Rusty Traque posted:

Then there's all the raw and finished material needed and shiny new tools Ed bought.

Rusty

The UP can spread the cost of the "shiny new tools" over the cost of rebuilding 4014 too. Plus as the recent UP video said whatever parts that were rebuilt for 844 that were common to 4014 were also shipped out and rebuilt so contrary to the negative talking points spewed forth here some progress has been made on 4014. Parts have also been ordered and delivered for 4014. The experience learned rebuilding 844 should speed up work on 4014 which should start immediately following steam up of 844. Although I would love to see 844 fired up for the annual Cheyenne Frontier days trip to Denver I expect to see it  a few months after that. Time will tell.

Hot Water posted:

... The labor alone, what with 10 or 12 employees working 12 hour days 6 and/or 7 days a week.

 With all due respect, those aren't credible numbers. Union Pacific union labor working 72 - 84 hours a week, over what time period? What is the source of information?

Rusty Traque posted:

Waste oil goes for 0.25-0.50 a gallon, that's $1500-$3000 just to fill the tender bunker once for starters.

You can do the math on the labor, http://www.railserve.com/Railr...cupations_wages.html

But figure at least $1400 for one man for one 6 day week, not including overtime or Ed's salary, multiplied over the number of days of the restoration.

Then there's all the raw and finished material needed and shiny new tools Ed bought.

Rusty

Isn't the wage shown the hourly wage the employee is due on their pay check only? Could be wrong, but I am thinking the cost to UP would be at least half again as much (and probably more) for retirement, health benefits, workmen's comp and other employer costs per employee.

rtr12 posted:

Isn't the wage shown the hourly wage the employee is due on their pay check only? Could be wrong, but I am thinking the cost to UP would be at least half again as much (and probably more) for retirement, health benefits, workmen's comp and other employer costs per employee.

How much is free advertising worth when 844 pulls into your city with Union Pacific painted on the side of the shiny tender and all 3 networks put it on the local news station .

rtr12 posted:

Rusty Traque posted:

Waste oil goes for 0.25-0.50 a gallon, that's $1500-$3000 just to fill the tender bunker once for starters.

You can do the math on the labor, http://www.railserve.com/Railr...cupations_wages.html

But figure at least $1400 for one man for one 6 day week, not including overtime or Ed's salary, multiplied over the number of days of the restoration.

Then there's all the raw and finished material needed and shiny new tools Ed bought.

Rusty

Isn't the wage shown the hourly wage the employee is due on their pay check only? Could be wrong, but I am thinking the cost to UP would be at least half again as much (and probably more) for retirement, health benefits, workmen's comp and other employer costs per employee.

Where I worked, for calculating labor costs, we used 1.4 times salary/hour times hours worked.  Overtime was 1.5 times salary. 

Tranz4mr posted:

rtr12 posted:

Isn't the wage shown the hourly wage the employee is due on their pay check only? Could be wrong, but I am thinking the cost to UP would be at least half again as much (and probably more) for retirement, health benefits, workmen's comp and other employer costs per employee.

How much is free advertising worth when 844 pulls into your city with Union Pacific painted on the side of the shiny tender and all 3 networks put it on the local news station .

"Free advertising?" You really think major shippers make their decisions based on seeing a choo-choo train on TV?

1.4 times the wage is more like it. I am sure it would depend on the business one was in and any other employer costs that might be involved, or business specific as to the actual figure.

As for advertising, UP would have to weigh that one against their costs. I don't dis-agree that they are getting something from their steam program, I certainly think they are, but it's up to UP to decide if it's worth it or not. The labor costs are a fixed expense that can be accurately defined and must be paid out whether UP gets any benefit from those expenses or not.

SMD4 posted while I was typing, but I think he has also has a good point, I imagine the shippers are interested in price and service to keep their own business going, steam engines not so much.

I double checked the labor rates, and thought that they all sounded awful low, and they were for 2016.

Those labor rates are over 5 years old (2011)    So you need to kick your figures up a notch or 5!.........................

