Union Pacific's Dick Davidson: managing a 33,000-mile factory—with no roof - Railroader of the Year - Company Profile

Railway Age, Jan, 2003 by William C. Vantuono

Stoking the value of steam

Union Pacific's "Building America" media campaign is familiarizing millions of Americans with the railroad that first linked the east and west coasts of the U.S., but its most popular public relations tool is its long-standing steam program, which attracts thousands of people annually.

The star of the steam show currently is 'Challenger" type No. 3985, the world's largest operating steam locomotive. The 4-6-6-4 articulated beast is 122 feet long, weighs more than one million pounds (with a full load of fuel oil and water), has 72-inch diameter drive wheels, and can reach a top speed of 70 mph, No. 3985 was built in 1943 by the American Locomotive Co. for fast freight service and retired in 1959. In 1981, it was restored to running condition by UP employee volunteers for special service. It is based in Cheyenne, Wyo., with No. 844, a 4-8-4 "Northern" type built by ALCO in 1944 for passenger service. No. 844 is currently being rebuilt.

"The steam program provides the public contact with our company they normally wouldn't have," says Dick Davidson, who recognized the program's public relations value after becoming president of the railroad. He didn't always feel that way: While running UP's operating department, he would not have objected if management had decided to discontinue the program.

No. 3985 recently completed a six-state, 3,100-mile tour through the Midwest and South. The tour, UP said, "celebrated railroad heritage and provided an opportunity for a public steam excursion trip as a fund raising activity for the Houston Grand Opera." During this tour, the locomotive was displayed in several cities, among them Kansas City, Kan., McAlester, Okla., and Coffeyville, Kan.