Union Pacific & the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympic Games

Much like the 1996 Olympic Torch Relay, the Olympic flame was lit in Olympia, Greece, on November 19, 2001, and began a preliminary tour relay around the Greek peninsula, before making its way to the United States for the opening ceremony in Salt Lake City, Utah. Union Pacific was involved from the beginning, as the location of the Salt Lake City winter games was determined by the time the Olympic Torch Relay Train was in motion for the 1996 Summer games in Atlanta. The flames flew from Athens, Greece to Atlanta, Georgia on a Delta Airlines Boeing 777, the “Soaring Spirit,” and was lit on American soil for the first time by the previous cauldron-lighter, Muhammad Ali on December 4, 2001. The flame then toured throughout the U.S., traveling to the previous host cities like Lake Placid, St. Louis, and Los Angeles. Union Pacific joined the torch relay tour in Los Angeles where the Olympic flame was transferred to the mounted cauldron on the previously used “Olympic Cauldron Car.” The Cauldron Car was first used in the 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympics, and was housed at the Union Pacific storehouse in Cheyenne, Wyoming between 1996 and 2001.

The special locomotives were painted in the branding of the games, “a city of fire and ice,” (referring to Salt Lake City) a bright blue, using two brand-new SD70 locomotives, built as UP 4690 and UP 4691.

Union Pacific locomotive UP 2002 and locomotive UP 2001 special locomotives that pulled the passenger train carrying the 2002 Winter Olympics torch. (Union Pacific Corporate Portfolio Historical Collection, IMG_2834).

The Torch Relay Train transported the Olympic Flame in this special “Cauldron Car,” on four separate legs of the tour. The first segment began in Livonia, Louisiana on December 10, 2001. Transporting the Olympic flame for four days, from Livonia to Houston, San Antonio, Austin, Fort Worth, Dallas, and Texarkana, Texas. The train then headed into Arkansas and ended this portion of the rail journey at Little Rock, Arkansas, on December 13, 2001. In between the segments of the railroad portion of the torch relay, the train deadheaded to Council Bluffs, Iowa where it was stored until January 10, 2002, meeting up with the relay, lighting the Cauldron Car again.

A ceremony was held at Omaha’s Union Station in Nebraska on January 10, where about 300 Union Pacific employees were involved in the torch relay, passing the flame from the streetside front entrance to the tracks where the Cauldron Car was waiting. UP Chief Executive Officer, Richard K. Davidson as well as Executive Vice President Robert Turner spoke. The second segment began in Omaha and ended in Yuma, Arizona.

The third segment began on January 15, 2002, in Los Angeles, California and ended in Oakland. This segment was an excursion for Union Pacific executives. The program for this segment is available in full to view on the public archive. The fourth and final segment of the torch relay on the train began in Sparks, Nevada, and ended in Eugene, Oregon on January 22, 2002. The torch relay continued without the train on its way to Salt Lake City. The train itself deadheaded to Salt Lake City and was parked on temporary tracks near the game's headquarters, for the railroad guests to visit while at the games.

Union Pacific locomotive UP 2002, followed by UP 2001, pulls Heritage Fleet passenger cars through snow in Truckee, California for Olympic torch relay. The 2002 Winter Olympics took place in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Union Pacific Corporate Portfolio Historical Collection, IMG_2823).

In total, the Olympic Torch Relay Train transported the Olympic flame more than 3,200 miles, across 11 states. The relay comprised of 41 Greek torchbearers and 12,012 American torchbearers. Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railroad contributed to the torch relay and collaborated with Union Pacific while the torch train was on Eastern railroad tracks.

Train Consist:

  1. Locomotive UP 2001, SD70M, built as UP 4690.
  2. Locomotive UP 2002, SD70M, built as UP 4691.
  3. UPP 5714 “Pony Express” Baggage
  4. UPP 207 Power Car
  5. UPP 315 “Little Rock” Sleeper
  6. UPP 314 “Columbia River” Sleeper
  7. UPP 202 “Carbarton” Staff Sleeper
  8. UPP 103 “Cheyenne” Business Car
  9. UPP 200 “Omaha” Sleeper
  10. UPP 1602 “Green River” Sleeper
  11. UPP 1610 “Portola” Sleeper
  12. UPP 413 “Lake Bluff” Sleeper
  13. UPP 412 “Lake Forest” Sleeper
  14. UPP 208 Power Car
  15. UPP 7011 “Missouri River Eagle” Dome Lounge
  16. UPP 4808 “City of Los Angeles” Diner
  17. UPP 5011 “City of Denver” Dome Lounge
  18. UPP 9009 “City of San Francisco” Dome Lounge
  19. UPP 7015 “Challenger” Dome Coach
  20. UPP 114 “Feather River” Business Car
  21. UPP 2002 Olympic Torch “Cauldron Car” Flat Car

 

Image courtesy of Salt Lake City Olympics page.

The 2002 Salt Lake Olympic Torch Relay Cauldron Car, provided by Union Pacific, travels through the desert between Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Tuscon, Arizona, during the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympic Torch Relay. (Union Pacific Corporate Portfolio Historical Collection, IMG_3206).

In the collection, the Union Pacific Railroad Museum possesses the cauldrons used on the Cauldron Car for both the 1996 and 2002 Olympic Torch Relays. Additionally, the torches, lanterns, and uniforms/tracksuits used during these relays are part of the Union Pacific Railroad Museum’s Historical Collection. Models of the locomotives and the heritage fleet passenger cars painted in the Olympic colors are a part of the collection as well.

The locomotives retain their special Olympic color scheme and are on display in Utah. The Olympic Games are set to return to Salt Lake City in 2034.