To commemorate the upcoming Centennials of New Mexico and Arizona joining the Union in 1912, the Union Pacific Railroad operated one of their two steam locomotives through the two states in November 2011. After touring those two states, the engine and its train entered California on the return trip to the engine's home in Cheyenne, Wyoming. The train, with 4-8-4 844 on the head end (and SD70ACe 1996), is passing through the Bombay Beach area of the lower desert, between the Salton Sea and the Chocolate Mountains, on November 17, 2011.
