See Mighty Union Pacific Turbines Battle Up Sherman Hill!

If you like seeing the "Big Blows" on Sherman Hill, I'm sure you'll like seeing the double diesels Union Pacific fielded next! See DD35 and DD40 locomotives: https://youtu.be/wYCaC3DxLIY

I remember running #26 up Sherman Hill in the summer of '58. Really miss the old girl, but man! Putting these into full run with a 6,000 ton train in tow was like a jet engine taking off in terms of how loud it was. Thanks for bringing back old memories!

Steam engines and jet engines together. What a time it must have been to see that transition in person !

The Union Pacific has a thing for operating the most powerful locomotives available.

I completed 38 years service on the railways in Australia , since early retirement watching material like this is bittersweet , I suppose nostalgia is always like that , great days when you could say you were a real "railway man" , I don't think that title can be applied today in the same spirit .

My grampa and my dad both worked for the UP. I was born in Cheyenne and lived across from the switch yards. I remember one summer they brought a steam engine on streets to the park. Kept taking the track from behind and putting it the next length in front. Great memories attached to the sounds and sights of steam. Thank you for the videos...

That is some rather special footage - a friggin' Challenger being used as a switching locomotive for an early turbine. Alot of the MU lashups were originally because the turbines had a nasty habit of flaming out, especially in the tunnels on the eastern side of Wyoming. The diesels would keep the train rolling long enough for the turbines to get out of the tunnels and do a restart, then they'd take over again. They also provided switching power, since the turbines had exactly two settings: "Off" and "Katy Bar the Door". (Or "suck" and "blow" if the conductor wasn't in earshot). It was also why they originally split the units; the head unit of the last-generation turbines had a small prime mover to roll it during switching maneuvers.

My grandparents lived in Laramie, WY for many years beginning in the 1930s, I believe, and up until 1967 when my grandfather passed away. In the 1950s, during visits to my grandparents' home, my dad and my grandpa used to take me downtown to the viaduct that ran over the UP tracks so we could watch all the big UP steam locos and the earlier model turbines departing for the trip up "the hill". It was great fun. On the viaduct you could feel the heat generated and be completely "consumed" by the steam and smoke. It made me a lifelong railroad fan!

Wow. Turbines, diesels, challengers all slaving up the grade — totally outstanding!! Thanks.

Biggest p.r. issue with these were the noise, but an awesome example of U.P. 's commitment to exploring all technology available to them

Sure would be Great if UP would restore a "Big Blow" and add it to the Heritage / Steam fleet along with the E-units. Great Video - Thank You, and greatly appreciate all the work you put into all your train videos!! Thanks again.

You know...I see a lot of videos like this where the people posting it basically forget about it and never interact with the comment section. I want to take a moment and thank Railfan Depot for interacting with many of us here in the comments, Good on you. BTW, love the video as well. :)

Those diesels are awesome looking with those extra tenders

Nice video, I grew up In Ogden Utah at the time Union Pacific used the turbines. I recall seeing them at the head of most any freight train in Weber or Echo canyon. In the early to mid 1950's, it was not unusual to see an east bound freight with a turbine on the point and a Challenger helper pushing at the rear. I have many fond memories of these mighty machines.

Nothing like the sound of those turbines. Unique. The original power for our HST was the same, utterly unique, equally memorable

I remember as a young man listening to the old steam engines when my family visited hickory flat Mississippi. Then later on i remember those more modern engines going down the track. I really like the roar of those turbine engines.

This type of channel is the way to create more rail fans. Keep up the good work, and thank you!

I fell in love with trains at age 10 on a trip from Cedar Rapids to Portland Oregon in the Domeliner. Wow! What a feeling. Thanks!

The stories that the old guys tell about these units are pretty impressive. One story tells of one of these giants melting part of a highway overpass. One of my favorites is how Union Pacific decided to take one of the things to Los Angeles. Yeah, that only happened once...

Union Pacific's thirty 8500hp gas turbines were delivered between August 1958 and June 1961. The first to be retired were the first four