UP 844 Tender Splitting the Derail at Sacramento.mp4

On Thursday 9-27 a friend & I chased UP 844 from Truckee, Ca to Sacramento. The train was heading to Sacramento as part of the 150th anniversary of Union Pacific, and a private celebration for Union Pacific employees on Friday. The train started somewhere in Nevada (Verdi?), and arrived at Truckee around 9am (precise times and terminology are not my strong point!). After a great run (Colfax was a madhouse!), the train arrived in Sacramento around 5pm to perhaps the lightest turnout. It was a full day for the crew, and Sacramento was hot & humid. Not too long after arriving in Sac, the rear axle on the tender split a derail. This video is a highly compressed version of the actual events. The entire operation took at least 3 hours, and possibly as much as 4. First, I missed as much as the first half hour of activity. Second, not even the participants would care to see the event in "real time". The video is a series of clips concentrating on the activity around blocking the wheels and inching the locomotive. Throughout the operation I was impressed by the extreme professionalism and skill displayed by everyone involved. This operation is as old as trains and is a subject more than worthy for any train enthusiast to witness. According to the UP press, the tender is 421,500 lbs "operational weight" and holds 23,500 gallons of No.5 oil.