Union Pacific 6916 is a DDA40X diesel locomotive built for the Union Pacific Railroad

Union Pacific Railroad

The Union Pacific Railroad , headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, is the largest railroad network in the United States. James R. Young is president, CEO and Chairman....

. It now resides in the Eccles Rail Center at the Utah State Railroad Museum in Ogden, Utah

Ogden, Utah

Ogden is a city in Weber County, Utah, United States. Ogden serves as the county seat of Weber County. The population was 82,825 according to the 2010 Census. The city served as a major railway hub through much of its history, and still handles a great deal of freight rail traffic which makes it a...

.

History

UP 6916 was built by General Motors' Electro-Motive Division in November 1969 as one of a series of 47 locomotives of the same type. It weighs 542,432 pounds and utilizes two Model 645E3A V-16 diesel engines, each rated at 3,300 horsepower each, for a total horsepower rating of 6,600 for the entire locomotive. Maximum speed was set at 80 miles per hour. By June 22, 1980, the 6916 was placed in storage due to a decrease in traffic. The locomotive was returned to service soon after. However, by 1983, most of the DDA40X type were stored out of service in Yermo, California, but in 1984 a motive power crunch caused Union Pacific to reinstate 25 of the locomotives, including the 6916. The locomotive was finally retired from service on May 16, 1985, and internally gutted as a parts source for SD40 and SD40-2 diesels. The unit was donated "as is" to the Utah State Railroad Museum in 1986.

The DDA40X locomotive type was nicknamed "Centennial" after the 100th anniversary of the driving of the Golden Spike

Golden spike

The "Golden Spike" is the ceremonial final spike driven by Leland Stanford to join the rails of the First Transcontinental Railroad across the United States connecting the Central Pacific and Union Pacific railroads on May 10, 1869, at Promontory Summit, Utah Territory...

 in 1869, which signified the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad

First Transcontinental Railroad

The First Transcontinental Railroad was a railroad line built in the United States of America between 1863 and 1869 by the Central Pacific Railroad of California and the Union Pacific Railroad that connected its statutory Eastern terminus at Council Bluffs, Iowa/Omaha, Nebraska The First...

. They are unique in that they are actually two power units on a single 98-foot frame, and are noted as being the largest diesel locomotives in the world. The 6916 is one of thirteen surviving Centennials.

In popular culture

• UP 6916 was featured on the cover of the March 1985 issue of Pacific Rail News.

• The unit served as the prototype for an O-scale brass model released by Ajin and imported to the United States by Overland Models in 1999.