View allAll Photos Tagged C44ACM
A General Electric C44ACM leads Union Pacific's Ogden - Roper manifest into Salt Lake City, Utah on May 3, 2023. The big GE was built UP AC6000CW No. 7515 in November 1998.
Paisano Pass in far west Texas marks the highest point on the Sunset Route at just over 5000 ft of elevation. Here, with the rising sun having just cleared the peaks of the Davis Mountains, UP 7804 climbs the 1% grade with a westbound train of Toyota trucks and international containers.
ISALB 10 (Intermodal- San Antonio, TX to Long Beach, CA)
UP C45ACCTE #7804
UP C44ACM #6256
UP SD70AH #9057
(Mid-Train DPU) UP C45ACCTE #7390
(Mid-Train DPU) UP SD70M #3903
Paisano Pass, TX
December 11th, 2022
A C44ACM and an AC4400CW lead the MGJNY through the cut in Arvada between Carr Street and 66th Avenue. The first unit was recently rebuilt at UP's North Little Rock shops. UP 6410 was originally SP 327, delivered in scarlet and gray in July 1995.
©2025 ColoradoRailfan.com
It's a July afternoon in Texas, so that means it's hot. But it also means you'll see lots of sunflowers and have a good chance of afternoon thundershowers.
We're getting a little bit of all three on this hot and humid summer afternoon in the Bayou City. And from our perch amongst the wild florals, we watch UP 9087 roll by with a manifest train bound for Ft Worth.
Niles Jct here was once the lead to SP's Chaney Yard, but with the abandonment of that yard and the industries it served, this is now just a setout track with a control point.
MEWFW 23 (Manifest- Englewood Yard [Houston] to Fort Worth, TX)
UP SD70AH #9087
UP SD70M #4143
UP C44ACM #6231
Houston, TX
July 23rd, 2025
The Freight Main of UP's Houston Sub runs right down the middle of Winter St for a few blocks in the First Ward. This pseudo-street running makes for a cool sight on a fairly busy stretch of railroad.
Though on this Monday morning, the Freight Main gets an extra special visitor. The Big Boy, after public display at the Amtrak Station, runs right down Winter Street on its way out of town. It'll take a left at Tower 26 in a few miles to access the Toll Road for the route out of the city.
PHOBR 07 (Passenger- Houston to Bryan, TX)
UP 4-8-8-4 #4014
UP C44ACM #9625
Houston, TX
October 7th, 2024
This wasn't my initial location to shoot this one, but after a westbound showed up on M1 blocking my view of this at Calhoun Bluffs, I relocated to the east to Decatur Rd., which is just east of Grantville, KS.
Here, the recently-rebuilt UP 6445 leads a stack train off of the GSR from Herington towards Kansas City into the morning sun after refueling at MacVicar in Topeka.
After spending the previous day on display for the public at the Houston Amtrak Station, UP's Heartland of America Tour reassembles its train to head back towards Cheyenne.
In order to provide better public viewing the Big Boy had been parked at the west end of the Amtrak depot, behind its train. So, departure required a few moves to put everything back together. While UP 4014 helped, most of the work was done by the diesel helper with the Big Boy moved out of the way.
Now that UP 9625 has the entire train back in one piece on the main, UP 4014 shoves back to couple up to its train and head out of town.
PHOBR 07 (Passenger- Houston to Bryan, TX)
UP 4-8-8-4 #4014
UP C44ACM #9625
Houston, TX
October 7th, 2024
On my last evening in this big border town I finally got that sweet evening sun I wanted for shooting the west side of the international bridge. After shooting northbound CPKC train I-181-29 I was rewarded with a southbound Union Pacific transfer behind a freshly painted unit dressed in the current version of UP's timeless Armour yellow now without nose wings or the giant flags. UP 5849 (GE C44ACM orignally blt. Mar. 2002 and recently rebuilt by Wabtec) which arrived in town on train MSAMX-29 (SoSan Yard in San Antonio to CPKCdeM) is stepping out over the narrow muddy Rio Grande on the 1275 ft long combination deck and thru truss span built in 1920 by the Tex-Mex and now owned by CPKC as a US Customs and Border Patrol agent keeps watch.
