I had always dreamed of riding a Union Pacific steam excursion over the legendary Sherman Hill and said that if the Union Pacific Historical Society ever held a convention in Cheyenne, Wyoming, that I would go. In 1992, that was exactly the convention was located and I checked with my friend Bill Compton to see if he wanted to go. It would also give us an opportunity to visit the Powder River Basin and Crawford Hill again. He agreed, and planned to fly to Denver, rent a vehicle and meet me in Cheyenne. I would take the Desert Wind to Salt Lake City, Thruway bus to Ogden, the Pioneer to Borie and the van into town. At least, that was the plan.
A week before I was scheduled to leave on Amtrak, there was a national railroad strike and the impasse could not be bridged, so I needed a new plan and since I had just bought a new Geo Metro, which had only seven hundred miles on it, I decided to drive to Cheyenne. So on June 25th at 4:00 AM, I left Santa Ana and started the drive to Salt Lake City, making very good time as I reached there mid-afternoon, then drove east on Interstate 80 across the Wasatch Mountains and descended the east side into one of the worst rainstorms I had experienced. Myself, another car and a trucker, all from California, took it easy driving 40 miles an hour down the very slick road and keeping a safe distance from one another. From behind us came a speeding El Camino with Utah plates which passed the three of us and when they changed lanes, spun out of control and went off the road and crashed into the canyon wall.
The door opened and ejected a female before the car rolled on top of her, killing her instantly, to which I was the unfortunate witness. There was no way for me to stop safely, so I went to the next exit, found a pay phone and called the Utah Highway Patrol. Both the following driver and trucker stopped and the trucker told the other driver to make sure I had called the Highway Patrol. He found me just as I was walking out and told me that the trucker would would wait for the authorities and thankd me for being such a good driver, noting that at least Californians know how to drive in the rain. I made it to Rock Springs, Wyoming still shaken and checked into the Motel 6 for the night.
6/26/1992 I woke up early and drove the rest of the way to Cheyenne and it was quite odd not to see any trains. I arrived at the Little America Hotel, the convention headquarters and relaxed, then Bill arrived from Denver after an uneventful flight.
That evening was a night photo session with Union Pacific 2-10-2 5511 on the turntable. The railroad strike had been settled and by the afternoon, the trains were back running, with Bill and I spending the afternoon west of the Burlington Northern (Colorado Southern) bridge watching the flood of trains. That night we went to the banquet which featured Steve Lee, the czar of Union Pacific's Steam Program, informing us that the cars for the excursion were on their way west from Council Bluffs, Iowa and should arrive around midnight so the trip was on for tomorrow.
Union Pacific 3985 over Sherman Hill 6/27/1992
The cover of the pamphlet all passengers received published by the Union Pacific Historical Society.
The eastbound route description between Laramie and Cheyenne.
The Second Subdivision table.
The westward route description between Cheyenne and Laramie.
The back of the pamphlet which states: By the evening of October 12, 1867, the rails of the Union Pacific crossed the Territorial boundary of Wyoming near the present site of Pine Bluffs. On the 29th, the track was within seventeen miles of Cheyenne, and by the 31st, lumber from buildings at Julesburg, Colorado was moving into Cheyenne every day. On November 13th, the "toot of the locomotive" was heard in Cheyenne at last. The significance of the great occasion was not lost upon the townspeople or the Cheyenne Daily Leder, which jubilantly trumpeted that "This long anticipated event has transpired and filled our city with rejoicing and enthusiasm".
Although Cheyenne took time out to celebrate, the track layers hardly paused for a deep breath. The Great Plains were now behind them but dead ahead loomed the lofty ramparts of Sherman Hill! By November 26th, the end of track was seven miles west of Cheyenne and at the end of the year, the rails were completed to Granite Canon, about 19 miles out of Cheyenne.
In the spring of 1868, the track layers began to forge westward, the track crossed the Dale Creek bridge (650 feet in length and 130 feet high) on April 21, 1868 and pushed its way down the west side of Sherman Hill with the first train reaching Laramie on May 4th.
My ticket for today's excursion.
The commemorative button. The morning started with Bill and I going out to Archer Hill for a morning of railroad photography and after a very satisfying parade of freight trains, we returned to town to the historic Union Pacific station built in 1886 in a Romanesque style and constructed from polychromatic sandstone. It anchors Cheyenne with the spire facing the capitol dome nine blocks to the north. We explored it then joined the group picture so were posed along the north wall and afterwards, we all waited for the train to arrive, scrambling for cover as an early afternoon shower fell on those who did not seek cover under the highway overpass.
