Show Us Your Best Train Shots!

Look for this box on our Facebook page.

Thanks to the social media site Facebook, you can now upload your photos for all of ChasingSteel.com’s fans to see and comment on. To upload your photos, first you need to become a fan of ChasingSteel.com on Facebook.  You can easily do that by clicking on the “Become a Fan” button on the Facebook graphic in the right column if you are not a fan already.

Once you have become a fan you need to go to our Facebook page. On our Facebook page look in the left column of the page for the box with the text “TO UPLOAD FAN PHOTOS:” in it.  Simply click on the link listed below the text and follow the prompts.

I look forward to seeing some shots from all over the world and I would like to extend my thanks, in advance, for contributing and being part of the process!

A Union Pacific Living Legend Stretches Her Legs On an Eight State Tour

Union Pacific’s famed and historic steam locomotive, No. 844, will make an eight state, 28-day tour to south Texas in celebration of the Union Pacific Railroad’s heritage.  The entire trip will encompass more than 3,500 miles.  The tour is known as the “Valley Eagle Heritage Tour” and takes it name from a former Missouri Pacific Railroad passenger train that ran over a portion of the route from 1948 until 1962.  The Missouri Pacific Railroad merged with the UP in 1982. 

The No. 844 was the last steam engine built for the Union Pacific Railroad and was delivered in 1944.  During it’s 16-year tenure at UP the No. 844 pulled some very legendary passenger trains such as the Overland Limited, Los Angeles Limited, Portland Rose and Challenger until the dieselization of the roster was complete.  She is a Northern class locomotive which means she has 4-8-4 classification.  Weighing nearly 1 million pounds, with a loaded weight of 907,980 pounds, she is massive.

The “Valley Eagle Heritage Tour” will begin from Cheyenne, Wyoming April 2, 2010 and conclude on April 29, 2010.  The locomotive will make overnight stops and be on display in the following cities before arriving back in Cheyenne April 29:

• North Platte, Nebraska
• Marysville, Parsons and Coffeyville, Kansas
• Kansas City, Missouri
• McAlester, Oklahoma
• Ft. Worth, Hearne, Houston, Bloomington, Raymondville, Harlingen, Palestine and Longview, Texas
• North Little Rock and Van Buren, Arkansas

 Here is a map of the planned route provided by the Union Pacific Railroad:

Map of the scheduled route compliments of the Union Pacific Railroad.

Programs such as UP’s Steam Program are not the norm for most railroads and are costly ventures.  I thank the Union Pacific for their commitment to their history and heritage by having a steam program at all.  I would also like to commend the UP on embracing technology embodied by their extensive use of technologies such as Twitter and Facebook.

One more example of their progressive approach to technology and appreciation of fans is this web page which allows you to follow the location of their steam locomotives as they travel across the UP system on their excursions.  A Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) transmitter was installed on one of the rail cars that will travel with No. 844. The GPS system has been integrated with a map on UP’s Web site as shown:

Click to track the UP’s steam locomotives.

Union Pacific also utilizes YouTube to connect with fans and communities alike.  Here is a neat video of the No. 844 provided by the Union Pacific Railroad.  It provides a good glimpse of what chasing steel (844 steel in this case) is like.  Enjoy. 

RSS feed of UP_Steam's tweets

Update on Tuesday, March 30, 2010 at 9:28AM by Joe Perry

Here is the latest schedule compliments of the Union Pacific Railroad: 

The Valley Eagle Schedule

Valley Eagle Heritage Tour 

All schedule days and times are subject to change. No. 844 can run ahead of schedule.

(Follow No. 844 on the map, and stay current with GPS updates.)

