Saturday, April 10, 2010

How Great Is This...?


This might just be something to try and go see!

A little bit of history is always a good thing to see first hand! Imagine what the kids reaction would be if they were able to see and actually touch something like this old timer!

No. 844 locomotive chugs through Texas

© 2010 The Associated Press
April 9, 2010, 12:50PM

DALLAS — The last steam locomotive built for Union Pacific Railroad is chugging its way through Texas as part of the Valley Eagle heritage tour.

Locomotive No. 844 pulled into north Texas early Friday afternoon.

The tour is named for a Missouri Pacific passenger train, the Valley Eagle, which formerly operated between Houston and Brownsville.

UP says the high-speed passenger engine was delivered in 1944. No. 844 was placed in freight service in Nebraska between 1957 and 1959, then was saved from being scrapped the following year. It's now used for goodwill runs.

The locomotive's journey began April 2 in Cheyenne, Wyo., winding through Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma.

The Texas schedule includes stops and layovers from Denton to Fort Worth to Houston to Harlingen to Longview. No. 844 is scheduled to depart for Arkansas on April 21.


It's a pleasant task to post about something like this for a change. I just thought you might enjoy reading about it.

Now, my friends, let's get some fresh coffee and sit outside. Supposed to be a nice day!

12 comments:

  1. Very cool. Steam trains are something everyone should experience sometime in their life.

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  2. Hey Catman...
    I had a chance to ride on one out of Houston when I was a kid...and I never forgot it!

    Only a 50 mile trip, but it seemed a lot longer! We all wanted to keep on going!

    Hey, thanks for coming by!

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  3. We have a couple of steam locomotives going around here during summers. I just love them but I´ve never gone by one myself.
    Have a great day now!
    Christer.

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  4. Imagine that! Placed in service in 1944 and it still runs. Wish I could see it. We'll tip the coffee cups in that direction today! ~Liz

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  5. Wish I could see it. Have a great day.

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  6. Good Morning My Special Friend, I love trains also. I was hoping to ride the one at Williams to Grand Canyon and was told they no longer use it. But a Grand Engine to be sure. It really looked so beautiful sitting there with a slight dusting of snow on her.
    Coffee on the patio sounds wonderful. I have a nest of quail in one of my potted porch plants. 11 eggs at last count.

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  7. RFD tv has some good train movies once in a while

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  8. You're right it was a a great and different post for me to read this AM. I enjoy reading about things like this. Gotta go and hop on the train...choo-choo...later my friend!

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  9. I'm old enough to remember when steam locomotives were the only kind. I still remember seeing my first diesel, and wondering what in the heck it was.

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  10. I love steam locomotives. That is all they had when I was a boy. My grandpa retired from the PRR as an engineer. I had a picture of him holding me out the window of his steam engine, but seemed to have misplaced that picture. Will have to tear the house apart to find it. It just can't be lost.

    Thanks for your great blog.

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  11. I wish I could see that. The highlight of my trip back to CO to see my daughter was riding on a steam train up through the Rockies.

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  12. One of my favorite memories was riding the Durango - Silverton narrow gauge railway day some 10 years ago in extreme southwest Colorado. Some absolutely beautiful country that makes an outdoorsman (or woman) want to go Sasquatch there and then, if just for a couple of days anyway! If you have the opportunity to ride it, I definitely recommend it.

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