Union Pacific Freight Trains on March 25, 2006

I took these pictures from my car on March 25, 2006. First, leading a northbound train along Interstate 5 at Albany, Oregon, is Union Pacific #4044, a 4,000-horsepower SD70M built by the General Motors Locomotive Group in London, Ontario, in August 2000 and delivered on August 16, 2000.

Later that day, I saw this southbound Union Pacific freight train from along Highway 99W near Tangent, Oregon. The second unit is one of Union Pacific's two 4,000-horsepower SD70Ms decorated for the 2002 Winter Olympics, though I didn't get a good enough picture to know which. Union Pacific #2001 and #2002 were built by the General Motors Locomotive Group in London, Ontario, in August 2001 as Union Pacific #4690 and #4691, but they never entered service with those numbers. They were moved directly from the factory to the Wisconsin & Southern Railroad shops in Horicon, Wisconsin to receive their special paint schemes. They were renumbered on October 26, 2001, and their paint schemes were completed on November 7, 2001. They pulled the Olympic Torch Relay Train from December 10, 2001, to January 25, 2002, and remained in Salt Lake City until February 27, 2002 when the torch train was returned to Council Bluffs. They entered normal freight service on March 1, 2002.