The Time Machine

Contrary to popular belief, it is possible to open a window on time, and step right through it.  Such happened to me when I was sixteen, and recalling the event now is a dandy way to beat the heat, as you'll soon see.

The time machine in question was Union Pacific #8444 {nee 844}; "Uncle Pete's" last 4-8-4 steam locomotive.  She was active in both freight and passenger service since her construction by American Locomotive Company {ALCO} in 1944.  In 1962 she was assigned to "special service" {excursions, business trains, etc.} and remained very much active, often having 20 or 30 outings a year.  She had never been retired, making Union Pacific the very last North American railroad to roster and operate a mainline steam locomotive.


The setting for this time-warp was the Union Pacific's Sedalia Subdivision main line, specifically the western slope of Kirkwood Hill, very near the Museum of Transport in St. Louis, Missouri.  Uncle Pete inherited the route when it merged with Missouri Pacific in 1982; it was originally laid out as the Pacific Railroad in 1852, and became MoPac around 1870.  The stretch between Kirkwood west to Barrett Station was originally single-track, with two tunnels at Barretts.  The MoP double-tracked the line in 1944, bypassing both tunnels with a new cut about 50 feet south of the original right-of-way.  The original alignment - including both tunnels - became property of the new Transport Museum when the new line was opened.


I grew up in a subdivision that bordered this intriguing main line on the south; and the Transport Museum was less than 3/4 of a mile from my home, to boot.  My brother and I both became rabid railfans at an early age, spending a great deal of our time either on "the Hill," or wandering around the Museum, oftentimes both in  the same day.  Oh yes, to make things even more interesting, the St. Louis - San Fransisco {Frisco} main line to Springfiled Mo. was 1/4 mile to the south, and eventually was integrated into our stomping grounds as we got older.


By the time I was 16, I knew both the MoP's and the Frisco's complete history backwards and forwards {as did my brother}.  Ironically, by that time {1984} both roads had been merged; the Frisco went into Burlington Northern {now Burlington Northern Santa Fe} in 1980.  I missed both roads, but I got a real treat when I heard that the UP was sending #8444 to the Louisiana World's Fair - via St. Louis, over the Sedalia Sub!!  More than anything else, I wished I had been born about 20 years before I was; that way, I could have seen MoPac steam on The Hill.

Now all of a sudden, #8444 was going to give me a real taste of "the way it was."  My time machine was on its' way.  March 10, 1984 was a typical late-winter day for St. Louis.  We had had a 4'' snowfall the night before, which was enough to close my school - leaving me free to go time-tripping!  I lost no time putting on my hiking boots and parka, grabbing a camera, and hotfooting it down to the tracks.  I was struck by the beauty of the setting when I got there, and fired off a quick shot: 

The shot is looking west {downgrade}; the #8444 would be coming east, up the Hill.  The blue arrow I added in the brush to the right of the tracks is pointing at the mouth of East Barretts tunnel on the old alignment.  Just after grabbing the shot above, I heard the unmistakable sound of a deep steamboat whistle, accompanied by the sounds of a hard-working locomotive coming up the hill fast.  Simultaneously, a tornado of steam exhaust materialized on the horizon above the bridge in the distance.

I had just enough time to clear the tracks, wind the film, and hit the auto-flash, before my time-machine made her grand entrance:



Such was her speed, I barely had time for one more shot:

In the space of about 45 seconds, beginning to end, #8444 took Kirkwood Hill in stride, her 12-car train sailing along at about 45-50 mph {note the passenger/freight speed limit sign just ahead of 8444}.  However, she also transported me back in time a good four decades; in my mind's eye, I was seeing a MoPac 2101-series 4-8-4, rushing a troop train east as part of the buildup for the D-Day invasion of Europe!  All but forgotten was the snow and below-freezing temperature, and I got a second pleasant jolt as the aroma of 8444's rich "Bunker C" exhaust wafted down to my nostrils.

Thanks to the aroma, my mind's eye caught a glimpse of my Dad as a new high-school graduate, preparing to enter the Navy, and eventual assignment on transports, PT boats, and the odd minesweeper, during his tour of duty in WWII.  Bunker C oil was the fuel of choice then, and remained 8444's diet long enough to bridge the gap between my Dad in 1944, and me in 1984.  As the final cap to the festivities, this day in question {March 10} just happened to be my Dad's birthday!

The rest of that day passed very quickly; I took the film in to 1-Hour Foto at the mall that afternoon, and the shot of 8444 with the World's Fair '84 banner on her smoke-lifter was sitting by Dad's place at the dinner table when he got home that night, as an impromptu birthday present.  Dad was surprised and got quite a kick out of it.  "If I could have, I would have gone in late to work just to be able to see that engine with you, Chris."  I just shook my head and laughed; I didn't have the nerve to tell him he had been there {in a way}, thanks to my time-tripping, and #8444's magnificent sights, sounds, and smells.

It's been more winters than I care to count since that magical March day when I became a sixteen-year-old time-traveller.  Both the Union Pacific and the #844 are still with us, and going strong {she became #844 again in 1989, when the diesel that she had been renumbered for was retired}.  Dad left this world in 2002, but not before we had experienced five active steam locomotives together - including 844 again {the other four were Norfolk and Western #611, and 1218; Frisco #1522, and 844's big brother, UP #3985}.  Oh, and my brother is now a conductor on the BNSF.

No, despite conventional wisdom, you really can go time-travelling any time you want.  All you need is an active steam locomotive, a bit of historical knowledge, and a touch of imagination - the experience will do the rest, and you simply won't be the same when it's all over with.  I know; I've literally been there, and done that, as the saying goes.  And I can't wait until the next time I can do it again, too!!  Perhaps next time it'll snow just a bit more; sure beats these dog-days!!

A Steam time-trip is COOL, Boys and Girls.  I hope this tale was the same for y'all, as a way to briefly escape the dog-days.

More shortly.............