Steam & Excursion > 8444 2-20-72 excursion S/B ON the Dent branch !!! wild

taken by Will Hata?      posted by Bob Jordon                                                     this was 2-20-72  a one way excursion from Chian_DEN  THE LOCO RETURNED THE NEXT DAY TO cHIAN ON #5

Dent branch was a perfect venue ( in colo)       Suprised to see  cars allready red white and blue



Edited 6 time(s). Last edit at 04/17/20 03:51 by dan.

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8444 went to the World's Fair in Spokane, Washington in 1974.  The fair was built on the site of the Great Northern depot which was razed for the event, only its tower being preserved.   Judging by the terrain, the photos could have been taken enroute.  The histories say the fair did not begin until May, however.

I saw it for the first time there as a young man, riding with my family on the recently formed Amtrak from Salem, Oregon to Seattle on the Coast Starlight and then to Spokane on the Empire Builder.  It was my first long trip on mainline passenger rail and I spent most of the trip across the Cascade Mountains on the rear platform from which no one chased me.....  Lots of trestles and the 8 mile Cascade Tunnel enroute as well as dining in an ex Northern Pacific car which I believe survives.  A bittersweet introduction to riding the rails; enough of the old to see and experience some of what was (the equipment and the men who carried and served us were the veterans), but even as it was slipping away into something different.

And after being drug all over the fair with my family, we at last came to the 8444 only at the fair's closing time with security ushering attendees out.  My only chance to see it; family finances dictated we weren't coming back.  So my younger brother and I stole more time with 8444 by climbing up behind the smoke deflectors while the security guards went unknowingly by.  A very memorable introduction to 844(4) as well.  We're both a bit older now but still operating...

January 19th 1974 the 8444 was ferried to Denver over the Dent Branch on Amtrak #6 to run the January 20th Rocky Mountain Railroad Club round trip to Laramie.
This was from Jim Reisdorff's book "50 years of Union Pacific Steam Excursions". 

Bob Krieger
Cheyenne, WY

dan Wrote:
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> I have never seen a #6 look like this, plus it
> looks like they are  doing a runby, so i think
> this is something different.  Perhaps a return to
> Chian after? looks nb with the light

They used to pull #'s 5&6 backwards between Cheyenne and Denver.

Bob Krieger
Cheyenne, WY



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/08/20 11:01 by Bob3985.

It would seem to be really unusual to run #5/6 via the much slower Dent branch?  

ok I GOT A COPY OF THE 50 YEARS OF STEAM EXCURSIONS, THE DATE WAS 2-20-72 one way trip chian Denver  so this was sb on the dent brANCH



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/17/20 03:50 by dan.