World's Largest Operating Steam Locomotive to be on Display at Super Bowl

Omaha, NE, Dec. 29, 2003 – Union Pacific Railroad's "Challenger" No. 3985, the world's largest operating steam locomotive, will be on a nine-state, 3,500-mile tour on its way to Houston where it will be on public display during Super Bowl XXXVIII activities.

During this rare winter tour, the 60-year-old locomotive will be on display in Kansas City; St. Louis; Pine Bluff, Ark; and North Little Rock.

The tour will celebrate railroad heritage. Houston is steeped in railroad history and having the world's largest operating steam locomotive on display during the Super Bowl seemed a natural fit.

Union Pacific's No. 3985, an articulated locomotive with a "hinged" frame to allow it to negotiate curves, is 122 feet long. It weighs more than one million pounds, has six-foot diameter drive wheels and can reach a top speed of 70 miles per hour. No. 3985 was built in 1943 for fast freight service and was retired in 1959. In 1981, it was restored to running condition by UP employee volunteers for special service. The Challenger is based in Cheyenne, Wyoming.

Union Pacific Corporation is one of America's leading transportation companies. Its principal operating company, Union Pacific Railroad, is the largest railroad in North America, covering 23 states across the western two-thirds of the United States. A strong focus on quality and a strategically advantageous route structure enable the company to serve customers in critical and fast growing markets. It is a leading carrier of low-sulfur coal used in electrical power generation and has broad coverage of the large chemical-producing areas along the Gulf Coast. With competitive long-haul routes between all major West Coast ports and eastern gateways, and as the only railroad to serve all six gateways to Mexico, Union Pacific has the premier rail franchise in North America.

For more information contact John Bromley at (402) 271-3475.

	Schedule
	Route Map (343K PDF file)

 

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For more information on the Challenger 3985

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