FRIDAY, APRIL 2
Depart	8:00 a.m. MT	Cheyenne, Wyo.
Arrive Depart	11:00 a.m.  11:30 a.m. MDT	Lodgepole, Neb.	Service Locomotive Downtown -  just west of McBride St.
Arrive	4:00 p.m. CT	North Platte, Neb.	Front St. Between Chestnut and Poplar
SATURDAY, APRIL 3
Depart	8:00 a.m. CT	North Platte, Neb.	Front St. Between Chestnut and Poplar
Arrive Depart	11:00 a.m. 11:30 a.m.	Kearney, Neb.	Service Locomotive UP Office - 110 W. Railroad St.
Arrive	3:00 p.m.	Marysville, Kan.	UP Rail Yard Jenkins St. and 1st St.
SUNDAY, APRIL 4
Depart	8:00 a.m.	Marysville, Kan.	UP Rail Yard Jenkins St. and 1st St.
Arrive Depart	10:00 a.m. 10:30 a.m.	Topeka, Kan.	Service Locomotive The Great Overland Station 701 N. Kansas Ave.
Arrive	1:00 p.m.	Kansas City, Mo.	Union Station 30 W. Pershing Road
MONDAY, APRIL 5 LAYOVER AND DISPLAY
On Display:  8 a.m. - 8 p.m.		Kansas City, Mo.	Union Station 30 W. Pershing Road
TUESDAY, APRIL 6
Depart	8:00 a.m.	Kansas City, Mo.	Union Station 30 W. Pershing Road
Arrive Depart	11:00 a.m. 11:30 p.m.	Dunlay, Kan.	Service Locomotive at the W. 1600 St. crossing.
Arrive	2:00 p.m.	Parsons, Kan.	Union Pacific Office 2015 Crawford St.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 7 LAYOVER AND DISPLAY
On Display:  8 a.m. - 8 p.m.		Parsons, Kan.	Union Pacific Office 2015 Crawford St.
THURSDAY, APRIL 8
Depart	8:00 a.m.	Parsons, Kan.	Union Pacific Office 2015 Crawford St.
Arrive Depart	10:30 a.m.  Noon	Muskogee, Okla.	Service Locomotive Union Pacific Office 5 W. Martin Luther King St.
Arrive	2:00 p.m.	McAlester, Okla.	Union Pacific Office 1 East Krebs St.
FRIDAY, APRIL 9
Depart	8:00 a.m.	McAlester, Okla.	Union Pacific Office 1 East Krebs St.
Arrive Depart	10:30 a.m. 11:30 a.m.	Denison, Texas	Service Locomotive West end of UP Rail Yard Under Hwy. 75 Overpass and Ray Dr.
Arrive Depart	1:00 p.m.  1:30 p.m.	Denton, Texas	Whistlestop
Arrive	4:00 p.m.	Ft. Worth, Texas	Mopac Rd. and Rogers Rd.
SATURDAY, APRIL 10
Depart	8:00 a.m.	Ft. Worth, Texas	Mopac Rd. and Rogers Rd.
Arrive Depart	10:00 a.m. 10:15 a.m.	Ennis, Texas	Whistlestop
Arrive Depart	11:00 a.m.  11:30 a.m.	Corsicana, Texas	Service Locomotive 201 East 7th St.
Arrive	1:30 p.m.	Hearne, Texas	3rd and Market Sts.
SUNDAY, APRIL 11
Depart	8:00 a.m.	Hearne, Texas	3rd and Market Sts.
Arrive Depart	10:00 a.m. 10:15 a.m.	Navasota, Texas	Whistlestop
Arrive Depart	11:00 a.m. 11:15 a.m.	Magnolia, Texas	Whistlestop
Arrive Depart	Noon 12:15 p.m.	Old Town Spring, Texas	Whistlestop
Arrive	2:30 p.m.	Houston, Texas	Amtrak Station 902 Washington Ave.
MONDAY, APRIL 12 LAYOVER AND DISPLAY
On Display:  8 a.m. - 8 p.m.		Houston, Texas	Amtrak Station 902 Washington Ave.
TUESDAY, APRIL 13
Depart	8:00 a.m.	Houston, Texas	Amtrak Station 902 Washington Ave.
Arrive Depart	11:30 a.m.  12:01 p.m.	Bay City, Texas	Service Locomotive 2620 Avenue G
Arrive	2:00 p.m.	Bloomington, Texas	101 East 1st St.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 14
Depart	8:00 a.m.	Bloomington, Texas	101 East 1st St..
Arrive Depart	10:00 a.m.  10:30 a.m.	Kingsville, Texas	Service Locomotive 5th and W. Kleburg Sts.
Arrive	12:30 p.m.	Harlingen, Texas	UP Rail Yard 825 N. Commerce St. (Commerce and Fair Park)
THURSDAY, APRIL 15
Depart	9:45 a.m.	Harlingen, Texas	UP Rail Yard 825 N. Commerce St. (Commerce and Fair Park)
AFTERNOON LAYOVER AND DISPLAY HARLINGEN CENTENNIAL PARK