Laredo, Texas
Wednesday May 29, 2024
UP 6956, a Wabtec C44ACM rebuild, leads a Roper - North Platte manifest through lower Echo Canyon on Jan. 17, 2024. UP 6956 was built UP AC6000CW No. 7567 by GE in November 2000.
With a long train of empty autoracks in tow, UP 4902 rolls through Chaney Jct just west of Downtown Houston. The train is headed to the Mexican border at Eagle Pass, where it'll be handed off to Ferromex for another load of assembled autos.
ASPEGR 10 (Autoracks- Spring, TX to Eagle Pass, TX, Reposition)
UP SD70M #4902
UP C44ACM #9785
Houston, TX
June 10th, 2025
Whatever man.
The one a only Retro Brick leader I saw while wandering around the Sunset Route was on the drive home, it was also the only eastbound which meant it was also the only thing to shoot until the sun moved far enough across the sky which made it a must see. After waiting about five minutes at 83rd Avenue the headlight to Union Pacific 6430 appeared down near Mobile with twelve-thousand feet of marine stacks from Long Beach, California (Piers A, G "ITS" and 400) heading for Houston, Texas and a few places in-between, as it started to pickup speed after tipping the hill at Shawmut cruising through the relatively flat Sonoran Valley at a brisk 65mph.
This train and a few others have a companion video available here: youtu.be/kRQ0DqRZq84
An eastbound UP MGJNY has just crossed Kipling Street in Arvada, and is continuing east on the final seven miles or so in to North Yard. Snow has been falling all day and continues now, but the relatively warm temperatures (34°F / 1°C) are keeping the snow from accumulating too much on the ground.
©2024 ColoradoRailfan.com
In mid-2024, UP brought back expedited intermodal service connecting California to Houston. The ZLBHO runs from UP's ITCF ramp in Long Beach to UP's Settegast ramp in Houston, carrying a mix of domestic & international boxes.
Here, UP 6662 and its Z Train are just a few miles from Settegast Yard as it splits Winter St in two just west of Downtown Houston. This pseudo-street running is a neat quirk where the two mains of UP's Houston Sub split into their historical alignments past Downtown Houston. This won't last forever though; UP is working with TxDOT and the city of Houston to eventually remove this track and consolidate it with the Passenger Main a few blocks to the south.
ZLBHO (Z Train- Long Beach, CA to Houston, TX)
UP C44ACM #6662
UP C44ACM #6462
(Mid-Train DPU) UP SD70ACe #8592
Houston, TX
October 14th, 2024
A pair of yellow GEs, with a fairly clean rebuild on the front (rebuilt October 2024), leads a string of yellow TBOX boxcars around the Maury St Connector at Tower 26 in Houston.
The long cuts of boxcars are standard on the MSALI, forwarding freight from Mexico towards eastern markets. In the boxcars you'll find cases and cases of Modelo, Corona, and other Mexican beers brewed by Constellation Brands at their Nava, Coahuila brewery. It's a hop, skip, and a jump across the border from Eagle Pass, TX.
MSALI 07 (Manifest- San Antonio, TX to Livonia, LA)
UP C44ACM #5678
UP C45ACCTE #7903
Houston, TX
June 7th, 2025
Five units lead an eastbound UP manifest out the east end of Eisele (Clay). The power is elephant style. The last two units are GP38-2s from Grand Junction. Not sure if they are due for an inspection, or if they are being sold for auction (or scrap). The top of a tank car that is likely more than a century old is partially buried in the dirt in the foreground.
©2025 ColoradoRailfan.com
en: The Craig branch from Bond to Craig once was filled with coal unit trains. Today it sees regularly only the once a week Craig local. Albeit it should depart around 9am at Phippsburg, we've encountered it on our way to Phippsburg. Lucky as we are we've had enough time to urn around and get to this beautiful location near Steamboat Springs. C45ACCTE #7637 and C44ACM #7257 are the haulers on this day.
de: Einst verkehrten auf dem Craig Branch mehrmals täglich Kohlezüge. Heutzutage ist als regelmässiger Gast nur noch der wöchentlich verkehrende Craig Local übrig geblieben. Eigentlich hätte der um 9 Uhr ab Phippsburg fahren sollen. Auf dem Weg dorthin kam er uns aber bereits entgegen. Es reichte aber noch um zu wenden und an diese Stelle kurz vor Steamboat Springs zu fahren. C45ACCCTe #7637 und C44ACM #7257 beförderten an dem Tag den local nach Craig.
