UP 844 at 80 mph 'The Portland Rose' Crossing the Laramie River

UP 844 80mph Highball across the Laramie River as the Portland Rose charges westbound to Oregon

[RossTheBossTrotter]

"If my calculations are correct, when this baby hits 88 miles per hour... you're gonna see some serious shit."

[bcstechnologylimited]

Smoke and steam are shooting into the air, the whistle is blowing, and old 844 is going like hell.

Life is good!

[cdnpont]

It's amazing the rods just don't shatter and fly right off. I can only imagine the stresses on them at 80.

[ImAnderZEL]

Fucking impressed! This look so fast it looks fake almost.

[cargo]

My grandpa said they would smooth out around 110 mph.

[CyPhi]

From 0:30 to 1:00, 168 revolutions (counted at 1/4 speed) is 79.97 mph.

[richardwernick]

Never underestimate the power of superheated steam under extreme pressure. 844 generates about 4850hp according to her specifications. That's about 70 tons of pressure per cylinder, give or take, times a factor of two. That's more than a Boeing 737 weighs. Just amazing, as these mechanical wonders were built without the aid of computers. Back in the day, it was an engineer, a drafting board, and a slide rule.

[MorrowidAddic]

My understanding is, the UP 844 can pull a 1000 ton train at 100 mph easily.

[jrsouders]

Back in 1989, I got to see 844 and 4449 "Daylight" run up Cajon Pass in southern California. We were waiting for them at "Sullivan's Curve". It was amazing. 844 had a larger consist so it had a diesel assist while Daylight had fewer cars and no assist. It was a Steam Railfans dream com true.

[SkipW]

Track speed limit here is 79 for passenger trains, So don't go any faster than you wish to derail it all. Talk to the engineer in Spain

[nickelplateroad]

When your late for work and the speed limits 50

[markhall]

This is but one tiny example of WHY America IS the greatest country on Earth.

[johncheree]

If this country ever gets hit a EMP experience. These old trains will be the only real mod of transportation.

[bobanderson]

What a magnificent piece of machinery these old engines are. Such awesome power and beauty combined. :))

[RoadReady]

I have seen 844 do better then 80. On the UP main west of Grand Island, NE i was goin 85 and couldnt keep up. She was high ballin at WOT after a service stop to make up time and I gave up after about 5 miles trying to catch her cause I didnt want a speeding ticket lol

[anb]

Hope everyone (including myself) enjoyed this beauty running at 80mph, as the "suits" in Omaha have since restricted her to 60-70mph running with lubrication stops every 30-40 miles. It appears that scenes like this might be a thing of the past now.

[sahiel]

when this baby hits 88mph we hana see some serious shiet !!!

[TallboyDave]

Kind of disheartening to see this, honestly; in Britain, most mainline steam-hauled excursions are barred from going more than 75mph, and many of them are limited to 60mph.

And on top of that, they're often given extremely low priority in terms of Right-of-way; it was not uncommon once to have excursions run two hours late, because they'd get shoved into sidings all the time to allow heavy goods trains to pass, and at the same time not be allowed to pass other trains to make up for lost time.

[josephineledford]

My Oldsmobile tops out at 85 so this is pretty fast

[SAGERODSREM]

Very nice footage, she sure is beautiful at speed. Thanks for posting Cheers.