Steam & Excursion > UP 8444 leaving Denver for home

Oct 1978
After a successful Denver-Laramie roundtrip the day before, 8444 is headed back to Cheyenne.
Passing through the Denver yards with a caboose and business car 104.
Built in 1926 by Pullman Standard as Los Angeles & Salt Lake 4403.
Became 104 in 1957.

Note the mini photo line in the yard.

Gary

 

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Nice to see another photo of the big Boy plus a good clean Union Pacific Caboose. 
Blaine
American Fork

BlaineM Wrote:
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> Nice to see another photo of the big Boy plus a
> good clean Union Pacific Caboose. 
> Blaine
> American Fork

Why do you think that is a "Big Boy"?

My mistake Hot Wire, sorry so used to see the Big Boy should have read further.
Blaine
American Fork

Wonderful view of UP 8444 from Highway overpass of the former Union Pacific's downtown Denver Yard (long gone-!) location.  Now occupied by the Rockies baseball field (Coors Field) and parking lots.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/20/24 08:48 by cozephyr.

BlaineM Wrote:
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> My mistake Hot Wire, sorry so used to see the Big
> Boy should have read further.
> Blaine
> American Fork

1) It's "HotWater",,,,,,,,,,NOT "Hot Wire"!

2) You mean you couldn't tell by just looking at the beautiful photos that it was NOT a Big Boy????

How about the photoline in the yard?

We had one in Vegas when the 8444 was there, things used to be different.

Out 

Great series.  Pic one shows the train passing the first UP ABS on the double track to Commerce City "the outbound" and pic two and three show the Absolute signal at the entrance to DUT Ry limits on "the inbound".
DUT Ry was controlled by this tower:                https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?11,5939877  
BSB

Hey Hot Wire I hope if and when you reach 92 you are alert as I and don't make mistakes to be called out on.
Blaine
American Fork  

Blaine, he is 92, he just doesn't know it.

Out 

BigSkyBlue Wrote:
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> Great series.  Pic one shows the train passing
> the first UP ABS on the double track to Commerce
> City "the outbound" and pic two and three show the
> Absolute signal at the entrance to DUT Ry limits
> on "the inbound".
> DUT Ry was controlled by this tower:         
>      
> https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?11
> ,5939877  
> BSB  , what was names and order of the yards there, the kansas and oklahoma yards?? a third?

BigSkyBlue Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Great series.  Pic one shows the train passing
> the first UP ABS on the double track to Commerce
> City "the outbound" and pic two and three show the
> Absolute signal at the entrance to DUT Ry limits
> on "the inbound".
> DUT Ry was controlled by this tower:         
>      
> https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?11
> ,5939877  
> BSB

BSB and all, Trying to place where in Denver this is. I didn't get here in Colo til 1983 and only visited about 1x per year til 1997 when we became permanent residents of the Centennial State. I sorta, kinda know Denver from seeing photo's thru the years prior to 83 and more so after 1997. Is the wye in shot's 2 & 3 that take off to the left in shot, the original UP Yard at 36th St in Denver along the KP? And the bridge in shots 2/3&4 Speer Blvd, looking south towards DUT with Burnham Shops ahead in the distance?  Any help would be appreciated in my quest. Thanks. And what a great series of shots. Thanks for sharing.   Ben

It's an easy mistake to make, HayWire.
- LF

HotWater Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> BlaineM Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Nice to see another photo of the big Boy plus
> a
> > good clean Union Pacific Caboose. 
> > Blaine
> > American Fork
>
> Why do you think that is a "Big Boy"?

ns2557 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> BigSkyBlue Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Great series.  Pic one shows the train passing
> > the first UP ABS on the double track to
> Commerce
> > City "the outbound" and pic two and three show
> the
> > Absolute signal at the entrance to DUT Ry
> limits
> > on "the inbound".
> > DUT Ry was controlled by this tower:       
>  
> >      
> >
> https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?11
>
> > ,5939877  
> > BSB
>
> BSB and all, Trying to place where in Denver this
> is. I didn't get here in Colo til 1983 and only
> visited about 1x per year til 1997 when we became
> permanent residents of the Centennial State. I
> sorta, kinda know Denver from seeing photo's thru
> the years prior to 83 and more so after 1997. Is
> the wye in shot's 2 & 3 that take off to the left
> in shot, the original UP Yard at 36th St in Denver
> along the KP? And the bridge in shots 2/3&4 Speer
> Blvd, looking south towards DUT with Burnham Shops
> ahead in the distance?  Any help would be
> appreciated in my quest. Thanks. And what a great
> series of shots. Thanks for sharing.   Ben

The wye in the photo is the Denargo Market. It is still there, and connects the UP to the Burlington/BN/BNSF yard. The BN locomotive shop would be off to the left out of view. The photo is facing east, and the bridge in question carries Broadway/Brighton Blvd. over the UP. This now goes under the remaining UP tracks. The yard to the right of the frame is now the parking lot for Coors Field. If you look above the set of UP geeps on the wye, you can see the roof of the Denver Coliseum on the skyline and to the right of that are the silos for the Purina dog food plant off I-70. 8444 would be heading towards the Pullman wye where the KP goes east to Limon and DP mainline goes north to Greeley and Cheyenne. Picture 1 is facing Union Station, with the BN switcher in the background coming out of the station throat. The tracks to the engineer's side of 8444 would now be the back/left field side of Coors Field. I believe this is 23rd St. where the photos are taken from, which today would be Park Ave. 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/20/24 20:31 by CPB284.

callum_out Wrote:
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> Blaine, he is 92, he just doesn't know it.
>
> Out 

ROFLMAO

Dag nab it. You should warn people before posting such a post. I nearly spit out my coffee I was laughing so hard.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/21/24 07:16 by longliveSP.

dan Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> BigSkyBlue Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Great series.  Pic one shows the train passing
> > the first UP ABS on the double track to
> Commerce
> > City "the outbound" and pic two and three show
> the
> > Absolute signal at the entrance to DUT Ry
> limits
> > on "the inbound".
> > DUT Ry was controlled by this tower:       
>  
> >      
> >
> https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?11
>
> > ,5939877  
> > BSB  , what was names and order of the yards
> there, the kansas and oklahoma yards?? a third?

Have to ask a UP old head on that one.  But to help out those still trying to place this, all the main tracks including the Denargo Wye are still there, it's the UP Yard that has been completely removed for Coors Field and the parking lots.  The BN switch engine in the background is pulling the autos through DUT and on to what is now the BNSF passenger main that runs east of the shops.  The signals to the right of that train are the west end of the BNSF engine facilities and the C&S "Buck" main that leads to Prospect, Cheyenne, and the former D&RGW.   BSB

Nice shots of the then 8444, still sucks she;s been sitting in Chyenne and hardly any news on if she'll ever run again!

ProAmtrak Wrote:
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> Nice shots of the then 8444, still sucks she;s
> been sitting in Chyenne and hardly any news on if
> she'll ever run again!

Someday. Perhaps... maybe....