Union Pacific 3985

## History

Union Pacific #3985 is a 4-6-6-4 Challenger built by ALCO in 1943.

3985 was built in 1943 as part of the fourth batch of 4-6-6-4s for the Union Pacific Railroad. The engine later stopped pulling revenue trains in 1957. It was officially retired in 1962, and was in display at the Cheyenne Depot.

In 1979, Union Pacific Employees decided to restore 3985, and the restoration was complete in 1981. The engine pulled excursion trains until 2010 and was retired in 2020 due to poor mechanical condition. 3985 was later replaced by Union Pacific 4014 which got recently got restored to operation for the UP steam program. In 2022, Union Pacific announced that they will donate the locomotive to the RRHMA (Railroading Heritage of Midwest America) and will be moved to Silvis, Illinois but they were unable to provide any assistance in getting some locomotives moved to a new home. When Dickens inspected the Challenger to be moved along with Union Pacific 5511, a 2-10-2 locomotive, Centennial 6936, an E9 B Unit, a caboose, and some passenger cars that he discovered that it was vandalized and landlocked during its time in Cheyenne. Norfolk Southern donated CNW 401, an F7 to the Colebrookdale Railroad in Boyertown, Pennsylvania. The discovery made Dickens felt that if he had not done anything to move his locomotive, he decided to have Union Pacific scrap it so that way he could file a lawsuit against them, and couple a million dollars. Upon hearing 3985, 5511 and 6936's vandalized condition, Union Pacific offered to help Dickens, but he declined, and he removed several moving parts off the locomotive, including the axle bearings. By the end of 2022, Union Pacific filed a lawsuit against Dickens, in an attempt to have the locomotive removed intact, but the ruling was that if Dickens did not remove 3985, 5511 and 6936 from the yard, Union Pacific would be allowed to scrap three locomotives as the only alternative decision. Upon hearing of 3985, 5511 and 6936's endangerment, several preservation groups, including the Illinois Railway Museum and the Mid-Continent Railway Museum, offered to purchase the locomotive and move it out of harm's way, and UP was supportive with them, but Dickens neglected their offers. Union Pacific soon requested permission from the court to seize ownership of 3985, 5511 and 6936, so they could sell or donate it to someone who would be able to remove it, but the court declined; Union Pacific only received removal rights to regain use of their property, and they were not allowed to claim ownership of the locomotive. By August 2023, Union Pacific had banned Dickens from entering the yard, worried that 3985, 5511 and 6936 would both become a safety hazards with Dickens removing multiple parts from it. On August 27, a judge newly assigned to the case decided that it continued long enough, and a disappointed Union Pacific received a court order to scrap the locomotive. For reasons unknown, Dickens appealed the order, but it was rejected by court. Union Pacific reluctantly contacted the Erman-Howell Division of the Luria Brothers Scrap Company to dispose of the Challenger #3985 along with Union Pacific 2-10-2 #5511 and Centennial #6936. On August 29, the scrapping of 3985, 5511 and 6936 process began before the scrapping process stopped until November 2023.