SJC posted:

trainroomgary posted:

Just one more thing, for all you guys that want to take bets. You better get over to “Google” and do some reading.

Union Pacific Railroad and their donors are going to lay temporary tracks on 5th. Street, Cheyenne. The 844 will come on its own power or come down the main drag with a modern diesel pulling and pushing the Historic 844 for Cheyenne Frontier Days, 2016.

Good Luck - Gary

Ok, I'll bite.....got a link to Google proof for this (insane) claim?

FWIW, I did some Googling and got nothing about this.....

One can also "Google" all about how Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster are real.  I hope he doesn't believe in those myths too. 

I have been following this tread for a bit. There maybe a solution to the problem of time. When the government gets behind on something they farm out the work to contractors. Most of the time it gets done. exception is Obama care, that being said. Would it not behoove the UP folks to farm some of this work to folks that have there act together. The folks that are keeping diesels and steam on the rails at the shops at Spenser could help out maybe and the folks that just got the Milwaukee road northern seemed to have got that one right also. Just a thought.

Hot Water posted:

Matt Makens posted:

It took a lot longer than 4 months to do that to 261

True, but then the 261 crew were volunteers and knew what they were doing. Just like the N&W 611 crew, and the SP 4449 crew.

And give Rich and Company credit for the 765!

smd4 posted:

Tranz4mr posted:

How much is free advertising worth when 844 pulls into your city with Union Pacific painted on the side of the shiny tender and all 3 networks put it on the local news station .

"Free advertising?" You really think major shippers make their decisions based on seeing a choo-choo train on TV?

A steam engine with your company name and logo plastered on the side of it is a powerful image on TV. This is why the UP has steam engines on the roster. This is why the UP parks them at National conventions, tours nationwide from city to city or pulls Denver elites to Cheyenne Frontier days and back. Advertising is about getting your company name, logo and image in front of as many people and customers as you can as cheap as you can.

Tranz4mr posted:

A steam engine with your company name and logo plastered on the side of it is a powerful image on TV. This is why the UP has steam engines on the roster. This is why the UP parks them at National conventions, tours nationwide from city to city or pulls Denver elites to Cheyenne Frontier days and back. Advertising is about getting your company name, logo and image in front of as many people and customers as you can as cheap as you can.

Hi Kent - Well said, and millions of Tourist Dollars. 

trainroomgary posted:

Tranz4mr posted:

A steam engine with your company name and logo plastered on the side of it is a powerful image on TV. This is why the UP has steam engines on the roster. This is why the UP parks them at National conventions, tours nationwide from city to city or pulls Denver elites to Cheyenne Frontier days and back. Advertising is about getting your company name, logo and image in front of as many people and customers as you can as cheap as you can.

Hi Kent - Well said, and millions of Tourist Dollars. 

Are there REALLY "tourists" on the Union Pacific RR?  The UP doesn't even have any public access passenger trains!

Hot Water posted 

Are there REALLY "tourists" on the Union Pacific RR?  The UP doesn't even have any public access passenger trains!

 

Hi Hot Water - The Tourist Dollars are not for the Union Pacific Railroad but for The Great States of Wyoming, Colorado, and the city of Cheyenne & Cheyenne Frontier Days.  Hotels, Campgrounds, Restaurants. and everything tied to family vacations. The 844 will bring in tourist dollars, spent in the USA, jobs for our fellow Americans.    http://www.cheyenne.org/

Gary - Cheers from The Detroit and Mackinac Railway

John Pignatelli JR. posted:

I have been following this tread for a bit. There maybe a solution to the problem of time. When the government gets behind on something they farm out the work to contractors. Most of the time it gets done. exception is Obama care, that being said. Would it not behoove the UP folks to farm some of this work to folks that have there act together. The folks that are keeping diesels and steam on the rails at the shops at Spenser could help out maybe and the folks that just got the Milwaukee road northern seemed to have got that one right also. Just a thought.

