Union Pacific 6936 is an EMD DDA40X locomotive built for the Union Pacific Railroad (UP). Previously a part of UP's heritage fleet, 6936 was for several decades the last remaining operational "Centennial" type, and thus the largest operational diesel-electric locomotive in the world. It is now owned by the Railroading Heritage of Midwest America in Silvis, Illinois, who plans to return the locomotive to operation.

Union Pacific 6936
UP 6936 photographed near Watseka, Illinois, pulling a business train.
Type and origin Power type Diesel-electric Builder EMD Model DDA40X Build date January 1971
Specifications Configuration: ​  • AAR D-D Gauge 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge Safety systems Leslie S3LR
Career Operators Union Pacific Numbers 6936 Nicknames "Centennial" Disposition In transit, en route to RRHMA shops in Silvis, Illinois.

History

Service with Union Pacific

Built in January 1971, the UP classifies No. 6936 as a DD40X rather than a DDA40X as indicated by the model designation on the cab of the locomotive.[1][2] It served in revenue service over the next decade and into the mid-1980s across the Union Pacific system. UP 6936 made its last regular freight trip on May 6, 1985. It went on to become a part of the railroad's excursion fleet.

The locomotive's most recent excursion was in 2015, when it helped the UP's trio of EMD E9 units at the annual Cheyenne Frontier Days event. It has not been used since, except on July 12, 2016, when helped to test UP 844, a steam locomotive being returned to service. Its dynamic brakes were used to simulate a load while being pulled.[3] After the tests, it was returned to storage at the roundhouse in Cheyenne.

The current operating condition of No. 6936 is unclear. As of 2017, a page posted on UP's website said the locomotive "now travels on occasion as part of the UP Heritage Fleet."[4] But a page posted in 2019 does not describe No. 6936 as operational.[5]

Accidents

In November 2000, UP 6936 collided with a dump truck at a grade crossing in Livonia, Louisiana. The accident killed a railroad employee riding in the nose section and the driver of the dump truck. The unit was stored in North Little Rock, Arkansas, until damage to its nose could be repaired.[6]

Acquisition by RRHMA

In April 2022, Union Pacific announced that 6936—along with Union Pacific 3985, Union Pacific 5511, and other pieces stored at the Cheyenne roundhouse—were to be donated to the Railroading Heritage of Midwest America, a museum in Silvis, Illinois, associated with the Milwaukee Road 261.[7] On that same year, UP began to move 6936 and the rest of the donated equipment on November 11, with an expected arrival date of November 19.[8][9]

References

External links

Media related to Union Pacific 6936 at Wikimedia Commons

• Centennial DD40X, maintained by Union Pacific Railroad