[masthead image: Riding the Rails]Looking at the image above, you can imagine that to the left, just out of the shot, are the train robbers on horseback running to overtake the engine. Or maybe to the right, just out of the shot, is the depot in some wild west movie town, perhaps depicted by Old Tucson. Or a hundred other possibilities.
This is some of the equipment in the Heritage Fleet of the Union Pacific Railroad, a specially maintained collection of equipment that is run to celebrate and educate about the history and magnificent role that railroads, and especially the Union Pacific, have played in the development of the American way of life.
This particular train is powered by a steam engine, UP # 3985, popularly known as the "Challenger". This is the largest steam locomotive operating anywhere in the world today, and it consistently draws crowds of fans (railfans, sometimes referred to as "foamers") who chase it along its route where ever it goes. I had the opportunity to ride the rails on this wondrous beauty as it came through the upper plains on an excursion this fall, thanks to a great friend who made arrangements for me to accompany him on an invited ride (I still owe you one, buddy!).
This picture was taken south of Onawa, Iowa, near Blencoe, a tiny town on the broad Missouri River bottom. I don't have a panoramic lens, but I love the way this picture shows the train stretching out across the expanse and how the soybean fields resemble native prairie, as it might have looked in the early part of the last century when the Challenger was originally in revenue service.
For more, check out my slideshow of pics from this little fan trip.
