Wyoming, for the 1963 National Railway Historical Society (NRHS) Convention alongside Big Boy No. 4023 and 4-8-4 "Northern" No. 844, which had been in excursion service since 1960. After the convention, No. 3985 was stored inside the UP's Cheyenne roundhouse along with No. 4023. In 1975, it was placed on outdoor display beside the Cheyenne depot. First restoration and excursion career with UP (1981–2010) Beginning in 1979, a group of Union Pacific employee-volunteers started work on restoring the locomotive and it was returned to operating condition in March 1981. The locomotive made its first excursion run in May during Railfair 1981, where it attended the opening of the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento, along with No. 844. No. 3985, originally built to burn coal, was converted to burn No. 5 fuel oil in 1990 to reduce maintenance stops during excursion trips. That same year, the locomotive pulled a 143-car doublestack train between Cheyenne and North Platte, Nebraska, per special request by American President Lines. In 1991, No. 3985 went to Railfair 1991 along with No. 844 and DDA40X No. 6936. The excursion also included UP 4-6-0 No. 1243 on a flatbed. The next year, the 3985 went to the National Railroad Historical Society's convention in San Jose, California. It participated in activities with Southern Pacific 4-8-4 No. 4449 and SP 4-6-2 No. 2472. Also in 1992, No. 3985 travelled to Topeka, Kansas, to take part in Topeka Railroad Days alongside the recently restored Santa Fe 4-8-4 No. 3751. In November 1992, the locomotive was selected to pull the Clinchfield Santa Train, an excursion that ran on CSX trackage. For the run, the locomotive masqueraded as Clinchfield Railroad No. 676; the number was as a continuation of the CRR's E-3 locomotives, which were numbered 670–675. In May 1993, the locomotive masqueraded as sister engine No. 3967 as part of the 40th anniversary of the Rocky Mountain Railroad Club excursion, in which the original 3967 pulled the same excursion on May 17, 1953. During the same run, the engine was renumbered again to 3718, the number being a continuation of the few 4664-4 locomotives that were converted to run on oil in 1945, which were numbered 3708–3717. In May 1994, No. 3985 pulled an excursion on California's Cajon Pass with the Union Pacific's A-B-A set of EMD E9 units during its 1994 tour. In 1999, the 3985 double-headed with No. 844