Union Pacific Challenger No. 3985 was designed by Union Pacific and built in 1943 by the American Locomotive Company. It is one of 105 Challengers built for Union Pacific between 1936 and 1943 and is the only operating engine of its class in the world today--the largest and most powerful operating steam locomotive.
No. 3985 last operated in "regular" train service in 1957. It was retired in 1962 and stored in the roundhouse in Cheyenne, Wyoming, until 1975, when it was placed on display near the Cheyenne depot. A group of Union Pacific employees volunteered their services to restore the locomotive to running condition in 1981.
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Ah, proper grown-up light - I like this. Brings out the almost scuptural engineering of the beast. Wonderfully well done technically. Cropping bother a touch - why not simply glory in the definition of the metal, and plonk the old thing full frame? The angle of view you've chosen, and the complementary angles of the front of the train and the top would place the front of the engine right on the happy thirds line, and also might rid the shot of the slight feeling that you've cropped to hide something at the back of it. That visible background frame left, for me, adds nothing here - let it impose itself on us! But great work - great detail, great tonality, and great subject - real feeling of power. 8
You have used the light to your advantage in showing off the contours of this engine..it really gives the image bite..my only advice would be to have rearranged the image (if possible) so that you could crop the left hand side to get rid of the background which is showing signs of overprocessing..otherwise excellent.
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