Union Pacific Thoroughbreds
The crew of the steam program at Union Pacific Railroad set out to record the last time 844, 4014, and 3985 will ever be together again in the steam house in Cheyenne. Along with these 3, UP 5511 the last of its kind was on hand to join the lineup, with 5511 and 3985 donated to the Sylvis Illinois museum.
Ed Dickens contacted me back on the early morning of September 13, 2022 with an idea he came up with over a dinner outing with friends the night before. Some of us were all mutual friends and my name came up. A special thanks to my friend Jennifer Howell, she graciously thought I was a good fit for the assignment and Ed contacted me the following day. Ed offered me the opportunity to include my friend Derek Brown or known as “Buffie” and he was eager to join in, and away we went together as a team. UP sent some of their own people down from Omaha and the Rocky Mountain Railroad club sent a member that was acting exclusively for “Trains Magazine’ for a small fan fare of the special move to get 5511 ready for its trip to Silvus, Illinois where Union Pacific donated several pieces of equipment including 3985 and 5511.
In this frame I wanted to get a O Winston Link style night shoot. I brought on a friend to help bring a concept of a night shoot alive. Together we worked a small series of night shots at the Back Shop in Cheyenne a not often recorded area due to its off limits nature, Ed made it possible for us to capture this spectacular moment for future generations and the Steam Team stayed around after supper to help it become a reality. A thank you to my friend Tim Tonge for his experience and expertise in lighting that brought my dream alive, a sketch and some notes made for some truly unique images at the Union Pacific Steam Shops.
Thank you Ed Dickens for this incredible opportunity and making the move to Silvis such a success!
A continuously growing album of photos that IMHO reveal the awesome and seldom-seen beauty of the railroad world from the dimming of day to dawn's early light! From dusk to dawn, trains roll on! (I'm still finding gems of sunset-to-sunrise surprises!)
