Meet the Huge Union Pacific DDA40X

Why is it "in storage"? It always was used to pull Engineering Dept. inspection trains.

The last time they used it was July 2016 to test the recently rebuilt 4-8-4 844; stored serviceable since 2016 in the Cheyenne roundhouse. Don

One is on outside display just north of I-80 atop the bluff on the west side of the Missouri River. John

Forgot one word:  It is LOUD!

@scale rail posted:

The last time they used it was July 2016 to test the recently rebuilt 4-8-4 844; stored serviceable since 2016 in the Cheyenne roundhouse. Don

OK, but again why is it "in storage" since it is fully functional?

@rattler21 posted:

One is on outside display just north of I-80 atop the bluff on the west side of the Missouri River. John

A photo of UP 6900. Next to it is a Big  Boy 4023.

I rode aboard one, once.

In the mid 1980's, I was assigned as Road Foreman of Engines at Barstow, and had to attend a meeting at Division headquarters in San Bernardino.  I rode the 198, a hot intermodal train, from Needles to San Bernardino, to attend the meeting, and, to return to my office, I asked the DS to stop a UP eastbound for me to ride, as I had always wanted to ride on one of the big 6900's.

The UP crew welcomed me aboard, and off we went.  The ride was very smooth, due to the 4-axle trucks and the long distance between truck centers.  The control stand was like other EMD control stands of that era, except that it had two ammeters -- one for each power plant.

Union Pacific's diesel locomotives up through the 1970's were always interesting, in that they had trademark UP cab appliances, including dark green painted surfaces, signature seats, and a Chicago Pneumatic speed recorder with colored bands around the edge of the dial, to identify the short time ratings by speed in case the ammeter was inoperable.  Most railroads painted their prime mover grey or light green, to match what the used in the cab interior.  UP painted its prime movers silver.

The DDA40X was a locomotive that was a perfect fit with the operations of Union Pacific, and I'm glad that one was saved for use by the Company.

@Hot Water posted:

Why is it "in storage"? It always was used to pull Engineering Dept. inspection trains.

This year, business car usage is way down on BNSF, and I would suspect that it's the same on UPRR.  

It's possible that they prefer to assign their active locomotives for what use they are making of their passenger car fleet, as there are a number of photos of the commemoratively decorated UPRR units pulling passenger cars at lower cost.  PSR runs on numbers.

It appears that they are keeping the locomotive fit for use if (or as we hope, when) there is once again a dance partner for it.  And it may be due for a blue card inspection before being used.  Not sure how long the "Out of Service" entry on the blue card is good for.  If it were up to me, I would not assign it to a high profile train movement without a new set of batteries and a thorough road test, after long storage.  However, all of that could be done within a week.

One more shot of the monster. Thanks Tom for the info. Don

When you come off the bridge out of Council Bluffs and climb the hill into Omaha, the Big Boy and DD40 are eye catchers on the right atop the bluff. I have never had time to stop and visit the museum I understand is there, and one day hope to. Maybe when a College World Series is going on.

And they had special high speed gearing......to run freights at 90 MPH. Their heritage diesel guy retired several years ago and the diesels and rotary have not received much attention since.

@Ron_S posted:

When you come off the bridge out of Council Bluffs and climb the hill into Omaha, the Big Boy and DD40 are eye catchers on the right atop the bluff. I have never had time to stop and visit the museum I understand is there, and one day hope to. Maybe when a College World Series is going on.

Ron,   I think the UP Museum has been relocated to Council Bluffs. The College World Series' fans occupy a lot of the hotel/motel rooms.  There may be a minimum of three nights with inflated rates.          John

John,

Thanks for that info, part of the reason I didn't try to make the sidetrip was many told me it was a bit confusing in how to get to the museum off the freeway and what little time I would of had would be eaten up looking for it. That was pre GPS days when I was traveling that area.

@rattler21 posted:

Ron,   I think the UP Museum has been relocated to Council Bluffs. The College World Series' fans occupy a lot of the hotel/motel rooms.  There may be a minimum of three nights with inflated rates.          John

Right, the UP museum is in downtown  Council Bluffs.  To get to the 6900 and the Big Boy you have to drive through a neighborhood in a round about fashion.  Was there for a Labor Day weekend back in 2018. The museum is a little on the small side considering the size and history of the Union Pacific,  in my opinion.

There's a monument and marker in downtown Omaha where the original shops were. Not far from their offices.

