The Union Pacific Railroad’s "Challenger," the world’s largest operating steam locomotive, is scheduled to arrive in Le Mars at 1 P.M. today. The 122-foot long locomotive, which weighs more than one-million pounds, will make a half-hour whistle-stop.
The locomotive will be pulling two passenger cars. A small group of officials from the city of Le Mars and Plymouth County have been invited to board the train for the ride to Sioux City. A global positioning satellite transmitter is on one of the cars traveling with Number-3985 and has been integrated with a map on U-P’s website at: "www.up.com".
Website visitors can follow the train’s progress by entering the word "steam" in the search box, clicking on "2008 Steam Schedule" and then clicking on "Track the 3985 with GPS". The GPS system updates every five minutes, showing Challenger’s location. The enormous locomotive will make a layover and be on public display tomorrow from 9 A.M. to 6 P.M. at the U-P yard office at 18th Street and Floyd Boulevard in Sioux City.