Steam & Excursion > UP 3985 In Action

Was going through some photos the other day and found these captures taken along the Feather River Canyon almost ten years ago. Crazy how times flies. This is the only trip where 3985 worked its way west since I've been photographing so I had no choice but to try and get some photos. I believe Steve Lee brought it out of Portola this particular morning.

Take Care,
Alex Ramos

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What an incredible machine!

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Simply awesome. Thanks so much for sharing!

Al Seever
Phoenix, AZ

Wow, Alex.....just wow.....
Those are incredible photos!
I usually prefer color, but these
photos are stunning in B&W!!

Definitely IOTD!!

EDIT: I love being able to see the
"chugs" in the first two photos, in the
exhaust steam.

Simply superb work. Thank you very much.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/12/14 17:07 by Margaret_SP_fan.

Excellent photos. That was an amazing chance to see the 3985. Thanks to Steve, the crew and Uncle Pete.

Z

Alex:
You are the man! Haven't seen enough of your work lately.

John Bromley
Omaha, Nebraska

Beautiful images! The 3985 has always been a thrill to see.

Double WOW! Nice work Alex. Where have you been hiding? I've missed seeing your work here on TO for a while.

Old Bob out in Lost Wages

Tuesday will be 4 years to the day since she last ran.

Alex, Know that your photos make me proud to have spent the two years helping to get 3985 out of the employees parking lot and back on the rails. Thank you for posting these.

Bob Krieger
Cheyenne, WY

Wow, that's one beautiful looking machine. Thanks for sharing the photos.

up3985 Wrote:
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> Tuesday will be 4 years to the day since she last
> ran.

Damn shame, too. Almost criminal.

Certainly very nice photos!

As I recall, that was a pretty "interesting" trip. First there were very large range fires enroute to our overnight stay in Winnemucca. I remember a water hose was hooked up at the rear of the 2nd aux tank, in order to extinguish the burring ties between the rails. Naturally we were pretty lat arriving in Winnemucca. Then during the night the fires crews borrowed the aux tanks (both of them) in order to take water out to the fires. Upon arriving down at the yard the following morning, we discovered that both aux tanks had been returned EMPTY. Thus we spent all morning refilling both aux tanks from a nearby hydrant, which took some 4 or 5 hours!

We wound up arriving in Portola well after midnight, due to the delay in taking water. We all slept in the following morning, then had a chance to tour the Portola WP museum the next afternoon.

The trip down the Feather River Canyon wasn't a piece of cake either, when the diesel MU "helper", for dynamic braking, died a horrible death in one of the tunnels just east of Keddie as a result of the heat and steam humidity from 3985. Seems that EMD computers didn't like all that humidity inside a tunnel. A different unit was swapped out from another train, in order to provide dynamic braking. Another long day.

That's really depressing! These photos are fantastic! Gives hope to what hopefully will be again someday. Glad I got to see her run as much as I did.
Steve

up3985 Wrote:
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> Tuesday will be 4 years to the day since she last
> ran.

It is, but I am grateful for the time (That time: the 13th and 14th of October 2010) I got to see her run in person. I've always wanted to see her run again but I guess I'll just have to wait and see how things work out in the years to come.

HotWater Wrote:
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> As I recall, that was a pretty "interesting" trip.
> First there were very large range fires enroute to
> our overnight stay in Winnemucca. I remember a
> water hose was hooked up at the rear of the 2nd
> aux tank, in order to extinguish the burring ties
> between the rails. Naturally we were pretty lat
> arriving in Winnemucca. Then during the night the
> fires crews borrowed the aux tanks (both of them)
> in order to take water out to the fires. Upon
> arriving down at the yard the following morning,
> we discovered that both aux tanks had been
> returned EMPTY. Thus we spent all morning
> refilling both aux tanks from a nearby hydrant,
> which took some 4 or 5 hours!
>
> We wound up arriving in Portola well after
> midnight, due to the delay in taking water. We all
> slept in the following morning, then had a chance
> to tour the Portola WP museum the next afternoon.
>
>
> The trip down the Feather River Canyon wasn't a
> piece of cake either, when the diesel MU "helper",
> for dynamic braking, died a horrible death in one
> of the tunnels just east of Keddie as a result of
> the heat and steam humidity from 3985. Seems that
> EMD computers didn't like all that humidity inside
> a tunnel. A different unit was swapped out from
> another train, in order to provide dynamic
> braking. Another long day.

Thanks for the kind words!

I do remember that trip very well. I went out to Nevada with my friend Garrett and we waited and waited, and than waited again for the tanks to be filled.

Here's a shot of the two diesels giving the 3985 it's water tanks back.

Take Care,
Alex Ramos

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Excellent, she looks wonderful in black & white.

Steve Mitchell
http://www.yardgoatimages.com

alex14ramos Wrote:
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> What an incredible machine!

Yes, indeed! Alex, thanks for posting these incredible photographs.

SWEET!!

Great to see your work Alex. Been a while. You are a talented man behind a lens.