T.G.'s Photography Blog

UP 3985 - Chester Subdivision - Columbia, IL Back in October of 2010, Union Pacific's Challenger 3985 came to St. Louis, Missouri. On October 7, the steam locomotive took an excursion train south to Gorham, Illinois , and then back to St. Louis. The first photograph, above, is of the locomotive as it heads south on the Union Pacific's Chester Subdivision at Columbia, Illinois. This was the only photograph I managed to get of the locomotive on the outbound trip to Gorham. The train was traveling at a fast pace, and due to a road closure at Chester, Illinois, my dad and I could not keep with it. So, after lunch in Chester, we found a photographic spot to capture UP 3985 from on the return trip. UP 3985 - Kaskaskia River - Chester Subdivision After Union Pacific 3985 got to Gorham, Illinois, it was turned around on the wye tracks between the Chester Subdivision and the Mount Vernon Subdivision. It then began its journey back to St. Louis. On the return journey we c...

UP 3985 - Buffalo, KS Union Pacific 3985 fills the cold winter sky with smoke as the Super Bowl XXXVIII Special heads north on Union Pacific's Coffeyville Subdivision, toward Kansas City, Missouri. The train would stay over night in Kansas City before moving on to its next stop on the return leg of the Super Bowl XXXVIII Special tour. Eventually UP 3985 would return home to Cheyenne, Wyoming, where Union Pacific's heritage steam locomotives are based out of. About the image This image was originally captured on Kodak Ektachrome slide film, and scanned on a Nikon CoolScan 9000 ED film scanner. Conversion was done in Adobe Photoshop, using Nik Software's Silver Efex Pro. Photo taken: February 8, 2004, at Buffalo, Kansas.

Union Pacific's (UP) Challenger 3985 thunders through the small town of Altoona, KS., as it leads the Superbowl XXXVIII special . The train is heading north on the UP's Coffeyville Subdivision toward Kansas City, MO. After being on display in Houston, TX., during the Superbowl, the train is heading back home to Cheyenne, WY. Photo taken: February 8, 2004, at Altoona, Kansas.

After a journey from Kansas City, Missouri, Union Pacific 3985 has arrived in Jefferson City, Missouri, during the locomotive's  Superbowl XXXVIII tour special . This shot was taken while the locomotive was being serviced. From here the locomotive traveled on to St. Louis, Missouri. The train's final destination was Houston, Texas, where it would be on display during Superbowl XXXVIII's festivities. About the image The image was scanned from a Kodak Ektachrome slide, with a Nikon CoolScan 9000 ED film scanner. It was then converted into black and white using Adobe Photoshop. Photo taken: January 15, 2004, at Jefferson City, Missouri.