#407 is a Consolidation (2-8-0) type locomotive, one of nineteen built for the Union Pacific in 1900 as Vauclain compounds by Burnham, Williams & Co., later incorporated as Baldwin Locomotive Works (#1622-#1639 renumbered #402-#420 in 1915). It is one of several early 20th Century UP Consolidations dotted across the Great Plains. You can see others on the UP #237, UP #437, UP #480, UP #481 and UP #485 pages of this website.
As built, #1622 had 15½" x 30" high pressure and
26" x 30" low pressure cylinders but, by the time they were delivered, many US railroads were abandoning compounds. So, from 1910 to 1912, they were progressively simplified with
21" x 30" cylinders, #1622 in February 1911. It weighs 185,350 lbs, 160,700 lbs on its drivers. The engine wheelbase is 23' 11", the driver wheelbase
15' 3". The locomotive is equipped with Stephenson valve gear and has 57" drivers. With a 33.9 sq ft grate, 219.3 sq ft firebox and total heating surface of 2,393 sq ft, it operated at a boiler pressure of 200 psi, delivering 31,719 lbs tractive effort. The standard UP Vanderbilt tender weighs 108,015 lbs light and has a capacity of 5,000 gallons of water and 11 tons of coal.
From 1914, the 1622s started having superheaters installed, although #407 was one of three that remained non-superheated. The other two were #411 and #413.
Standard freight haulers on the UP's Nebraska and Wyoming mainlines, many of the 1622s worked into the 1950s, when they were progressively retired. #407, one of the last to go in 1956, was donated to the City of Sidney and is now on display opposite 10th Ave in Legion Park with BN Caboose #11357 (previously NP #10024) and Sydney & Lowe Refrigerator Car #10002.
