WORLD'S LARGEST UNION PACIFIC LOCOMOTIVE

[@WAL_DC-6B]

I actually got to operate the UP 6936 when I was working as a locomotive engineer at the Soo/CP Bensenville yard. In late May 2010, 6936 was brought to Bensenville for eventual display at the annual "Railroad Daze" held in nearby Franklin Park, IL a few days later. The huge unit was sitting, idling on 68 engine service track at the east end of the yard. Since there was a fair amount of room ahead of the locomotive I decided to "invite myself aboard" and take it for a "short spin" (this was on my lunch break). So, I walked around the engine inspecting it, climbed into the cab, released the handbrake inside it (an unusual place for a hand brake), placed the two isolation switches in "run", put the reverser in forward, released the automatic and independent brakes and cracked the throttle open and moved it about 100 feet and stopped to tie it down. Didn't go very far, but hey, I can at least say I operated the world's largest, most powerful, single unit diesel locomotive in the world!

[@ernestyeagley512]

Glad you had the chance to experience a 6900 despite it brief. I'm a retired engineer off the UP. I was assigned on the Nebraska Division, Later became the Wyoming Division (between North Platte, NE and Cheyenne WYO. This was regular stomping ground for the 6900's. These units did not make transition, the traction motors were always in Paralell (at least I think it was parallel or parallel shunt, for it's been almost 40 years since they were in service). The usual consist was two 6900's with an SD40-2 sandwiched in between. When I worked as a hostler back in the mid 1970's I helped make up a many of these consists for departure. The 8000 class SD40-2's were if I remember correctly geared to match the 6900 and those 8000 normally were assigned to the 6900's. If my memory serves me, those SD40-2's had an overspeed of 82 MPH like the 6900's. I think that is why they were numbered as an 8000 class, the first two numbers indicating "80" MPH. Where we saw them were in hot shot assignments, maximum authorized speed was 70. Most always overpowered, and we often could make the 225 mile uphill run to CY from NOP in 4 hours and 40 minutes. Eastbound, I have made the run in 4 hours and 20 minutes. The 6900's however had an overspeed at 82 MPH. The units rode stiff and not as smooth as the SD40-s and dash 2's. Back in 1979, I did my qualifying run on the 6945, and all that is left of her is one of her number boards. Those 6900's had giddy-up often reaching 60 MPH within the first 3-5 miles with 2,000 tons trailing. The downside with these units were if one power plant went down and needed to be shopped for it, half of a locomotive could still be in service but was stuck with it's sick mate. But overall a great unit many reached over 2 million miles of service.

[@WAL_DC-6B]

@@ernestyeagley512 Thanks for helping to illustrate what it was really like to run a 6900. That's pretty interesting how these locomotives apparently didn't make transition. My first railroad employment was with the C&NW RR (11 years) where I worked mostly as an ultrasound rail test truck operator (it used the same DAPCO ultrasound test equipment as the UP DC-3 seen in this video). Anyway, once when traveling from my base in Marshalltown, Iowa to Lusk, Wyoming to test some CF&I rail we were having problems with (mid 1980s) I noticed a number of 6900s in operation on the UP mainline. In fact, I was able to get some photos of the units that were always trailing every time I saw one in a consist. I believe this was when the UP brought some 6900s out of storage for one last time of use.

[@ernestyeagley512]

AT 14:50 referenced the hog train. The hogs originated out of Columbus, NE (west of Omaha). In later years the yellow bi level hog cars were phased out and tri-level cars were put into service. If I remember each car could hold a little over 300 hogs. They were packed in tight (like a full elevator) to minimize injury during shipment. At North Platte, NE the hog cars were set out on the PFE (Pacific Fruit Express) track, where the hogs were watered and the cars inspected. The Pacific Fruit Express was responsible for movement of livestock. If I remember these hogs had to make a 2 1/2 to 3 day trip from Columbus to East LA. At Las Vegas the hog train stayed intact and was slowly pulled through a "car wash" of cool water spray to cool them down for the desert journey ahead. We nicknamed those hogs as "The California Ladies", but I can assure you, they did not smell like a lady. If you worked the west hump (where I often did) back in the1980's. there at North Platte, NE, the hog cars remained coupled to the inbound train. You earned your "stripes" as a hump engineer with those hogs coupled to your hump engine to hump same train a 2MPH for about 30 minutes. As you shoved, the perfume of those ladies came right back into the cab. Summers where the worst! Once the train was classified, the hogs were taken back down to the hog track for the PFE inspection. By the way, the UP was the last class 1 railroad in the US to ship livestock. As for the conductor and rear brakeman, like you said "it was tough". Try eating your lunch with all of that wafting into you caboose! However the hogs were often on the head end of a hot shot train and the crews on the Nebraska and Wyoming Divisions where spared a bit.

[@charlessmileyvideos]

Wow, what a great back story on the Hogs! I never knew the specifics of how they pulled that off. I really like the part about the cool water in Las Vegas for the Desert Journey to California! Thanks for sharing these valuable gems of information on a really special and unique train!

[@DJ4000VOLT]

DD35’s are my favorite!! That narrow nose is so unique on that type of frame!!

[@charlessmileyvideos]

The are super cool! We like these more than the DD40's in many ways!