It would make PERFECT sense for UP to farm out some or all of this work.  The problem is, as long as Ed Dickens is there it will be hard to find an outside contractor who will take the work.  He has already demonized the nearest outside contractor to the point that there is little incentive for anybody to step into the fire and risk having THEIR reputation dragged through the mud.  Personally, I think he's afraid of letting any qualified contractors see what a mess he has made of things.  I think if Ed were to resign today, there would be NUMEROUS contractors offering their services to Union Pacific tomorrow.  Whatever YOU think of Ed, he has done quite the job of alienating the UP steam program from the rest of the steam industry.  Steve Lee was one of THE leaders in the industry. Ed Dickens reputation in  the industry is about as muddy as 844's boiler was.

trainroomgary posted:

Hot Water posted 

Are there REALLY "tourists" on the Union Pacific RR?  The UP doesn't even have any public access passenger trains!

 

Hi Hot Water - The Tourist Dollars are not for the Union Pacific Railroad but for The Great States of Wyoming, Colorado, and the city of Cheyenne & Cheyenne Frontier Days.  Hotels, Campgrounds, Restaurants. and everything tied to family vacations. The 844 will bring in tourist dollars, spent in the USA, jobs for our fellow Americans.    http://www.cheyenne.org/

 

The "tourists" have still been attending all the "events" you describe, and the 844 hasn't operated in almost 3 years. In fact, the vast majority, if not all, of the rodeo folks who ride the Denver Post Cheyenne Frontier Days Special train, don't even know when a steam locomotive is handling  the train or not.

Tranz4mr posted:

A steam engine with your company name and logo plastered on the side of it is a powerful image on TV. This is why the UP has steam engines on the roster. This is why the UP parks them at National conventions, tours nationwide from city to city or pulls Denver elites to Cheyenne Frontier days and back. Advertising is about getting your company name, logo and image in front of as many people and customers as you can as cheap as you can.

Seriously? You believe that?  "A steam engine with your company name and logo plastered on the side of it is a powerful image on TV." A "powerful image?" AHAHAHAHA! Come on! A 30-second clip on the 11:00 news that NO ONE WATCHES is a "powerful image?" And this will lead to increased shipping on UP?

Puh-leese.

I would think the steam program would have to be passion driven, not marketing.  The cost for marketing and maintaining that kind of program makes little fiscal sense from a marketing/advertising standpoint.

Actually in spite of what most of you believe.  It is railroad policy in times of down turn to advertise like crazy.  All Public Relations is increased and encouraged.  some keep forgetting Private donor foots some if not most of current bill. Don't ask me for proof because I am not at liberty to say, nor would I jeopardize my ****ty little relationship with the entities involved.  The railroad has been good to many but every now and then a charlatan gets through.

Union Pacific Steam, A review of all the last runs. Video run time 3 minutes. Published: March 17, 2016  / Also a lot of passenger runs in Wyoming. 

Gary - Take a look. 

Personally I think the UP Business Trains draw more publicity than anything else. The general public will remember those long shiny yellow passenger cars but ask them what was upfront and they'll reply "some big yellow or black thing".

smd4 posted:

Tranz4mr posted:

A steam engine with your company name and logo plastered on the side of it is a powerful image on TV. This is why the UP has steam engines on the roster. This is why the UP parks them at National conventions, tours nationwide from city to city or pulls Denver elites to Cheyenne Frontier days and back. Advertising is about getting your company name, logo and image in front of as many people and customers as you can as cheap as you can.

Seriously? You believe that?  "A steam engine with your company name and logo plastered on the side of it is a powerful image on TV." A "powerful image?" AHAHAHAHA! Come on! A 30-second clip on the 11:00 news that NO ONE WATCHES is a "powerful image?" And this will lead to increased shipping on UP?

Puh-leese.

It helps to create a positive image especially when the train is filled with politicians or if you park it in front of their political convention.  It works the same way when wealthy business men donate equally to both political party campaigns. It works in small towns, it works nationally. Why does Warren Buffet sucks up to the current administration? For fun? The end result is a law twisted how you want it, less regulation, Oil trains versus oil pipelines, etc. Positive image is what advertising is all about. It's how the business world works. Yes it is about increasing shipping but also about playing the game of politics to twist it in your company's favor.

