Union Pacific Class FEF-1

The Union Pacific FEF-1 is the first batch of the FEF Series (FEF meaning, "four-eight-four") which consisted of twenty 4-8-4 "Northern" steam locomotive types built by the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) in 1937 for the Union Pacific Railroad (UP). They were assigned road numbers 800 through 819.
== Origins ==
During the late 1930s, the rising trainloads started to exceed the limits of the 4-8-2 that were the mainstay of the UP-passenger operations. One day, in 1937, with UP President William Jeffer's business car in the rear, a "7000" Class 4-8-2 demonstrated the lack of steaming power inherent in the type. Even when the train was waiting for rescue, a telegram was sent to ALCO in Schenectady seeking something better. The result was a superb class of 45 locomotives known as the FEF Series that could run at 100 mph and produce between 4,000 and 5,000 drawbar horsepower. They also ran about 14,000 miles a month.
The first twenty locomotives were delivered by ALCO in 1937 and were classified as the FEF-1 with the later 25 being classified as the FEF-2 and FEF-3. The "800"s, as they were sometimes known, as a whole followed the simplest possible arrangement of only having two outside cylinders. Fitting ALCO's lateral motion devices to the leading coupled wheels eased the negotiation of curves. Complicated accessories often spoiled the basic simplicity of so many US locomotives, but UP resisted most of them, resulting in an elegant, uncluttered appearance. Despite frequently moving at speeds over 100 mph (161 km/h), the forces and stresses on the coupling and connecting rods were kept within acceptable limits. There were thus excellent results, and there were many reports of the class reaching the design limit of 110 mph (177 km/h).
==Preservation==
Of the 20 locomotives that were ever built, only one locomotive, No. 814, survived into preservation. Currently it is on static display at the RailsWest Railroad Museum in Council Bluffs, Iowa.
== Stock list ==
Loco No.	Image 	Build date(s) 	Retirement Date(s)	Restoration Date(s)	Status 	Notes
800 	 	1937 	- 	- 	Scrapped 	
801 	Frameless	1937 	- 	- 	Scrapped 	
802 	 	1937 	- 	- 	Scrapped 	
803 	Frameless	1937 	- 	- 	Scrapped 	
804 	 	1937 	- 	- 	Tender preserved, locomotive scrapped. 	
805 	 	1937 	- 	- 	locomotive scrapped, Tender unknown. 	
806 	Frameless	1937 	- 	- 	Scrapped 	
807 	Frameless	1937 	- 	- 	Tender still in use, locomotive scrapped.	
808 	Frameless	1937 	- 	- 	Scrapped 	
809 	 	1937 	- 	- 	Scrapped 	
810 	Frameless	1937 	- 	- 	Scrapped 	
811 	Frameless	1937 	- 	- 	Scrapped 	
812 	 	1937 	1956 	- 	Scrapped 	
813 	 	1937 	- 	- 	Scrapped 	
814 	200px 	September 1937	1959 	- 	Preserved 	Currently on static display at the RailsWest Railroad Museum, Council Bluffs, Iowa
815 	 	1937 	- 	- 	Scrapped 	
816 	 	1937 	- 	- 	Tender still in use, locomotive scrapped.	
817 	Frameless	1937 	- 	- 	Scrapped 	
818 	Frameless	1937 	- 	- 	Scrapped 	
819 	Frameless	1937 	- 	- 	Scrapped 	
==Gallery==
File:UP 814 side.JPG
Category:Union Pacific locomotives
Category:United States
Category:4-8-4 steam locomotives
Category:4-8-4 locomotives
Category:American locomotives
Category:American steam locomotives
Category:ALCO locomotives
Category:Passenger locomotives
Category:Tender locomotives
Category:Steam locomotives
Category:Locomotives
Category:Eight-coupled locomotives
Category:Standard gauge locomotives
Category:4 foot 8 1⁄2 inch gauge
Category:Standard gauge locomotives of the United States
Category:Sole survivor
Category:Built in 1937
Category:Union Pacific FEF Series