[@PeterNGloor]

D-D stands for the axle number, A being one axle, B two, C three, and D is four axles per truck.

[@markjohnson4924]

At around 20:00, what was labeled "Cajon Blvd" is actually approaching Spadra on todays UP LA Sub.

[@charlessmileyvideos]

Thanks Mark for keeping us in line. I thought you might have been running around at that location but I think it was a bit before your time.

[@remylopez4821]

16:48 I know of at least one turbine on display in Ogden Utah. I saw it myself at the station there.

[@charlessmileyvideos]

Very cool, glad that they preserved some of them. Ogden Union Station is a super place to visit!

[@BudmanPackfan]

#26 is there. #18 is the other one preserved at IRM. I do not believe any 1st or 2nd Gen units were saved.

[@charliebrooks2570]

Very interesting history of the UP!

[@charlessmileyvideos]

Thanks, Charliebrooks for supporting channel!

[@ck7813]

I love locos constantly in notch 8!!

[@charlessmileyvideos]

We do too, and when your are talking Cajon and Tehachapi that happens alot!

[@crookedbird6589]

There are at least two turbines saved. One is in Ogden Utah and the other at Illinois RR museum Union Il,

[@charlessmileyvideos]

We are so glad that they preserved these special engines. UP's testing and technology really propelled railroading forward and also showed some limits at the same time!

[@JohnBachofer]

I’ve been thinking about adding a Union Pacific DD40X my HO scale collection but concern is that it’s turn radius might be too wide for Bachmann E-Z track on a 4x8, which what my layout is…. Currently.

[@charlessmileyvideos]

Yeah, with the Big UP Power look into 28 inch radias or 36 inch radias curves. Especially for cars over 60 foot in length like Autoracks or Spine cars.

[@JohnBachofer]

@@charlessmileyvideos I suspected as much. Bachmann E-Z Track's curved pieces have a turn radius of 18 inches, which is just barely wide enough for a six-axle unit.

[@rottenroads1982]

If there is to one day be Electric locomotives, we need D-D locomotives like the Centennials, but electric.

[@Iconoclasher]

Looks like 16mm film. Was sound dubbed in or was the sound recorded at the moment?

[@Mark-wl2gw]

Cool but over the top!

[@remylopez4821]

Also the livestock cars we’re going to Farmer John’s in Vernon makers of the famous dodger dogs sold at the ballpark

[@charlessmileyvideos]

And those Dodger Dogs never tasted better than the 1970's and 1980's when UP was bring in the meat fresh. I am not sure the neighbors down wind from the processing plant were as happy. Those Dodger Dogs are not the same these days, thanks for the wonderful memories.

[@espeescotty]

@@charlessmileyvideos I got to see the block of Farmer John hog cars, or as CTC Board Magazine (June 1988) called it "Hamtrak", on an eastbound climbing Cajon in late 1987 or early 1988, behind the then new GE C40-8's....My first time to see both. I don't know what year UP stopped running Hamtrak into SoCal, but I don't think it lasted very long into the 90's, if it did make it that long. And just a bit of a correction, those hog cars were actually triple-deckers. Hi Remy! 🖐🤠👍

[@wasatchrangerailway6921]

Hey Charles, for the first time in your life allow me to correct you on a small detail? DD stood for the axle count on each truck-----a, b, c, (D) and a, b, c, (D) just like the DD35's. The D truck had 4 axles under each end.

[@charlessmileyvideos]

Hi, wasatchrangerrailway you are correct thanks, I noted the change in the description. Not sure what we were thinking about 8 axles, but I guess it was wish full thinking.(LOL) Thanks for your support of our channel we appreciate the feedback!

[@espeescotty]

@@charlessmileyvideos Though the D-D trucks reference is accurate, it this case, you both can be correct, since every D-D locomotive built by EMD was a Double-Diesel too.

[@charliebrooks2570]

Those are big engines!

[@charlessmileyvideos]

The UP DD-40X's were serious machines! The peak of the Railroad Horsepower Race!

[@tmlafrance]

"DD" doesn't stand for double diesel, it's for the two D type 8 wheel trucks.

[@joshjones3408]

👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@charlessmileyvideos]

Thanks Joshjones!

[@ratze7723]

Bro got confused writing that title

[@charlessmileyvideos]

Thanks for catching that, in between 2 minds I guess!

[@Ricky40369]

Engines are not motors. Get an education.

[@WAL_DC-6B]

Yeah, tell that to the "Ford Motor Co" or "General Motors."

[@johnblood10]

I’d say he’s already got an impressive education, considering his vast KZbin repository of train facts & railroad history. By the way, basic politeness is pretty cool & won’t hurt you.

[@ernestyeagley512]

Well Ricky take it from a retired UP locomotive engineer. We worked closely with the BN on the Powder River runs where we would meet at Northport, NE. The BN enginemen called their units "Motors". Now who is getting an education?

[@ernestyeagley512]

@@WAL_DC-6B This was for Ricky40369. I wrote "Well Ricky take it from a retired UP locomotive engineer. We worked closely with the BN on the Powder River runs where we would meet at Northport, NE. The BN enginemen called their units "Motors". Now who is getting an education?"

[@BillK.1973]

No, "DD" stood for the trucks having quad axles.