Heading south on the Canadian National Yazoo Sub is Union Pacific engine 7308 (C44ACM), leading a unit hopper train through Tunica County, Mississippi, approaching the Rials Siding.
Returning from a ready mix concrete plant on the north side of Beaumont, this empty rock train rolls through Chaney Jct in central Houston. It's headed back to a central Texas quarry at Hunter, between San Antonio and Austin.
The searchlights here would come down in June.
RB2JW (Rock- Beaumont to Hunter, TX)
UP C44ACM #5770
UP C44AC #6408
UP C45ACCTE #5457
Houston, TX
February 25th, 2025
Rolling under the signal bridge guarding the north end of the Nance crossover, UP 5764 brings a Houston-bound manifest into the heart of the city on the West Belt.
The train is going the long way to Englewood, swinging south several miles past the yard to Tower 30 before coming back north on the Strang Sub to enter Englewood from the south side.
MFWEWB 24 (Manifest- Fort Worth, TX to Englewood Yard [Houston], Second Train)
UP C44ACM #5764
CSXT ES40DC #5493
(Midt-Train DPU) UP C45AH #2753
Houston, TX
February 25th, 2025
I just happened to be rolling through North Topeka on my lunch break on Thursday, and noticed a bunch of people standing around, so I thought I'd stick around to see what the ruckus was about. Turns out there was a steam train coming!
In reality, I sharpshot this incredibly well, with it taking less than half an hour over my lunch break, before having to get right back to work. I've been able to photograph the Big Boy a number of times now, and I'm always happy to get out to do so. It may not be a Missabe "Yellowstone," but it'll do in a pinch. ;-)
Here is an empty grain train (GSSES9-13) for a large complex in Syracuse. This train was very interesting move. Came into Nebraska City on the Falls City sub 3x0. Crew proceeded to set over an engine on the connection track to the old CB&Q (now BNSF Nebraska City sub) and DPUed the train to 2x1. Then this crew "shoved" the train about 15 miles to the grain complex using the DPU as the "shove platform" on the BNSF, at a brisk pace.
Dodging long winter shadows, a crusty UP 6582 rolls through "Sawyer Yards" in central Houston. This part of the city's First Ward has redeveloped much of what was formerly just industrial land. The warehouses and silos to the left have been repurposed into art studios and event spaces, while new-builds on the right provide housing and okay beer.
Loaded Rock Train
UP C44AC #6582
UP C44ACM #6946
UP SD70AH #8865
Houston, TX
November 13th, 2024
UP MSSDM, with a trio of GEs, slowly climbs out of the Minnesota River Valley as it passes through Minneopa State Park on a rainy morning
With a long string of empty rock hoppers in tow, UP 8950 thunders up a short .5% grade out of Flatonia on UP's Glidden Sub. The train is headed for Vulcan Materials' Medina rock quarry near Quihi, about 35 miles west of San Antonio.
RRFVRQ (Rock- Rosenberg, TX to Quihi, TX)
UP SD70AH #8950
UP C44ACM #6461
(DPU) C45AH #8154
Flatonia, TX
September 8th, 2024
UP 5958, looking great in its fresh coat of UP's new paint scheme, races westward with an empty rock train through the small town of Eagle Lake, about 70 miles west of Houston.
Eagle Lake Jct, the former site of Tower 115, once hosted the crossing of 3 rail lines: the GH&SA, SA&AP, and Cane Belt. GH&SA and SA&AP became part of the SP, and the Cane Belt a part of the ATSF. The SA&AP diamond was removed in the late 70s or early 80s, and the Cane Belt was abandoned in 1990.
The SA&AP east to Houston became SP's Bellaire Branch, offering an alternate route for westbound trains coming out of the city. It was last used as a through route in the late 90s, with service continuing for a few miles east from Eagle Lake to Chesterville until 2008.