Tranz4mr posted:

smd4 posted:

Tranz4mr posted:

A steam engine with your company name and logo plastered on the side of it is a powerful image on TV. This is why the UP has steam engines on the roster. This is why the UP parks them at National conventions, tours nationwide from city to city or pulls Denver elites to Cheyenne Frontier days and back. Advertising is about getting your company name, logo and image in front of as many people and customers as you can as cheap as you can.

Seriously? You believe that?  "A steam engine with your company name and logo plastered on the side of it is a powerful image on TV." A "powerful image?" AHAHAHAHA! Come on! A 30-second clip on the 11:00 news that NO ONE WATCHES is a "powerful image?" And this will lead to increased shipping on UP?

Puh-leese.

It helps to create a positive image especially when the train is filled with politicians or if you park it in front of their political convention.  It works the same way when wealthy business men donate equally to both political party campaigns. It works in small towns, it works nationally. Why does Warren Buffet sucks up to the current administration? For fun? The end result is a law twisted how you want it, less regulation, Oil trains versus oil pipelines, etc. Positive image is what advertising is all about. It's how the business world works. Yes it is about increasing shipping but also about playing the game of politics to twist it in your company's favor.

Yep Kid, you are definately correct on the "Politics End" of your post. I believe everything to be political in one form or another.

Barnum and Bailey, don't have a thing on either political party in this country!..................  

I think it was at the 2012 convention when one of the networks was saying something, somebody on the 844 was drowning them out with the steamers whistle!

A few years ago, UP had the SP, MP and MKT  specially painted units at the Amtrak station.  Next day they ran down to the Eureka Junction here in Houston.  They were letting people ride on it for Operation Lifesaver.  She did ride in a dome for a few minutes.  She still remembers the ride and talks about it. Also she did see the last  run of 844 to Houston.   Again good memories.  Now each time she talks about it, that is putting UP's name out there.

Big Jim posted:

What I find disgusting is the S.S. United States,

the current holder of the "Blue Riband" (yes, that is spelled correctly!), is just barely being kept from the scrap pile in Philadelphia, PA. A situation that could change at any moment despite all of the efforts to continuously save this great ship.

Not sure what disgusts you about it. In any case, if you're talking about renovating it and putting it back in service, this is a whole different situation from a steam engine, obviously, due to the size of the the undertaking and the staggering cost. Crystal Cruises, which is evaluating restoration, estimates it will cost $700-800 million. 

smd4 posted:

Tranz4mr posted:

A steam engine with your company name and logo plastered on the side of it is a powerful image on TV. This is why the UP has steam engines on the roster. This is why the UP parks them at National conventions, tours nationwide from city to city or pulls Denver elites to Cheyenne Frontier days and back. Advertising is about getting your company name, logo and image in front of as many people and customers as you can as cheap as you can.

Seriously? You believe that?  "A steam engine with your company name and logo plastered on the side of it is a powerful image on TV." A "powerful image?" AHAHAHAHA! Come on! A 30-second clip on the 11:00 news that NO ONE WATCHES is a "powerful image?" And this will lead to increased shipping on UP?

Puh-leese.

You underestimate the effect of advertising. If it weren't effective, it wouldn't be the gigantic business it is (about $180 billion/yr. in the U.S.). You may not watch broadcast news, but a lot of people do. Local news stations run stories on the evening news about a mistreated dog, and they get tons of calls from people wanting to adopt it. If the evening news wasn't watched, they wouldn't be able to sell advertising.  It's also not just about advertising, it's about PR - Public Relations. Also very important. For both of these reasons, the major Class Ones all advertise. BNSF does a lot of support for Public Broadcasting programs, as well. Their ads run all the time on PBS shows.

breezinup posted:

You underestimate the effect of advertising.

I'm not underestimating advertising; I'm underestimating the power that a steam locomotive has to generate business. If it was so effective, every railroad would have a steam program.

"Free advertising " is just the excuse railfans use to justify the operation of an exceedingly-expensive program.

smd4 posted:

breezinup posted:

You underestimate the effect of advertising.

