SILVIS, Ill. — People in the Quad Cities region got to see the Big Boy locomotive on its tour through nine states in September, but its little sister has been in Silvis for the past two years where it's being restored.
The Challenger Union Pacific 3985 was just one of the largest and rarest locomotives Union Pacific donated to the Railroading Heritage of Midwestern America in 2022. Union Pacific 5511 was also donated to RRHMA.
Since then, the nonprofit has been hard at work restoring the 1943 locomotive to its former glory. Shop foreman Alex Beams said it last ran in 2010.
"It's pretty neat to work on historic pieces of equipment, stuff that one time ran for excursion service, ran on the main line and stuff," Beams said. "And now we're taking it apart, rebuilding it, restoring it, modernizing it, making improvements and everything to it to be able to go out and run it again."
They've basically stripped the boiler and it's empty of most tubes and they've cleaned the inside. The team has also done testing on its parts.
"It was pretty amazing opening up and everything," he said. "It was a lot of scale from over the years built up from boiling water and everything."
Another team member has been working to remove the grit and grime that built up over the locomotive over the years. Beams estimates about 1,000 pounds have been removed. A laser also burns off rust built up on the outside of the boiler.
The team has even found old tools inside the locomotive that at one point must have been lost to its depths.
Union Pacific 5511 was built in 1923 and hasn't run since 1956. Beams recalled ash still being in the smoke box when they opened it up, although they hadn't done as much work on that locomotive as The Challenger.
"The general public really loves seeing all this whole equipment come back to life and so do I," mechanic Aspen Welker said. "It's a joy to be able to work on this thing, but it's also an even bigger joy to share this with the public."
The restoration projects cost millions of dollars, Beams said. RRHMA is a nonprofit and operates off of donations and fundraisers.
Beams estimates it's another two years before The Challenger restoration project is finished. The hope is that one day people will be able to ride it on excursions and RRHMA will also operate as a museum. He also hopes to inspire younger generations.
"That's one reason why I do it because people working on steam locomotives is a lost art," he said. "Get the younger generation involved, teach them everything, so they can keep the tradition going on and the history going on because the steam locomotives are fading away and people just don't know anything about them."
The public will have a chance to see The Challenger and 5511 up close, along with a dozen other projects RRHMA is working on, including an old diner car, on Oct. 18 and 19. The shop is hosting a family-friendly event with model trains, train rides and guided tours. You can find more information about the event and get tickets here.
