Challenger locomotive 3985 is undergoing attention inside the steam shops at the Cheyenne UP depot

Union Pacific Challenger No. 3985 rolls west on the Sidney Subdivision east of Pine Bluffs, Wyoming, on October 9, 2008.

Northbound from Denver to Cheyenne.

This was the return leg of a Rocky Mountain Railroad Club excursion from Denver to Laramie and back. UP 3985 powered the train between Speer and Laramie. On the east slope at Bufford, the big engi... (more)

I arrived at Harriman just as the train arrived and this was a real grab shot. But it has a dramatic quality that perhaps offsets the considerable technical faults. I had taken a previous shot ar... (more)

UP 3985 rides the turntable at Cheyenne after returning with the Laramie to Cheyenne leg of an all-day excursion out of Denver for the Rocky Mountain Railroad Club.

You have to be crazy to do this stuff, or incredibly dedicated. In my case, I guess it's a little of both. On the east slope of Sherman Hill, Wyoming on May 25, 1987, I stepped back from the photo... (more)

UP's 3985 is panned, eastbound, on the west slope of Sherman Hill. This was a photo run-by.

The UP 3985 Challenger with the Circus Train on there way to Denver.

Crew posing for photos.

In a panned photograph, Union Pacific Challenger No. 3985 steams west between Dix and Owasco, Nebraska, on June 13, 2000.

UP's celebrated Challenger number 3985 has dropped her fire (she was still a coal burner at the time) at Cheyenne after powering the Cheyenne-Laramie portion of a trip out of Denver. This was the ... (more)

Still coal-fired at the time, UP Challenger 3985 performs a photo run by on a Cheyenne-Laramie round trip for the Rocky Mountain Railroad Club.

A member of Steve Lee’s steam crew intently watches for a signal from the cab of Union Pacific 4-6-6-4 No. 3985 at Cheyenne, Wyoming, on October 9, 2008.