UP steam locomotive No. 844 made
a trip in April, 2010 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Harlingen,
Texas. This train left Cheyenne, Wyoming April 2, 2010, visiting Nebraska,
Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas and Arkansas. On Wednesday, April 14, 2010, the
train stopped at Kingsville, Texas, which is 2 hours north of Harlingen
in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas on the former Missouri Pacific line.
The train was named the "Valley Eagle," after a MoPac passenger train
of the same name that ran on this line from the late 1940s to early
1960s. Pictures below show the train arriving, the crowds,
train leaving, and some Kingsville renovated depot shots. (Photos and captions by Ken Ziegenbein-thundertrain@gmail.com)
LEFT-The Missouri Pacific Kingsville depot was renovated in 2004 and is now
a museum. RIGHT-M.P. 118.61.
RIGHT-Kingsville isn't too much above sea level.
Inside the Kingsville depot museum.
LEFT-School buses began showing up at 9:44 a.m. The train was scheduled to
arrive at 10. RIGHT-It was starting to rain at 9:45 a.m.
LEFT-It was getting dark, but the rain never was really heavy.
RIGHT-It's now 11:45 a.m. and the train was almost there. It had been
delayed
by crowds in towns north of Kingsville and also by meeting a UP
freight. But the crowds remained.
LEFT-844 just rouned a curve north of Kingsville and its whistle
could be heard loud and clear, 11:45 a.m. RIGHT-11:46 a.m.
Click below for a sound movie of this scene. You can really hear the
loud steam whistle:
11:50 a.m.
Note the kids in the red uniforms to the left.
RIGHT-Use your imagination and think of this as a Missouri Pacific train.
LEFT-The
town of Bishop, just north of Kingsville, put this sign up
thanking UP for bringing this locomotive to the area. I think Union
Pacific and its public relations department deserves an A+ for this
trip. RIGHT-The train started to leave at 12:12 p.m. but stopped for invited passengers at the Kleberg crossing.
A rare job for sure being the engineer or crew of a steam engine, having all that power and tonnage under your manual control.
Invited guests boarding the train.
Waving goodbye as the first passenger train since 1966 leaves Kingsville.
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