“From the looks of this crowd, you would think
we were paying homage to a rock star.”
Brian Adams, Tucson, Arizona
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| Photo by Chris Dabovich/News-Sun |
A celebrity rolled through Arizona recently, stopping in towns small and large, and attracting throngs of fans wherever it went. The celebrity wasn’t a rock star or a movie mogul or a politician stumping for votes. It was a train. Locomotive No. 844, the last steam engine built for the Union Pacific Railroad in 1944, took a special journey through Arizona to help the state celebrate its 100th birthday.
Locomotive No. 844 was a big deal back in the day. It was a high-speed engine pulling top passenger trains like the Overland Limited and Portland Rose. But it got pushed off the tracks when diesel engines came along and was relegated to freight service in Nebraska from 1957 to 1959. The storied engine made a few appearances after that but was mothballed in 1989. In 2000, restoration began on the train, and it was returned to service in 2005 under the moniker “Living Legend.”
At a recent stop in Benson, Arizona (population 5,144), hundreds of people lined the tracks awaiting the train. Fans came from as far away as Tucson to spend a half hour with the Living Legend; several schools made it a class trip. Folks were awed by the size of the engine and surprised when the train blew its piercing whistle and sprayed steam on them. Too soon, the train was on its way to the next stop and the next throng of excited fans.
Small Trains, Big Deal
For a look at a different kind of train, check out the video below. It features the world’s largest model train layout. Called “Miniatur Wunderland,” the model railway is located in Hamburg, Germany and has attracted millions of visitors. When this video was made in 2009, the layout featured 6 miles of tracks; that number is expected to more than double to 13 when the layout is complete in 2014.
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