Union Pacific Steam Locomotive #4014 in Nebraska (H.A.N.W.E.)

We had another opportunity to capture images of this remarkable piece of machinery in action. This time, June 11, 2023, we were at a rural crossing in Nebraska.

This is a frame captured from a video being recorded as the train passed. Image then processed with GIMP.

This should meet the "historical" Sunday Challenge. These massive locomotives were built during WW II to handle the heavy loads over the Rocky Mountains. The locomotive and tender weigh 1,000,000 pounds, the heaviest locomotive ever built. As steam was removed from the Union Pacific operations in the 1950's these locomotives became obsolete. In the early 1960's, this particular locomotive was donated to a club in Southern California, and was moved to a static location at the Los Angeles County Fairgrounds in Pomona, California. I was living in that town at the time, and as a teenager, I climbed all over this massive machine.

There it sat for decades. Recently, the Union Pacific decided to restore one of the "4000" series to operation, and they chose the unit from Pomona. In 2019, this magnificent locomotive again ran on the rails under steam power.


For other images and information:

swansongrp.com/4014

For other railroad-related images, see:

swansongrp.com/P/railroad