RKBVRQ (Rock- Beaumont to Quihi, TX)
UP C44ACM #5958
UP C44ACM #5701
UP C45AH #8156
UP SD70AH #9038
Eagle Lake, TX
September 8th, 2024
UP 6000, a brand new C44ACM rebuilt by Wabtec in Fort Worth Texas, is seen here at Berg/Yuba City California on UP MRVPD. It looks to be meeting its counterpart, MPDRV.
Three SD70Ms, plus a C44ACM, are on the point of westbound MEWRV 19, making its way through the suburbs of Sugar Land, TX and passing the old Imperial Sugar mill, the city's namesake. Naturally, the dirtiest one was put in the lead, but it was nice to shoot a trio of these aging units.
With a borrowed UP AC4400 up front, a CPKC grain train crosses the long, acute bridge over I-10 on UP's Houston Sub in west Houston. This unique, shallow-slanting bridge crosses the interstate at just a 27 degree angle. It was built when I-10 was bulldozed through Houston's Cottage Grove neighborhood in 1968.
This interesting overpass is slated for replacement when TxDOT rebuilds I-10 in this area in the next 5 or 10 years. Although the new bridge could look similar to the existing one, there's also an intriguing community proposal for a freeway cap, or lid, here. The result would be a deck park over the freeway, leading to a much more pleasant space for the neighborhood and for being trackside.
CPKC Loaded Grain Train
UP C44ACM #7268
(DPU) KCS ES44AC #4859
Houston, TX
March 10th, 2025
On it's northbound journey out of Houston, UP's Palestine Sub closely follows the Hardy Toll Road for about 20 miles up to Spring. For the first 6 miles north of Belt Jct the tracks are right in the middle of the highway, earning the nickname of "The Toll Road" among crews.
Here, a Houston to Forth Worth manifest is right in the middle of the Toll Road as it sits just shy of the McGowen crossovers.
MEWFW 29 (Manifest- Englewood Yard [Houston] to Fort Worth, TX)
UP C44ACM #6458
UP SD70M #4675
UP SD70M #3815
(Mid-Train DPU) UP C44AC #6568
Houston, TX
June 29th, 2023
A quartet of GE products rolls past an old SP searchlight still protecting Chaney Jct in west Houston. At Chaney, the Freight Main of UP's Houston Sub (that this train is on) rejoins the Passenger Main, which goes off to the right to Downtown Houston and the Amtrak Station.
In June 2024 UP erected new Vader signals here, so these searchlights are unfortunately not long for this world.
Empty UP Rock Train
UP C44ACM #6290
UP C45ACCTE #7382
UP C45ACCTE #7722
UP C44AC #6711
Houston, TX
December 4th, 2023
Awaiting traffic to clear ahead at Eureka and Chaney Jct, UP 9104 holds tight at Sawyer St just west of Downtown Houston. In a few minutes, he'll be on his way to head up the 'Dirt Road', the former SP Eureka Subdivision towards central Texas.
MEWFW 12 (Manifest- Englewood Yard [Houston] to Fort Worth, TX)
UP SD70AH #9104
UP C45ACCTE #5380
UP C45AH #2617
UP C44ACM #6652
Houston, TX
October 13th, 2025
GE/Wabtec modernised C44ACM unit, 7312 and C45ACCTE (GE Model ES44AC), 7356, lead an eastbound Union Pacific train. 7821 (C45ACCTE (GE Model ES44AC)) is also on the rear as distributed power.
Emory, UT.
Wednesday, 23 October 2024.
7058 (GE/Wabtec modernised C44ACM) and 8861 (SD70AH (EMD SD70ACe)) lead an eastbound Union Pacific train. 7154 (GE/Wabtec modernised C44ACM) was mid train assisting as distributed power.
Peterson, UT.
Wednesday, 23 October 2024.
Of the many new UP paint scheme variants, the 7271 is wearing what may be about the best one; Wings, and no flag. Obviously, I'd be pro-silver trucks, red frame stripe, and green nose anti-skid, but this is about as good as it gets these days.
This unit was released from GE in November 2022 (flic.kr/p/2nXVwn8), but still looks like it's fresh out of the shop here in early March of the next year.
