Knowing that the steam locomotive was to stop in
Bloomington over night (which is about 40 miles away) I wasn't too
concerned about getting a good shot that day because I had planned to go
see it up close while it was standing still. The next day my
father-in-law and I took a trip out to there and it was awesome. About a
150 people had the same idea which wasn't to bad and we had a great
time. The engine is almost 51 feet long and weighs over
486,000 pounds.
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When diesels took over all passenger train duties, No.
844 was placed in freight service in Nebraska from 1957 to 1959. It was
saved from being scrapped in 1960 and held for special service.
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The engine has run hundreds of thousands of miles for
Union Pacific railroad.
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This is a close-up of the pilot (cow catcher or cattle
guard) which is about one inch thick.
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This is first set of wheels on the engine which are
much smaller than the drive wheels.
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I believe this is called a steam chest or valve chest
and it's placed right above the first set of wheels. They have a small
chamber (sometimes cylindrical) above or to the side of the main
cylinder containing passageways used by the valves to distribute live
steam to the cylinders.
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