I'm not underestimating advertising; I'm underestimating the power that a steam locomotive has to generate business. If it was so effective, every railroad would have a steam program.

"Free advertising " is just the excuse railfans use to justify the operation of an exceedingly-expensive program.

The steam program is just part of the big picture of community outreach and PR for the UP. The steam program can be found in the UP's Community Ties section, along with the following representative samples of some of the things that UP does and sponsors to build relationships with the community. It's more than just advertising, but indeed advertising is a component.

COMMUNITY STORIES

• WWII Museum Protects Legacy of Those Who Served

  2/12/16 2:00 PM - For those too young to know the true cost of war, The National WWII Museum is a place to experience the unsettling sights and sounds all too familiar to those who lived through it. Just a few steps inside the Museum’s main entrance, beneath the soft click of a replicated railroad split-flap display, visitors find themselves standing in a 1940s-era train station. They’re encouraged to use their digitally enabled dog tags to listen as veterans recount their war experiences.

• Patriot Award Honors Employers of Those Who Serve

  2/2/16 10:18 AM - They call them citizen soldiers. The term goes back to when the National Guard was first formed as an essential element of the U.S. military, to protect families and towns from hostile attacks. Today, the National Guard plays an even broader role in protecting our country. But what helps make the Guard work is the ability for these citizen soldiers to live and work in our communities until service calls. Citizen soldiers like National Guard Sgt. Mark Mateo, whose primary job is as a general clerk in UP's Los Angeles Commerce Yard. Since joining UP in 2014, Mateo has been required to complete regular training as part of his commitment to serve in the Guard -- including special activation due to the recent California wildfires.

• Railroader Debuts at Carnegie Hall

  12/23/15 11:44 AM - The crowd inside New York City’s famous Carnegie Hall sits in hushed anticipation. Inside the jewel box of a performance space, two dozen musicians wait their turn to step onto the stage, sit at a gleaming black grand piano, and dazzle the audience with a piece of original music. Among the performers is someone you may not expect to see: Attila Gibson, a Union Pacific foreman general in the West Colton, California, locomotive shop.

• Houston Literacy Program Strives to Break Cycle of Poverty

  12/18/15 12:22 PM - Standing out like Easter eggs in a nest of the boarded-up buildings and abandoned homes that crowd Houston's Lombardy Street are three pastel-purple houses that provide hope for homeless families struggling to get by.The houses are the headquarters of the House of Tiny Treasures, an urban preschool that gives children a chance at a better education regardless of their parents' financial situation.

• Hooves and Paws Strike at the Heart of UP Employee

  12/9/15 10:21 AM - More than a dozen horses, donkeys and dogs live at the end of a winding dirt and gravel driveway in Glenwood, Iowa. They are well cared for now, but all have at some point been severely neglected or abused. Once nursed back to health some will be adopted. Others, too traumatized from years of abuse and in need of round-the-clock care, will live out the rest of their lives on a peaceful 10-acre animal sanctuary called Hooves & Paws Rescue of the Heartland.The animals are fed, groomed and lovingly cared for by scores of volunteers. Among them is Suzan Caylen, a team leader in Union Pacific’s Crew Management Services department in Omaha, Nebraska.

• When the Railroad Comes to Town

  12/4/15 11:05 AM - When large teams of Union Pacific track improvement employees enter a small community, the impact is hard to miss.

• UP Delivers Huge Holiday Tradition

  11/23/15 3:58 AM - With a police escort, a large Union Pacific truck rolled slowly through downtown Omaha, Nebraska, hauling a 40-foot Colorado blue spruce Nov. 16. Delivering Omaha’s Official Christmas Tree to the Durham Museum, formerly known as Omaha’s Union Station, is a special tradition that began more than 75 years ago.

• The Feel-Good Story that Keeps Giving

  10/30/15 3:40 PM - When Josh Cyganik, a track inspector out of Pendleton, Oregon, decided to paint an elderly man’s house, he didn’t expect to receive an avalanche of media inquiries, hundreds of new Facebook friends or an adjusted outlook on life.

