A couple hundred spectators lined the tracks along Greenwood Boulevard to watch the Union Pacific Steam locomotive 844 pass through Maplewood, right on schedule, on Tuesday around 1 p.m. The whistle could be heard for several minutes before it arrived.
The train left its Cheyenne, Wyoming, base on Oct. 13 for a round trip taking it through nine states.
Two sisters saw the train with their mother, who let them skip out of school to watch.
“Even though the train is old, I bet it has a lot of memories. I know it should be retired because it is older, and there are newer, faster ways to do it, but to be fair, I don’t really think the train should be retired. I think it’s going to be a really good memory to Maplewood,” Victoria Bestman, 9, said.
Her sister, Juliette Bestman, 14, said nothing like this ever happens in Maplewood. “It was really cool. I’ve never seen a train like that before. It was big. I liked how the wheels turned. You could see all the details. I hope it goes to some museum where it’s respected, gratefully, becasue it deserves it.”
I caught @UP_Steam as it came thru Webster https://t.co/NUQBkvhS1s
— Philip Scherry (@pscherry78) October 18, 2016
https://twitter.com/C_Hippurus/status/788442526629756929
Wow! @UnionPacific! pic.twitter.com/5s1qMLhJ9n
— EnjoyMaplewood (@EnjoyMaplewood) October 18, 2016
The train left Kirkwood, on its way east.
https://twitter.com/tf_hunt/status/788450808211714048
Trainspotters!
It was thrilling to be able to be there and witness this! So much fun to share with other Maplewoodians! I sent my video of it to my friend, now in Omaha, whose husband worked for Union Pacific for decades! The were thrilled to see it!
My two grandsons were taken out of school by their dad, to go see the steam engine too. They are 8 and 11……and really enjoyed it too…..as did their father. I happened to have a luncheon with some friends from high school and grade school….and I could not find a place to park. It actually stopped out there, for about 15 minutes. The area for two blocks all around the station out there was packed with cars. I had to park a block away from Duffy’s in Kirkwood on Jefferson Ave. They were many people out to see it there. Judging from the videos here….they had sightseers all along the route.
Bravo to your son (in-law?) for taking his sons out of school for this occasion! They will always remember the day and relive the experience……whereas not so much, for a typical day at school. HA!
Tell the Bestman girls that Union Pacific takes this train on tour to show people how transportation used to run. Their mission is education and preservation.
From the front page of the UP Steam website: “No other railroad in this country has retained its historical equipment and honored its past like Union Pacific. The preservation of its fleet speaks to the high value Union Pacific places on its heritage and its role in America’s history.”