Living Legend No. 844
The Last of the Steam Locomotives
Steam Locomotive No. 844 is the last steam locomotive built for Union Pacific Railroad. It was delivered in 1944. A high-speed passenger engine, it pulled such widely known trains as the Overland Limited, Los Angeles Limited, Portland Rose and Challenger.
Many people know the engine as the No. 8444, since an extra '4' was added to its number in 1962 to distinguish it from a diesel numbered in the 800 series. The steam engine regained its rightful number in June 1989, after the diesel was retired.
When diesels took over all of the passenger train duties, No. 844 was placed in freight service in Nebraska between 1957 and 1959. It was saved from being scrapped in 1960 and held for special service.
The engine has run hundreds of thousands of miles as Union Pacific's ambassador of goodwill. It has made appearances at Expo '74 in Spokane, the 1981 opening of the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento, the 1984 World's Fair in New Orleans and the 50th Anniversary Celebration of Los Angeles Union Station in 1989.
Hailed as Union Pacific's "Living Legend," the engine is widely known among railroad enthusiasts for its excursion runs, especially over Union Pacific's fabled crossing of Sherman Hill between Cheyenne and Laramie, Wyoming.
| Vital Statistics | |
| Weight: | 907,980 lbs. or 454 tons Engine & Tender |
| Length: | 114 ft. 2-5/8 in. Engine & Tender |
| Tender Type: | 14-wheeled |
| Water Capacity: | 23,500 gallons |
| Fuel: | 6,200 gallons No. 5 oil |
| Gauge of Track: | 4 ft. 8-1/2 in. |
| Cylinder: | Diameter: 25 in. Stroke: 32 in. |
| Driving Wheel Diameter: | 80 in. |
| Boiler: | Inside Diameter: 86-3/16 in. Pressure: 300 lbs. |
| Fire Box: | Length: 150-1/32 in. Width: 96-3/16 in. |
| Tubes: | 2-1/4 in. Diameter: 198 x 19 ft. 0 in. 5-1/2 in. Diameter: 58 |
| Wheel Base: | Driving: 22 ft. 0 in. Engine: 50 ft. 11 in. Engine & Tender: 98 ft. 5 in. |
| Weight in Working Order, Pounds: |
Leading: 102,130 Driving: 266,490 Trailing: 117,720 Engine: 486,340 Tender: 421,550 |
| Evaporating Surfaces, Square Feet: |
Tubes: 2,204 Flues: 1,578 Fire Box: 442 Circulator & Arch Tubes: Removed, 1945 Total: 4,224 |
| Superheating Surface, Square Feet: |
1,400 |
| Grate Area: | Removed, 1945 |
| Maximum Tractive Power: | 63,800 lbs. |
| Factor of Adhesion: | 4.18 |
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