• Camp Provides Picture of Railroad for Visually Impaired Children

  9/4/15 1:00 PM - With the help of his aide, seven -year-old Rocco inches closer to the edge of the tracks at the Nevada State Railroad Museum. He smells a faint whiff of diesel fuel from the train that arrived moments ago. He reaches out – the tips of his fingers make contact with a cold, massive expanse of gritty steel. He carefully brushes his fingers across the surface to feel the bolts, rivets and welding seams that hold the monster together. Rocco is experiencing a train for the first time thanks to the summer camp program at the Nevada Blind Children’s Foundation.

• Hundreds Re-Enact Westernmost Civil War Battle

  8/12/15 12:00 AM - Despite its name, the Battle of Picacho Pass was more like a skirmish. Still, more than 4,000 visitors and 200 Civil War re-enactors travel to the site in Arizona each year to learn about and re-live its history. It is said to be the site of the westernmost battle of the Civil War."Back then, no one wanted to come out here to the desert," said Cristie Statler, executive director-Arizona State Parks Foundation. "But it's important to recognize what the South was trying to achieve – an ocean-to-ocean Confederacy."

• Track Inspector's Good Deed Goes Viral

  8/5/15 12:00 AM - Josh Cyganik has waved to 75-year-old Leonard Bullock every morning for the past four years.Bullock's house sits across the street from a portion of the Union Pacific main line in Pendleton, Oregon, where Cyganik meets his co-workers every day to begin his work maintaining tracks across UP's western region. "He sits on that front porch all day long," Cyganik said. "I never talked to him. Not until I heard what those two kids said."

• Paz De Cristo Community Center Empowers People in Need

  7/2/15 5:40 PM - Often the working poor and elderly living in Mesa, Arizona, are forced to choose between buying groceries and paying their utility bills. By June, it's already a blistering 111 degrees in Mesa.As a result, the Paz De Cristo Community Center sees an increase in attendance every summer. "If they can eat here, or get one of our food boxes, they can use their grocery money to pay the utilities," said Arlen Westling, director of the center.Located on the west side of a city with a population of more than 455,000, Paz De Cristo Community Center is the only organization in the region that offers a hot meal every night. About 55 percent of the evening meal guests Paz De Cristo serves are homeless. The rest are the working poor, senior citizens or struggling single-parent families. In addition to a hot meal every night, Paz De Cristo also distributes about 1,300 food boxes every month. Each food box feeds a family of four for three days.

• Girls Inc. Honors Tradition of Tenacity

  6/24/15 1:45 PM - Thousands of girls are getting a jump start in life thanks to a new wellness center in Omaha, Nebraska, named after a tenacious community leader.

• UP Team Helps 'Clean Sweep' Council Bluffs

  6/12/15 10:00 AM - A team from the Union Pacific Railroad Museum helps Celebrate Council Bluffs during the "clean sweep" from Roberts Park to Bayliss Park.

• Railroad Roots Connect Generations of Chinese

  6/2/15 2:05 PM - Union Pacific recently sponsored the 150th Anniversary of the Chinese Building the Transcontinental Railroad. Gene Chan's great grandfather, Jow Kee, was one of those workers.

• Bee Whiz! Sacramento Garden Sprouts Hope

  4/24/15 9:57 AM - Capital Public Radio in Sacramento, California, is in the process of installing a garden to educate a community of 550,000 about food.

• UP and the University of Nebraska at Omaha Help Girls Develop a Crush on IT

  4/6/15 10:00 AM - Code Crush, a component of the University of Nebraska's Women in Technology Initiative, is designed to introduce girls to information technology in a secure, friendly and engaging environment.

• Union Pacific Pays it Forward with 'What Did You Build?' Social Media Campaign

  3/2/15 2:05 PM - Beginning March 2, Union Pacific invites everyone to show off something they’ve built. The best submissions will appear on Union Pacific’s Instagram page, and the Union Pacific Foundation will donate $100 to the participant’s choice of four charities.

• Pullman History Honored with National Monument

  2/20/15 2:25 PM - Built in the 1880s as an industrial town for the Pullman Company, the historic district highlights both the promise of American opportunity and the struggles for civil rights and fair labor standards.

