MANKATO — A 65-year-old steam locomotive in the middle of a 1,700-mile tour through five states is scheduled to make a one-hour whistle stop Tuesday in Mankato.

Challenger No. 3985, the mammoth train engine’s official name, is the world’s largest and most powerful operating steam locomotive. It’s the kind of machine that used to grab Bill Nordgren’s attention and imagination as it chugged through town when he was a kid.

“I grew up with steam locomotives, so it’s kind of fun to see them again,” said Nordgren, who runs the St. James Railroad Museum. The Challenger also will travel to St. James on Tuesday, spending the night there.

“The Union Pacific usually comes through with passenger trains pulled by diesel engines, but this is a steam engine. That’s going back 60 years,” Nordgren said.

The Challenger and several cars will be on display in St. Paul. It is scheduled to leave there at 9 a.m. Tuesday morning and arrive in Mankato by noon, where it will make a one-hour stop outside the depot at 122 S. Riverfront Drive.

After leaving Mankato around 1 p.m., it’s scheduled to arrive in St. James around 3 p.m. It will spend the night there before traveling to Worthington Wednesday for a 10 a.m. whistle stop.

If the train is on time, the staff on board will likely pull out a special ladder that will give visitors a peek inside the engineer’s quarters behind the big boilers, said Gene Hinkle, a Union Pacific spokesman in Omaha, Neb. The last car on the train serves as a souvenir shop and contains historical information about the railroad, steam engines and Challenger No. 3985.

The locomotive was built in 1943 by the American Locomotive Co., one of 105 Challengers built for Union Pacific between 1936 and 1943. It was taken out of regular service in 1957, completely retired in 1962 and stored in a Cheyenne, Wyo., roundhouse until 1975.

It was placed on display at the Cheyenne depot in 1975 before being restored to running condition by a group of Union Pacific volunteers in 1981.

“It’s part of our heritage and part of Union Pacific’s history,” Hinkle said. “We felt it was important to maintain that history.

“It’s something you don’t get to see anymore, something you want your child or grandchild to see. The Challenger is just massive and it’s incredible to see.”

People who also want to see, and hear, the train as it’s rolling through the countryside can follow the train’s progress on the Internet. The Challenger is equipped with a global positioning system device that updates its location every five minutes.



At A Glance: The Challenger’s schedule
St. Paul: Leaves at 9 a.m. Tuesday and travels south on the Union Pacific line along Highway 169 and the Minnesota River.

Mankato: Arrives at noon Tuesday at the downtown depot building, leaves at 1 p.m.

St. James: Arrives at the depot at 3 p.m. and stays until 9 a.m.

Click here to follow its progress.