number-board number they want for identification in the computerized list of operating power on their railroad (for those that can’t actually “SEE”, due to being deep in a windowless building a thousand miles from the rail line, that it is just a wee bit different than the 4449 Diesel).
These trips operated over BNSF – therefore, SP 4449 did not operate on UP rails. The 4449 did traverse UP on its way home, but this deadhead move is entirely different from an excursion or revenue generating trip.
KL
What? Which is it? Is it “therefore, SP 4449 did not operate on UP rails” or “the 4449 did traverse UP on its way home”? Doesn’t matter what kind of trip it was, the UP let the 4449 run on its rails, which it does not have to.
Bert
Don’t over think it, Bert. Revenue generating excursions are TOTALLY different beasts from deadheads. UP’s foreign steam policy relates to excursions only–not deadheads. The poster said the '49 didn’t operate on UP with regards to the excursions, so it does matter what type of trip it is because deadheads are different.
Will
The UP is under no obligation to operate the 4449, or the 844 for that matter. Regardless of what kind of move it was, people should be grateful that the UP permitted the 4449 to run.
Bert
Yeah, her numberboards said X-844, but the cab and smokebox plate still said 4449.
Perhaps I am mistaken, but you may be confusing the train number with the locomotive number. I suspect that the locomotive was SP 4449, and it was one of the two locomotives powering train X-844. The “X” is a common designator for “extra”, IOW, not one of their usual moves. UP may very well designate any train with UP 844 on point as X-844. The number boards often angled to the left and right of the top front of the smokebox often show the train number.
Ancient but well-known example: if you are familiar with the event / song, “The Wreck of the Old 97”, you know that the 97 was not the locomotive (which was number 1132 or something?); the 97 was the train number, which was the number for the south-bound fast mail from Washington, D.C. to Atlanta, GA.
Yeah, I know. The name of the train was X-844, because generally when UP moves 844 it’s X844. So 4449 displayed the train name, just like in the steam era.
Be careful what you wish for.
Don’t have to? Yes they do! They’re a common carrier and are required to take freight that’s transfered to them.