Steam & Excursion > “3985 Will Not Be Restored”

Exact quote from Ed just now. I said is there just no funding. He replied it’s not a question of funding. We have two steam locomotives, he said.

Posted from iPhone

'One wonders whether UP could donate it to a preservation / restoration group that could operate it in the future (... off UP rails, I would assume).

Greg Stadter
Phoenix, AZ

Well that ought to start the war all over again.

filmteknik Wrote:
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> Exact quote from Ed just now. I said is there
> just no funding. He replied it’s not a question
> of funding. We have two steam locomotives, he
> said.

Simply confirming, again, what he has said many, MANY times since he took over in 2010, and the retirement of Steve Lee, at the end of 2010.

I've been dreading this news. Sad.

https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?10,4790730

Folks....I have an idea on this steam locomotive restoration business.     What I am about to say applies to most engines...1361, 2839, 2124, 2101, 1522, 734, 1533, 819, 614, 1218, 290, 750, 700 and on and on. They are riding on a bell curve. They are born, they live and they die. You have to see, ride and photograph them near the top of their restoration bell curve. They won’t last forever. Then, they are replaced by a NEW locomotive to follow. (It is amazing that the Daylight has lasted so long...it must be the orange paint. And the 844 too.)  I am a big fan of the 3985 also. I made many trips to Cheyenne to ride behind her...with multiple SMOKEY photo runs on Sherman Hill. Saw her burning Hanna coal. Fantastic!  Sure glad I did it. Slides, movies, negatives, action shots, engine portraits and night shots with bulbs. Great stuff of a great engine!  But now...for a while...we have a UP Big Boy to cover. Enjoy the steam blessing that no one every thought would happen.    And now, for you guys that automatically disagree with anything that Keystone1 says....you may comment below.

Removed per request



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/28/19 12:58 by CPRR.

Well good luck.   I am saving my air fare and film money (yes, film),  for the 2926 debut under steam.

So much for the 2nd half of Mr. Youngs wishes.
Living in Nebraska I'm just glad I got to see, ride behind and in, this great machine as much as I did. From my first experiance seeing it pull the APL stack train from Cheyenne to NorthPlatte, Thank you Don Snoddy for the heads up. To the pulling of the Circus train from Spear to Denver and the following next two days ending with it leaving Lodge Pole EB on its last trip to Missouri.
Thank You to Steve, Bob, Lynn, both Ricks, Ron, Ed, Harold, Mary, Penny, Reed and all the others from that wounderfull group of People. There #1 priority was the opperation and maintenece of the historic machines they were intrusted with. Not with feeding their ego's.
Goodbye Miss 3985. I miss you.
Steve

Oh, to add to my list of old friends above, 5629, 5632, 6218, 6167, 5107, 6153, 6325, 4070, 6060 and on and on.  Get my point?  You have to see, ride, support and photograph engines while they are running.   They will not be around forever.

Some folks on here are NEVER Happy.  No matter what they complain.  We all should be so happy that the Union Pacific restored one of the largest steam locomotives ever and that it is running.  You may love the 4-6-6-4 but it is now out-of-service and the company that owns it has decided not to spend more money to have it operate again.  They own it and that is their decision.  So please, be happy for what they have done, restoring a Big Boy and stop all the complaining and name calling.  None of this helps the cause and only makes the person doing this look very small and shows their ignorance.
John

So what! I think we got a great trade in the process. So get over it or find a new hobby.

Posted from iPhone

Nice tone by CPRR. His post should be deleted. Weather you like Ed or not (I have no openion one way or the other), name calling here is uncalled for. 

 I have a hard time with the Big Boy even being restored, from a management point of view. Now its done and why do they need more than one roaming the rails? Do you get more PR with two? Its all wishful thinking by fans that have no say in the matter.  Do you think perhaps the steam group has a budget and there isnt room for another steamer..
RB

Trust me, this, if true, is not an Ed Dickens decision.  He would certainly have input regarding technical feasibility of a potential restoration, but the cost to restore 3985 at this point is such as to make it a senior management decision.  Given the cost of 4014’s restoration to service I would be flabbergasted were UP in any mood to commit the funding necessary to return a third steam locomotive to service.  I think the real concern should be about the long-term outlook for the UP steam program.  I was lucky to see and ride on and behind 3985 on several occasions, but I think the reality is that we should encourage UP to do a first-class cosmetic restoration of 3985 and decide on a good home for it.  The whole argument over whether 4014 should ever have been restored is moot; it was and that effectively sealed the fate of 3985.

i have undying respect for Steve and the whole old crew.  I was privileged to get to know most all of them.  But they are gone and it is time to move on.  Too many people seem to forget that UP has the only active steam program among Class I carriers.  They could pull the plug tomorrow if they wished.  It’s time, I think, to start being grateful for what we have rather than moaning about what we don’t.

Just my two cents’ worth.

Gordon

How many other big businesses are spending the money and time to preserve and operate steam locomotives, or airplanes or cars or trucks or anything else?
What we ought to be doing is thanking Union Pacific and praying that their stockholders continue to allow all this to happen...

Bill Deaver
Tehachapi, CA

CPRR......if you succeeded in BUYING the 3985 from the UP.....what are you going to use for a tender?

MojaveBill Wrote:
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> How many other big businesses are spending the
> money and time to preserve and operate steam
> locomotives, or airplanes or cars or trucks or
> anything else?
> What we ought to be doing is thanking Union
> Pacific and praying that their stockholders
> continue to allow all this to happen...

well said...........

66

goneon66 Wrote:
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> MojaveBill Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > How many other big businesses are spending the
> > money and time to preserve and operate steam
> > locomotives, or airplanes or cars or trucks or
> > anything else?
> > What we ought to be doing is thanking Union
> > Pacific and praying that their stockholders
> > continue to allow all this to happen...
>
> well said...........
>
> 66

Exactly.  When 4014 has to go down, things could change.  Enjoy the Big Boy while you can.  I never thought I would see it (and I may not), but at least I can watch video of it in HDTV - instead of the fuzzy video from the 1950's.  

andersonb109 Wrote:
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> Nice tone by CPRR. His post should be deleted.
> Weather you like Ed or not (I have no openion one
> way or the other), name calling here is uncalled
> for. 

CPRR speaks his mind just like you. Just because you disagree doesn't mean it should be deleted, JUST DISAGREE. Seems you don't take real advice from your favorite news network.

Ed Dickens could have said this way earlier, but trainjunkie's link says that Scott Moore, Senior VP at UP had the guts to say the truth at the appropriate time, right when the success of the UP 4014 project was becoming obvious. So this is another evidence of the "naysayers" characterization of Mr. Dickens (lack of) character here, and they have been consistent about that for almost a decade.

 It doesn't take away from the positive vibes UP 4014 is bringing to the TO community, but adults should be able to handle a mix of good and bad, right?