Omaha is a great place to visit.  I'm going back something soon.

DDA40X #6916 is on display at the Ogden station in Ogden, UT.  I took these photos in 2011.  Ogden is well worth visiting for rail fans.  NH Joe

That is one big diesel locomotive and I'll bet it really pulls well by it's self too.

We were in Ogden winter of 2016 and visited Union Station - really neat place to visit.

(note my avatar also)

@Chuck Sartor posted:

And they had special high speed gearing......to run freights at 90 MPH.

Not quite. The gear ratio was 59:18, in order to handle freight trains at 80 MPH, and UP ordered a group of SD40-2 units with the same 59:18 gear ration, general referred to as "Fast 40s", for MUing between two DDA40X units, which would total 16,200 HP. Such 3 unit consists were used on their fast TOFC trains.  The DDA40X "top speed" would have been 90 MPH with that 59:18 gear ration, but they sure as the devil didn't operate freight trains THAT fast!

Their heritage diesel guy retired several years ago and the diesels and rotary have not received much attention since.

To be accurate, the whole entire "previous steam crew" are gone (either retired, fired, or quit), and nobody on the current staff at Cheyenne know anything about the DDA40x, nor the E Units, nor the big diesel rotary snow plow.

 EDIT:  I just checked my copy of the DDA40X Locomotive Service Manual (one of the VERY rare ones in existence) and confirmed that the max speed for that 59:18 gear ratio (based on the max RPM of the traction motor armature) was 90 MPH. However, the "full horsepower" speed was 82 MPH, thus at speeds above 82 MPH the horsepower tends to drop off dramatically since the high voltage limit of the main generator/generators is reached and limited.

I'm very glad and grateful to see this info on the prototype - even if no one left standing knows how to operate it. I know about the display site, and I have one of the MTH versions (Lionel never made one, and probably never will) and it is a favorite of mine. 

@Hancock52 posted:

I'm very glad and grateful to see this info on the prototype - even if no one left standing knows how to operate it.

I did NOT state that "no one left standing knows how to operate it", as there are any number of Engineers that could "operate it", since the cab controls are not that different from a current diesel electric unit, i.e. it doe NOT have a desk top controller mechanism. The folks responsible for the maintenance & troubleshooting of such "historic" units are now gone from the current steam crew.

I know about the display site, and I have one of the MTH versions (Lionel never made one, and probably never will) and it is a favorite of mine. 

@Hot Water posted:

 I did NOT state that "no one left standing knows how to operate it", as there are any number of Engineers that could "operate it", since the cab controls are not that different from a current diesel electric unit, i.e. it doe NOT have a desk top controller mechanism. The folks responsible for the maintenance & troubleshooting of such "historic" units are now gone from the current steam crew.

It's purely what I got from what you originally said, i.e. "To be accurate, the whole entire "previous steam crew" are gone (either retired, fired, or quit), and nobody on the current staff at Cheyenne know anything about the DDA40x, nor the E Units, nor the big diesel rotary snow plow."

Thanks for the clarification. If the position is that there is someone who could run it, great.

@Hancock52 posted:

It's purely what I got from what you originally said, i.e. "To be accurate, the whole entire "previous steam crew" are gone (either retired, fired, or quit), and nobody on the current staff at Cheyenne know anything about the DDA40x, nor the E Units, nor the big diesel rotary snow plow."

Thanks for the clarification. If the position is that there is someone who could run it, great.

The much bigger issue with the "historic diesels" housed at the Cheyenne Steam Shop complex is, apparently nobody on the UP actually cars whether they operate or not. The UP currently has more than enough "issues" with the current business levels, as well as the "PSR operating policies", and the laying off of lots, and LOTS of employees, to worry about the historic diesels and the steam locomotives.

@Hot Water posted:

The much bigger issue with the "historic diesels" housed at the Cheyenne Steam Shop complex is, apparently nobody on the UP actually cars whether they operate or not. The UP currently has more than enough "issues" with the current business levels, as well as the "PSR operating policies", and the laying off of lots, and LOTS of employees, to worry about the historic diesels and the steam locomotives.

Terrible sign of the times.

UP 6900 and Big Boy 4023 keep each other company at Kenefick Park in Omaha, NE.  They overlook the I-80 traffic coming into Omaha from Council Bluffs.  Below is a link some internet photos. 

Kenefick Park link

This aged like milk lol, UP sent out an email to the steam club stating that they are going to donate 6936 to a museum I forget which