One thing Union Pacific does right is maintain their "Heritage Fleet." It consists of 55 Vintage Passenger Cars, Steam Engines, E9's, and the Centennial Locomotive, the biggest Diesel ever built. Then there are the Rotary Snow Plows that are so massive they can chew up dead livestock trapped in cuts and spew them out.

All maintained today in probably better condition then when they were in revenue service.

If you have never been around one of these behemoths, check the schedule and try and catch it.

As greedy as UP Executives are getting for bonuses I could see the whole fleet trashed. Let's hope not, as it is the premier fleet in the US.

Here is schedule til the 10th.

No. 844 Continues its 10-State Tour
Union Pacific Railroad's historic steam locomotive, No. 844, continues its 35-day, 10-state tour to celebrate the railroad’s history and heritage. The 3,800-mile "South Central States Heritage Express Tour" is taking the locomotive to many communities for the first time.

The schedule from May 3-10 is:

Wednesday, May 3 -- Herington, Kan., to Pratt, Kan.
Thursday, May 4 -- Pratt, Kan., to Guymon, Okla.
Friday, May 5 -- layover and Display, Guymon, Okla. Main St. crossing, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Saturday, May 6 -- display, Guymon, Okla., Main St. crossing, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.; depart at 4 p.m. for Dalhart, Texas
Sunday, May 7 -- Dalhart, Texas, to Alamagordo, N.M.
Monday, May 8 -- Alamagordo, N.M., to El Paso, Texas
Tuesday, May 9 -- layover and display, El Paso, Texas, Amtrak Station, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Wednesday, May 10 -- El Paso, Texas, to Alpine, Texas
A Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) transmitter was installed on one of the rail cars that travels with No. 844, and it has been integrated with a map on the Steam Operations section of UP’s Web site. Web site visitors will be able to access route maps, with varying amounts of detail, that are updated every five minutes showing No. 844’s location.

Take you and your kids and grandkids out to see and especially hear this, it is impressive.

Steve Lee and crew works very hard to keep this stuff in like new condition.

k