UP No. 5511 begins steam testing

SILVIS, Ill. — Union Pacific 2-10-2 No. 5511 was steamed up today (Friday, Nov. 6) by Railroading Heritage of Midwest America. It is the first time the locomotive has been under steam since 1956.

The locomotive, built by Baldwin in 1923, is the sole remaining UP 2-10-2. RRHMA began an extensive rebuilding project after the engine was donated by UP in 2022.

The locomotive was retired in 1956, and was last used that year as a stationary boiler for an industry in Ogden, Utah. It was used in filming the Union Pacific motion picture “Last of the Giants” in 1958, but was not under steam at that time. It was then stored in Green River, Wyo., until it was transferred to the UP roundhouse in Cheyenne, Wyo., in 1968.

The locomotive, which underwent a hydrostatic test on Sept. 8, was pulled outside the Silvis facility and steamed up for testing. RRHMA has not announced any immediate plans to operate the 2-10-2.

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