Union Pacific has appointed J. Scott George as director of its steam shop, currently working on the restoration of Big Boy No. 4014.
Drew Halverson
OMAHA, Neb. – Union Pacific has appointed J. Scott George as Director – Steam Shop in Cheyenne, Wyo. George was previously the director of system locomotive facilities in North Little Rock, Ark. In his new role George will handle day-to-day administrative tasks associated with Union Pacific’s Steam Shop.
The railroad said George’s move to Cheyenne will free up time for Ed Dickens, Senior Manager – Heritage Operations, to focus on setting the technical direction for returning 4-8-4 No. 844 to service and the restoration and eventual operation of Big Boy No. 4014.
Anyone believing that you might get the straight story out of Omaha should take advantage of a deal I was offered in an e-mail promising millions of dollars from a trust fund in Africa.
You really don't get it since you think it was just something that was a bad design and
i seriously doubt that, why, because when Steve and the guys were there all the equipment were taken care of like babies and that's the reason why they kept going on year in and year out even with either 844 or 3985 doing a year or 2 of excursion duties while the other was laid up for routine maitneanance! You my friend need to look at the facts because they're there! Besides, how come 3985 is still sitting there waiting for her boiler certification, because Ed doesn't like her!
Plenty of people with plenty of firsthand knowlege of the situation HAVE been speaking, and it isn't pretty. The situation is quickly coming to a head, which is why Mr. George is on his way to Cheyenne. Mr. Dickens may SEEM very knowledgable, but his qualifications for that job are dubious at best, he had already been fired from the steam crew once before and you will have a VERY hard time finding ANYONE in the steam preservation community or among steam contractors that have ANYTHING positive to say about him. And while it IS true that a man is innocent until proven guilty, the facts are that in a fairly short period of time TWO of his staff have filed lawsuits against him and they look to be going to court this year. Never mind that in what has always been looked at as a plumb assignment within the company, employee turnover in the steam shop is running something like 175% since Dickens took over. Add to that three non-operable steam engines, an E9 that has been stranded away from it's home base for months and a steam shop being "remodeled' for reasons that nobody that has worked there can figure out, and you have a first rate mess.
When I am in a public space and people are speaking about things they have little or no knowledge of that which they speak I leave that space. Saying that something has been discussed on every railroad forum doesn't make it true. "And thats all I got to say about that!"
I met Ed Dickens he seemed very knowledgeable to me . he should be innocent until proven guilty of anything or wrong doing.
I have heard all sorts of stories on a number of different sites. I am not believing any of these until we get the story straight out of Cheyenne and/or Omaha.
If you are not aware of what a dumpster fire the UP steam program has become under Ed Dickens, you haven't been paying much attention because it has been discussed on pretty much every railroad forum worth mentioning. As for the damage to #844's boiler tubes, several people in the know have looked at those photos and described the damage, Jack Whelihan and Rich Melvin, among them. Whelihan commented on the damage and then went into great detail about HOW and WHY it happened. Whelihan also has all of the details of the #844 skiding wheels debacle, including the attempted cover up after the facts. If you want to argue HIS credentials, be my guest…..
Well it is seems pretty obvious that things are not going well in Cheyenne. For the first year since UP began they didn't run any steam. Ed had a simple job just keep at least one steam locomotive available for the goodwill of the company. He started 4 years ago with both 3985 and 844 in serviceable condition with years left on the boilers of both. Today they have 3 dead steam locomotives.
Now UP has moved Mr George from a position where he directed one of the most important locomotive shops on the UP system to the steam shop to " handle day-to-day administrative tasks associated with Union Pacific’s Steam Shop." There has never been a need for a Director position at the steam shop before so why now?
Ed cant manage his people-thus the lawsuits. Ed cant seem to keep any steam locomotives operating. Ed has been in charge for 4 years with little oversight and we see how well he has done. Now Ed will have a direct superior in the same building keeping things moving forward.
It is good news that perhaps work will be completed and UP will steam again.
