Steam & Excursion > Stupid UP 3985 Question

I've seen both UP 844 and the 3985 with one additional tender for water but I was a little surprised to see two additional tenders (total of three) behind 3985 yesterday. Is this for the up coming road trip to give it longer legs between water stops or a new procedure I wasn't aware of? Thanks!

mojaveflyer Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I've seen both UP 844 and the 3985 with one
> additional tender for water but I was a little
> surprised to see two additional tenders (total of
> three) behind 3985 yesterday. Is this for the up
> coming road trip to give it longer legs between
> water stops or a new procedure I wasn't aware of?
> Thanks!

When I chased the 3985 two years ago between Cheyenne and North Platte, I saw the same number of tenders (centipede + 2 water tenders) also, but during 844's trip last year in California, it had one less.

Maybe one's for fuel oil?...

think that enabled it to go back to Chian w/out a water refill. Roundtrip

today they stopped in greeley for fuel oil on the return



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 09/29/10 17:14 by dan.

3985 is very thirsty uses alot more water than 844. So they usually have both water bottles with it, and only one with 844.

The UP has always had two water cars. If the 844 and the 3985 go together, they each get one car. When the 844 goes alone, it takes one car....normally 814 (car without the flag)

The second car always goes with the 3985 when it goes alone....regardless of how far or where it is going.

Interesting note: Since we here at Wasatch finished the two cars, they have always gone with the 3985 B end forward. The B end is the normal front end when they were tenders on the early 800's. This trip, they are A end to A end. I have no idea why they did this, but they did.

Anybody wanna know some modeling secrets about the cars?

See our web page;

http://wrrc.us

Thanks,

John E.Rimmasch
Wasatch Railroad Contractors

John,

The reason for the "different" aux tender hook-up arrangement this time, was/is due to the size of the water connections on 844's normal aux tender. The "front" of 844's normal aux tender connects to the rear of 844's main tender with 2 1/2 inch hoses & connectors, but the "rear" of 844's aux tender has the larger 3 inch connectors to hook-up to 3985's main tender as well as 3985's aux tender.

Not only that, water is a lot more expensive in Colorado as it has to be diverted from the Coors plant.

rehunn Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Not only that, water is a lot more expensive in
> Colorado as it has to be diverted from the Coors
> plant.

Plus, UP is a first-rate operation and always uses "bottled water"...

I know, bad joke!

rehunn Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Not only that, water is a lot more expensive in
> Colorado as it has to be diverted from the Coors
> plant.

Taste's better, though!

Nasty little Coors secret. Colorado "Kool-Aid" is not brewed from water from a pure mountain spring in Golden any more. It comes in railroad tank cars from around Antonito. At least its Colorado water.

Guinness shares a similar shamefull secret. No longer is the dark brown stuff made with water from a secret nearby well but it comes in by tanker truck from somewhere else in Ireland.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/29/10 15:03 by eminence_grise.

It probably has to be Antonito because all of the Western Slope water is earmarked for California and Arizona, isn't it?

BLS

poffcapt Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> It probably has to be Antonito because all of the
> Western Slope water is earmarked for California
> and Arizona, isn't it?
>
> BLS

Nope! Denver pipes some of it under the Continental Divide.

SOB

I had heard one time that the water used for Coors came from "Rocky Mountain, Tennessee". The location was named that way so on the commercials they would get away with saying, "Brewed with Rocky Mountain Spring Water". Those white CORX tank cars were presumably used to haul in the water from Rocky Mountain, Tennessee.

The problem with that theory was that the CORX cars always had a light brown filth on them like they were hauling something other than water....beer to be bottled elsewhere. Now that the Coors plant in Virginia is allowed to brew the beer rather than just bottle it, the CORX cars are in storage.

Anyway, cool info on the water tenders used with 844 and 3985. I always wondered why the one with the flag wouldn't be the #1 tender used but it never travels with 844. Now it makes sense why the one without the flag always goes with 844. Interesting that both have to go with 3985. Learn something new everyday. Just wish someone would come out with accurate representations of these tenders in HO scale plastic.

Rio Grande Fan
Denver, CO

poffcapt Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> It probably has to be Antonito because all of the
> Western Slope water is earmarked for California
> and Arizona, isn't it?
>
> BLS

Due to the "Grand Canal", some of the eastern slope water is also directed to not-originally-intended-to-be-wet-land.

HotWater Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> John,
>
> The reason for the "different" aux tender hook-up
> arrangement this time, was/is due to the size of
> the water connections on 844's normal aux tender.
> The "front" of 844's normal aux tender connects to
> the rear of 844's main tender with 2 1/2 inch
> hoses & connectors, but the "rear" of 844's aux
> tender has the larger 3 inch connectors to hook-up
> to 3985's main tender as well as 3985's aux
> tender.

I would'a thought that someone besides me would have figured that a hose could be fixed up with a 3" connection on one end and...

-Larry Doyle

Uh yah, I think we sell that stuff to the UP, call Omaha purchasing.

rehunn Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Not only that, water is a lot more expensive in
> Colorado as it has to be diverted from the Coors
> plant.

One of the great UP Steam memories I have is conversing with Lynn Nystrom during 844's California visit regarding the quality of water in different regions - Sierra Nevada water has higher oxygen content, and has to be treated before use.