It was still raining as Union Pacific 4-6-6-4 3985 and the train of the finest of the railroad's passenger car fleet arrived. Unlike most excursions which leave early in the morning, ours was unique in that it had been scheduled as a mid-afternoon excursion so all the photo runbys would be in perfect light. We boarded our assigned cars and just as we departed, the rain stopped.
We left the station and proceeded west to A Tower before ducking under the Colorado and Southern bridge and past the Little America Hotel where we were staying. We were on Track 3 and started to drift away from the original Union Pacific main line that runs west via Borie and Sherman and would rejoin it at Dale, then curved to the south and made our way to Speer, with its water tower, at Milepost 118. Here, the Denver line joined ours as we turned northwest at the west end of the small yard, the Borie Cutoff departed our line to reach the old main line and we were now on the new line over Sherman Hill.
This new line was 42 miles long and construction began on February 18, 1952 by Morrison Knudsen and once complete, reduced the westbound grade from 1.55 percent to .82 percent. Building this line across the rugged terrain of Sherman Hill required 111 major fills with the highest at 164 feet, and 114 major cuts with the deepest at 120 feet. The line was built almost six miles south of the original main line and almost near Harriman, cut into Colorado. Built with four sidings named Emkay, Lynch, Harriman and Perkins and centralized traffic control allowing for bi-directional running, it was officially opened for service on May 12, 1953 at a cost of $16 million.
We stayed on the north side of Lone Tree Creek until we crossed it at Emkay, Milepost 525.8, as we turned south then rounded a horseshoe curve back to the north to gain elevation before we reversed again to the southwest with Lone Tree Creek further down in its valley. The hillsides were a beautiful green as we made our way to Lynch, where just west of there, we stopped for the first photo runby of the day.
The Challenger reversed its train down the straight track before charging towards us with the green hills standing out against the yellow train; it was a perfectly-lit runby. We reboarded and our steam train continued to climb as we entered the trees and rocks of Sherman Hill.
This time we all climbed up a hillside with the tracks below us and 3985 performed another perfect runby.
We reboarded and passed through Harriman, Milepost 542.7, before we stopped again for a third runby, this time with Union Pacific 3985 emerging from a cut. Back on the train, everyone was really happy with the runbys so far as the fills grew higher and the cuts deeper and longer. We passed through Perkins at Milepost 549.5 and stopped just short of the deepest cut on Sherman Hill, where we all climbed up the hill while the steam train reversed in preparation.
What a runby this was and I could not believe I was living through a steam trip over Sherman Hill. It was incredible! We proceeded through the deepest cut and came out of it with Dale and the other main lines in view.
We pulled forward to Dale at Milepost 544.8 before we did the fifth runby with us looking up at the steam engine this time. Only Union Pacific could put on this kind of a show and what a show it was! We pulled forward through Dale across the fill with Dale Creek below before reaching Hermosa Tunnel where the train was closed to keep the smoke out during our passage through the 1,800 foot bore. We then passed through Hermosa at Milepost 547.9 and at Tie siding, the main line split again with our train taking the line via Red Buttes. We descended rapidly where we joined Wyoming Highway 287 for the rest of the journey to Laramie, with drivers pulling off the road to have a better look at our train, then arrived at station where everyone detrained for a layover.
Bill and I went across the bridge over the yard with a few people following us and we waited for Union Pacific 3985 to be wyed on the Coalmont Branch. The train pulled by us, treating us to a private runby before it reversed up to the main line and we all quickly returned to the station, then departed Laramie at sunset and a rare night-time steam excursion over Sherman Hill. Bill and I found our way to the open doors of the baggage car and enjoyed the journey from there as we travelled up the other line through Colores to Hermosa, where we shut the baggage car doors for the Hermosa Tunnel. Once clear of the tunnel, the doors were re-opened and we enjoyed the sounds of the steam engine working hard, with the whistle calling out in the night and the sound of the train on the rails - truly magical.
We passed Dale and climbed to Sherman, at Milepost 540.4, the highest point on the line at 8,013 feet then descended by the ballast pits, through Burford and Granite Canyon before proceeding east through Otto and Borie. At Wycon, we become four tracks to enter Cheyenne then ducked under the Colorado and Southern bridge and entered Cheyenne, stopping in front of the Cheyenne depot, ending my first steam excursion over Sherman Hill and the completion of a life-long dream. It had been an incredible experience. Thank you Union Pacific!
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