Google is your friend use it…
up 844 tube
up steam program lawsuit
"ERIK SPOONMORE from ILLINOIS
Google is your friend use it…
up 844 tube
up steam program lawsuit"
Googled it, A bunch of railfans talking out their a$$$, A lawsuit by an employee and an "Unsubstantiated sexual misconduct charge". All a bunch of Bunk at this point. As for the UP 844 tubes, That is all up for conjecture…Looks to me like 844 got a bad batch of boiler tubes with maybe the wrong steel makeup. Nothing anyone could put blame on Mr. Dickens!
My guess is a few YOUNG guys who don't have a clue what they are talking about spreading false information. If they are older guys they should know better!
@Matt: Everything I have heard has come from respected people in the Steam community. Everything they have been saying has come true. Some people chose to stick their head in the sand and not listen. If you want to watch "Cool Trains" especially when it comes to UP Steam then you should care what happens. I live and work in 2015 and I don't have harassment and sexual harassment lawsuits going against me. Ed Dickens can't make the same statement.
It seems like all I ever hear about Ed Dickens is "a guy told me that he heard from another guy who is a reliable source that………."
If he's such a bad guy, why won't someone come out and say what their personal experience is? Also, being sued doesn't make you a bad person, it just means you live and work in America in 2015.
To be clear, I don't have a horse in this race. I just get tired of the railfan community acting like school children when it comes to this stuff. If there really is a problem, I bet UP can handle it. If there isn't a problem, maybe we can just take this press release at face value. Either way, it's not my business- I just want to watch cool trains.
Best of luck to Mr. George, i'm sure he'll be great.
Erik, it's very simple. Put up or shut up. Name names. Not "I heard…" No hearsay. Give web links to the court cases in the news or give the names of the mechanical engineers who studied the UP engines in person so they are know what they are talking about. Otherwise, it sounds just a tab suspicious. As far as we know, you're just some ranting railfan from Illinois who's got an axe to grind against Ed. Maybe he fired you, or didn't hire you in the first place. Who knows? We don't. Right now, you come across like a rabid football fan ranting against the coach because your favorite player didn't play.
Personally, I'm not a UP fan at all (see: licensing, "Steam Scenes" calendar, etc.), but I do respect the fact that UP has always run a steam program. No one else has done so.
This is great news for the UP Steam Program. This is one step closer to Ed Dickens being out the door and away from the program that he damaged greatly. The UP Steam program can now be on the road to recovery without him in charge. The reason 844 didn't run last year is because Ed screwed it up and it has to has to have new tubes. Nothing is being done to 4014 because Ed is renovating the Steam Shop for no reason at all. Once the lawsuits against Dickens are through he will be out all together unless he quits since he will be watched like a hawk under his new boss Mr George. Way to go Omaha for putting a guy in to oversee the mess, just sad it to so long to get it done.
No mention of 3985?
This is a good move. Dickens has been so consumed with 4014 that 844 didn't run last year, the first year it didn't operate since it was built.
Criticizing the Union Pacific steam program is childish! UP has had the most awesome display of mainline steam in the world. I for one really don't care that they don't have a running steam locomotive at the moment. I'm confident that they will get 4014 and 844 running again soon. I hope 3985 isn't out of commission for long either. As far as the complaints against Ed Dickens, Shut the heck up! It sounds as though some punk foamer started spouting off and others take it as truth. I saw the comment from a guy who saw the flues in a pile beside 844. He stated what terrible condition they were in and pointed the finger at Mr. Dickens. Was this accuser a mechanical engineer. Who among you can walk past a bunch of locomotive parts and make an uninformed proclamation about how said parts came to be in that condition? If there are other issues in the shop, let that be worked out by Union Pacific.
@ Erik: "Everything I have heard has come from respected people in the Steam community…"
and so the game of telephone continues.
Btw, I do care what happens at UP steam. I care enough to know that there is a strong inverse relationship between the amount of pain in UP's a** the steam program is, and how much support they give to that program. I for one, would prefer not to be a pain in anyone's a**.