on the way to Railfair 1999. After the event, the 3985 was forced to pull the return trip with the 844 dead in tow after the FEF-3 suffered a tube failure on June 24 while on display. Throughout its career, No. 3985 was station and serviced at Cheyenne, along with other equipment in the UP's heritage collection. It remained in the UP's maintenance shop in 2007 and underwent repairs in 2008. In September and October of 2010, No. 3985 embarked on the Missouri River Eagle Tour, which would become its last tour in excursion service with the Union Pacific. As part of the tour, the locomotive was selected to pull the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus train from Cheyenne to Denver, Colorado, where the circus held a special performance to celebrate P.T. Barnum's birthday. No. 3985 made its final run with the UP on October 14, 2010, after which it was taken out of service for repairs and placed into storage. Retirement from excursion service with UP (2010–2022) In December 2018, Union Pacific asked the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) for waivers to exempt Nos. 3985, 844 and 4014 from federal Positive Train Control (PTC) requirements; in February 2019, the FRA officials responded that such waivers were not needed. In January 2020, Union Pacific officially retired No. 3985 from excursion service. The UP steam program manager, Ed Dickens, said the team felt that maintaining three steam locomotives was too much for them to handle. No. 3985 also needed an extensive overhaul due to its poor mechanical condition as No. 4014 officially replaced No. 3985 in excursion service. Acquisition by RRHMA and second restoration (2022-present) On April 28, 2022, UP officials announced that the company would donate No. 3985—along with 2-10-2 No. 5511, Centennial No. 6936, an unpowered E9 locomotive, and other rolling stock from their heritage fleet—to the Railroading Heritage of Midwest America (RRHMA) in Silvis, Illinois. RRHMA aims to restore the Nos. 3985 and 5511 steam locomotives to operating condition. On May 13, 2022, RRHMA launched a fundraiser to raise money for the work. In November of that same year, UP moved 3985 and the rest of the donated equipment to the RRHMA's large shop facility in Silvis, Illinois. In January 2023, the RRHMA announced that the restoration of No. 3985 had begun. Notes and References Notes References Bibliography Further reading External links Challenger No. 3985 UP Steam