• Illinois Seasonal Drive Benefits Victims of Domestic Violence

  1/21/15 10:12 AM - Union Pacific's intermodal team at Yard Center in Dolton, Illinois, recently held a food and winter clothing drive for the South Suburban Family Shelter in Homewood, Illinois.

• D-Day Memorial Honors Nebraska Inventor

  1/5/15 2:07 PM - Columbus, Nebraska, seeks to honor Andrew Jackson Higgins, inventor of the LCVP, both at home and abroad -- all in time for the 70th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day.

• Sacramento Santa Provides Wheelie Big Christmas

  12/23/14 1:45 PM - Sleigh bells were ringing and so were bicycle bells at the EMQ FamiliesFirst Christmas party in Sacramento.

• Union Pacific Delivers A Holiday Tradition

  11/20/14 12:48 PM - Omaha's "official" Christmas tree makes its way to The Durham Museum with a little help from Union Pacific.

• Artwork Depicts Four Pillars of Partnership in Warrensburg

  10/31/14 10:00 AM - The Four Pillars of Warrensburg, Missouri covers almost 200 years of history and an entire wall at City Hall.

• UP-sponsored South St. Paul Youth Task Force Has Global Impact

  10/1/14 11:36 AM - The South St. Paul Mayor's Youth Task Force uses a Union Pacific Foundation grant to have a bigger impact on their community.

• UP Employee Assists in Mountain Rescue

  9/18/14 4:19 PM - Union Pacific employee Mike Tiglio recently helped rescue a 78-year-old Open Space and Mountain Parks volunteer in remote Boulder County, Colorado.

• Union Pacific Celebrates "Battle Born" Nevada

  9/2/14 3:21 PM - President Abraham Lincoln signed Union Pacific into being. What's Lincoln's connection to the state of Nevada?

• UP Employees Reach Out with Back to School Barbecue

  8/13/14 9:16 AM - Yard Center Intermodal employees in Dolton, Illinois, held a Back to School Barbecue to collect school supplies and raise funds for Bryant Elementary School in Harvey, Illinois.

• Funds Support Veteran Services Center

  8/12/14 4:54 PM - Honoring the significant presence of military veterans in the UP workforce, the Union Pacific Foundation recently donated $10,000 to the Bellevue University Military and Veteran Services Center (MVSC).

• Rail Pride and Science Connect at Mutec

  8/8/14 2:22 PM - Union Pacific has been working with the Technological Museum of the Federal Electricity Commission (Mutec) on a restoration and preservation program to restore several pieces of equipment.

• Historic Rotary Snowplow Receives Warm Welcome in Roseville

  7/23/14 8:07 AM - A donation to the city of Roseville, California, rotary snowplow SPMW 7221 takes up residence outside J.R. Davis Yard, at the entrance to downtown.

Extremely good post, and thanks for your efforts!.....................Brandy! 

Just the arrival of an old rotary snowplow by UP and attending publicity was a big deal and brought out town officials and residents:

Community Ties

COMMUNITY

Historic Rotary Snowplow Receives Warm Welcome in Roseville

Posted July 23, 2014 08:07 AM CDT

SPMW (Southern Pacific Maintenance of Way) 7221 on display in Roseville.

One of Union Pacific's legendary rotary snowplows — SPMW 7221 — made its final move July 1 into Roseville, California. It didn't cut through any drifts but still was welcomed by crowds who came out to see it become part of a permanent display just outside UP's J.R. Davis Yard, alongside the Southern Pacific steam locomotive No. 2252.

Davis Yard is an obvious choice to display this historic equipment as it is a processing point for 95 percent of all rail traffic though Northern California — that includes freight and passengers heading through Donner Summit, where snowpack can reach 18 feet deep.

"All rotaries for the Sierras ran out of Roseville," said Bill Lynch, retired Southern Pacific superintendent, responsible for battling snow over Donner Pass. "They were sometimes called War Wagons — going to war against Mother Nature. If there was any one place on the railroad that this belongs, it's right here."

