My Arkansas friend Ken is a big train nut who spends many a Sunday morning with other train nuts watching trains near his home. When Ken heard that the World's Largest Operating Steam Locomotive, Union Pacific Railroad's No. 3985, was touring the Pacific Northwest this Autumn and was stopping at the Boise Depot here in my neck of the woods, he e-mailed me and asked me to check it out and take photos. Some of my photos from Ken's 2003 visit to Idaho and the Boise Depot were published in the newsletter Ken publishes for the train nuts of Arkansas, and I was very honored to be his "Girl Friday" once again.
A Brief History of the No. 3985. UPR No. 3985 is 122 feet long and weighs over a million tons. It is an articulated locomotive that was built in 1943 to negotiate some of the curvy tracks of the Pacific Northwest. The No. 3985 was built in 1943 and has six-foot diameter drive wheels that enable it to go up to a speed of 70 miles per hour.
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No. 3985 was from service in 1959, and in 1981, it was restored to its original condition by Union Pacific employees for special services and tours originating from Cheyenne, Wyoming.
The current tour of No. 3985 has been equipped with a Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) to allow train nuts to map out it route on UP's web site www.up.com.
Today Union Pacific Railroad is owned by the Union Pacific Corporation and is one of the USA's leading rail companies. UPR is linked to 23 states and are mostly used to transport goods from the Agricultural, Automotive, Energy, and Industrial industries and go from coast to coast and serves all six of the major gateways of the USA.
Mom and I arrived at the Boise Depot about 2:30, and it took a while to find where the train was on display, but it was stationed about a half-mile from the Depot Station. Old timers feeling nostalgic and several families with young children were milling about taking pictures and several children were on top of the engine posing for shots for their parents. I don't recommend you do that because the engine was constantly running and its surface was hot in several places. Admission was free, and parking was available in the Depot parking lot or on the streets near the Depot.
Union Pacific's No. 3985 began its current tour in Cheyenne, Wyoming in late-August and has run through Utah, California, and Oregon before stopping in Boise from September 25-26. Its final stop will be in Pocatello, Idaho on September 27, 2005.
Train travel is a dying form in most parts of the USA, and I highly recommend that if an old locomotive like No. 3985 is in your town, visit with your family.