Arrive Depart	10:00 a.m.   3:00 p.m.	Harlingen Centennial Park	101 Southwest St. Between Jackson and Harrison Sts.
Arrive	3:30 p.m.	Olmito, Texas	UP Olmito Yard 6105 Old Alice Rd.
FRIDAY, APRIL 16
Depart	8:00 a.m.	Olmito, Texas	UP Olmito Yard 6105 Old Alice Rd.
Arrive Depart	10:30 a.m. 11:00 a.m.	Kingsville, Texas	Service Locomotive 5th and W. Kleburg Sts.
Arrive	1:00 p.m.	Bloomington, Texas	101 East 1st St.
SATURDAY, APRIL 17
Depart	8:00 a.m.	Bloomington, Texas	101 East 1st St.
Arrive Depart	10:00 a.m. 10:30 a.m.	Bay City, Texas	Service Locomotive 2620 Avenue G
Arrive	1:00 p.m.	Houston, Texas	No Public Access or Display on arrival.
SUNDAY, APRIL 18
No Public Access or Display.		Houston, Texas
MONDAY, APRIL 19
Depart	8:00 a.m.	Houston, Texas
Arrive Depart	8:45 a.m. 9:00 a.m.	Old Town Spring, Texas	Whistlestop
Arrive Depart	Noon 12:30 p.m.	Hearne, Texas	Service Locomotive 3rd and Market Sts.
Arrive	3:00 p.m.	Palestine, Texas	111 South Magnolia St.
TUESDAY, APRIL 20
Depart	8:00 a.m.	Palestine, Texas	111 South Magnolia St.
Arrive	11:30 a.m.	Longview, Texas
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 21
Depart	8:00 a.m.	Longview, Texas
Arrive Depart	10:00 a.m.  10:30 a.m.	Texarkana, Texas	Service Locomotive East of the Amtrak Station at E. Front and Wood Sts.
Arrive Depart	12:01 p.m. 12:15 p.m.	Gurdon, Ark.	Whistlestop
Arrive Depart	2:00 p.m.  2:15 p.m.	Little Rock, Ark.	Whistlestop Amtrak Station
Arrive	4:30 p.m.	N. Little Rock, Ark.	1000 W. 4th St. Behind UP Office Building
THURSDAY, APRIL 22 LAYOVER AND DISPLAY
On Display:  8 a.m. - 8 p.m.		N. Little Rock, Ark.	1000 W. 4th St. Behind UP Office Building
FRIDAY, APRIL 23
Depart	8:00 a.m.	N. Little Rock, Ark.	1000 W. 4th St. Behind UP Office Building
Arrive Depart	10:30 a.m.  11:00 a.m.	Russellville, Ark.	Service Locomotive Old UP Depot on Denver St.
Arrive	1:00 p.m.	Van Buren, Ark.	S. 2nd St. and Drennen Sts.
SATURDAY, APRIL 24
Depart	8:00 a.m.	Van Buren, Ark.	S. 2nd St. and Drennen Sts.
Arrive Depart	10:30 a.m.  11:00 a.m.	Wagoner, Okla.	Service Locomotive Old Depot – 302 S. Main St.
Arrive	1:30 p.m.	Coffeyville, Kansas	Atlantic St.
SUNDAY, APRIL 25
Depart	8:00 a.m.	Coffeyville, Kansas	Atlantic St.
Arrive Depart	10:00 a.m. 10:30 a.m.	Yates Center/Durand, Kansas	Service Locomotive UP Rail Yard –  1178 Otter Rd.
Arrive Depart	Noon 12:15 p.m.	Paola, Kansas	Whistlestop
Arrive	2:30 p.m.	Kansas City, Mo.	Union Station 30 W. Pershing Rd.
MONDAY, APRIL 26 LAYOVER AND DISPLAY
On Display:  8 a.m. - 8 p.m.		Kansas City, Mo.	Union Station 30 W. Pershing Rd.
TUESDAY, APRIL 27
Depart	8:00 a.m.	Kansas City, Mo.	Union Station 30 W. Pershing Rd.
Arrive Depart	10:00 a.m.  10:30 a.m.	Topeka, Kansas	Service Locomotive The Great Overland Station 701 N. Kansas Ave.
Arrive	1:30 p.m.	Marysville, Kansas	UP Rail Yard Jenkins and 1st Sts.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 28
Depart	8:00 a.m.	Marysville, Kansas	UP Rail Yard Jenkins and 1st Sts.
Arrive Depart	10:45 a.m.  11:15 a.m.	Gibbon, Neb.	Service Locomotive
Arrive	2:30 p.m.	North Platte, Neb.	Front St. between Chestnut and Poplar
THURSDAY, APRIL 29
Depart	9:00 a.m. CT	North Platte, Neb.	Front St. between Chestnut and Poplar
Arrive Depart	10:30 a.m. MT  11:00 a.m. MT	Sidney, Neb.	Service Locomotive UP Depot  – 9th and Grant Sts.
Arrive	2:30 p.m. MT	Cheyenne, Wyo.