Rotary snowplow technology hasn't changed much in 100 years. The equipment acts like a giant auger, cutting into the snow and shooting it off to the side. "A good rotary can travel three to four miles an hour, but Donner Summit gets what we call 'Donner Summit Cement,' a wet, heavy snow that's awful hard to remove," Lynch said. "I've ridden many an hour at the break-neck speed of two miles an hour, when that was the fastest you could make it go with a snow load."

City Councilwoman Pauline Roccucci said the moment was like deja vu. "I have a photo of my father from 33 years ago standing in front of a snowplow just like that. It's exciting to transcend history. When you come into Roseville, you will see the rotary, and you will see the locomotive — you will see Roseville: Past, Present and Future."

The snowplow dedication was part of the celebration of Roseville's membership inUnion Pacific's Train Town Registry, a program instituted to commemorate Union Pacific's sesquicentennial in 2012, acknowledging the bond between the railroad and early settlements. The program continues today.

"This really makes the entrance into downtown even nicer. The trains are beautiful," said City Councilman Tim Herman. "When I moved to Roseville 25 years ago, I knew right away it was a train town, and always would be."

The history of the railroad and Roseville is intertwined, said Scott Moore, vice president-Public Affairs, Western Region. "For more than a century, through the Southern Pacific and Union Pacific, thousands of employees have passed through this yard, and cleared snow from the summit. For the next 100 or so years, history will continue to show how important Roseville is to our railroad and how important the railroad is to Roseville."

Cranes help move the rotary snowplow into place on Atlantic Street, just outside UP's J.R. Davis Yard.

 

 

Is UP keeping the other UP plows?  It might just have a heavy snow up on "the Hill"!

The UP Steam team takes care of the original UP rotaries?  Who takes care of the Donner plows?

Active rotaries nowadays are diesel powered.

Rusty

Something else to consider here is tax deductions. If UP can and does classify their steam program as advertising, promotional, public relations or whatever, I imagine a big portion or maybe even all of the costs can be written off in one way or another. Maybe not all, but I would bet there are at least some advantages to this. However, I just can't picture a train full of politicians as being a positive image in any way no matter how you look at it?

"Not sure what disgusts you about it."

Really! I guess you have to have a thing for "The Big Ship" to understand. Just look at the way this record holding, sea-going beauty has been treated. Do I look for it to be restored? Not really. That should have been done years ago. I've never been on the Queen Mary in Long Beach, but, that is probably what should have been done to the years ago with this greyhound of the seas.

Dominic Mazoch posted:

Is UP keeping the other UP plows?  It might just have a heavy snow up on "the Hill"!

The UP Steam team takes care of the original UP rotaries?  Who takes care of the Donner plows?

One of the UP Steam Shop's primary tasks is to maintain and operate when needed the diesel rotary UP900082. Not sure of the status of the Donner Pass rotaries. Here is UP900082 last summer undergoing some maintenance and updates in the steam shop. As you can see it's in pretty decent shape. They have a second one in the yard nearby UP90080 apparently for parts?

Big Jim posted:

"Not sure what disgusts you about it."

Really! I guess you have to have a thing for "The Big Ship" to understand. Just look at the way this record holding, sea-going beauty has been treated. as.

Well, it's too bad it couldn't have been maintained in some fashion. It is a beautiful ship; I remember building a Revell model of it back in the 50s. Much of the time things this large are just too expensive to keep, though. The maintenance costs are beyond the reach of almost any charitable organization. I hope Crystal does go through with the renovation, although it wouldn't be any more expensive, and probably less so, just to build a new ship. Lots of wonderful things have been lost. A true tragedy that is disgusting was the destruction of Penn Station, for example.

Indeed!!!

https://www.facebook.com/10112...256823208167/?type=3

It is with great pleasure we announce the Union Pacific has brought back the big boy ahead of schedule. As it was connected to a train early this morning and tested upon full steam! The private test quickly arouse the interest of many who knew the significance of the event and we chased the engine through western Wyoming until we had to stop and congratulate the crew.