Here, we see this C44ACM rebuild leading the GVASAL 28, a grain train from Avon, IA to Shamrock,KS. "Shamrock" was a location that I couldn't find immediately, but upon further investigation, I found that UP puts it between Pratt and Liberal, KS, and potentially to the east of Arkalon?
Regardless, this particular shot was taken just west of Valencia, along the banks of the Kansas River on UP's Topeka Sub.
Led by a single C44ACM sporting Union Pacific's most recent livery, a southbound manifest freight train approaches the tunnel through Cadron Ridge near Conway, AR midday on a gloomy Sunday, February 9, 2025.
A fresh C44ACM rebuild leads MSSDM over the Mississippi River shortly after departing Western Avenue. Luckily, Wabtec isn't repainting the GE rebuilds into the new scheme yet, although I'm sure it's only a matter of time before that happens.
UP's hotshot from Joliet, IL to Mesquite, TX races through the western Illinois countryside and down the Chester Subdivision. While rebuilt, the former AC6000CW was a nice leader in my book seeing as CSX disposed of theirs...
Part of the graffiti on the hoppers at Big Ten Curve spells out AWARE. I have no idea what it is meant to represent, but, there it is! Meanwhile, a westbound oil empty is climbing Big ten out of Rocky. You can see the signal at the west end of Rocky off in the distance.
©2024 ColoradoRailfan.com
Heading into Lawrence from the east, you get to parallel the Union Pacific's Kansas Sub for about a mile or so, with it well off to the south. Should you encounter a westbound, you are then given quite the head start to leapfrog it as they works their way north towards this spot known as Midland. I was on my way to my friend Mike Tomei's place at the time, but, uhhh... "I'm gonna be late."
As I was coming into Lawrence, I could tell that the leader was a nice looking repaint, and that turned out to be the UP 5850, a unit that changed to a C44ACM in the computer in May of 2024, so it's still quite a recent rebuild out of GE. This is the UP's MDMHN, a daily manifest from Des Moines to Herington, KS.
An eastbound oil train meets a westbound at Rocky, the two trains nearly identical in length. The westbound in the siding has just untied the train and the crew is ready to depart west. UP 5919 has clear (green) signals for the remainder of the trip to town.
©2025 ColoradoRailfan.com
Sitting pretty wearing a fresh coat of paint, Union Pacific 5741, a Wabtec C44ACM rebuild, finds itself stranded in the middle of the Upper Yard in Helper, Utah on Sept. 22, 2023.
Running with a power configuration of 1x1 Union Pacific empty coal train CWBNA9 heads north on UP's Chester Sub near Valmeyer Illinois passing one of the many soybean fields in this part of Southern Illinois.
After completing its work in the Topeka yard, UP's MTPKC gets under way on the northeast side of Topeka. This is at mp 65.7 of UP's Kansas Sub on Main 1, and just east of the Topeka yard.
Power for the day were SD70ACe no. 9080, and C44ACM no. 5938.
Just three days after its debut in North Little Rock, AR, I photographed UP's new President Abraham Lincoln Commemorative Locomotive on the move northwest of Kansas City. Out of Arkansas, the UP 1616 was placed third out on the ZMNNP, presumably to protect it from any sort of grade crossing incidents on its trip to Portland, OR for its first public showing.
Photographing a westbound in the morning can often prove to be problematic, but the many twists and turns of UP's Hiawatha Sub in Northeast Kansas aids in this, as it turns nearly due south just east of Sabetha, which is where I tracked it down.
UP's Press Release on the unit can be seen here: www.up.com/heritage/fleet/commemorative/lincoln-1616/inde...
On a cool October morning, UP 5833 and friends roll through Houston's Sawyer Yards area with a train-load of rock for Port Arthur.
This location, formerly heavy industrial, has been repurposed in recent years. The largest of which is a rice elevator and accompanying warehouses (to the left), which have become art studios.
RMEPA 12 (Rock- Medina to Port Arthur, TX)
UP C44ACM #5833
UP C45ACCTE #5364
UP C45ACCTE #7713
Houston, TX
October 13th, 2025