By this date in 2002, there were only seven Rio Grande SD40T-2 Tunnel Motors still working the Union Pacific system in original paint and numbers. While sister motors Nos. 5349, 5354 and 5356 wandered the vast UP system during this time, a weary quartet called Helper home, as 5371, 5377, 5390 and 5401 found steady work on the LJP45 “dirt train” to East Carbon. We started calling this quartet of survivors as the “Gang of Four.” In this view, the westbound local almost looks like a Rio Grande freight of old with that Railbox up front as it slowly cruises along the Bookcliffs approaching Mounds, Utah, on May 24, 2002.
