A eastbound coal train descends the mountain grade at Rocky, Colorado. This location was once called Arena due to its shape.... The location today still makes for fantastic arena to watch and list... (more)

A westbound Union Pacific sand train curls thru the Big 10 curves leaving Rocky, Colorado. The grade here is very evident as the short heavy train digs into the climb.... The UP 6558 (blt. 3-1997)... (more)

A westbound Union Pacific coal empty climbs the 2% grade of the Moffat Road. It was a balmy 16 degrees when I got in the truck to drive over to Tunnel One, by the time I made the hike it was clos... (more)

Roadrailers sprint upgrade into Caliente, California. Roadrailers were Semi trailers with railroad trucks and rode directly on the rail. This operation was short lived on Tehachapi.

The 1% grade of Logan Hill is the most challenging portion of the south exit out of the Powder River Basin. Two shiny Burlington Northern Sd70Macs and a SD60mac demonstrator scream in Run-8 up the... (more)

A Union Pacific coal load storms up Logan Hill at Converse Junction. On the Antelope Mine lead a BNSF coal load prepares to depart, with a classic quartet of EMD DC traction motors....

ATSF609 was still less than 10 years old, and the paint looked good as it shoved hard into BNSF4669 South (East).... Most mid-train helpers by this date were DPU on Tehachapi.

BNSF 4669 leads a heavy manifest up Tehachapi Pass at Bealville. The C44-9W's still looked New as they twisted thru the serpentine curves. The third unit is a fairly rare ex Santa Fe GP40X.......

A quartet of MRL SD70ACE pushers shoulder into BNSF9242 West at Austin. No Mullan Pass experience is truly fulfilled until you witness a westbound "Heavy" assault the mountain. The steep... (more)

A clean consist of BNSF power lifts a morning coal load up Mullan Pass. The steep compensated grade here is 2.2% and requires 8 big AC locomotives to get this heavily laden unit train up the Conti... (more)

Norfolk Southern heritage unit NS8114 struggles up the grade toward Dismal Yard with an empty unit train for Sun Coke. The Buchanan Branch is a busy coal artery deep in the Hollers of Western Vir... (more)

An underpowered westbound Canadian National westbound manifest slugs it out over the Cisco bridges on its journey to Vancouver. The scenic and often photographed location is deep in the confines... (more)

The Battle for Raitt Mountain begins here at Virginia 700 road crossing, as the tracks round Thomas Mountain. The State-of the-Art AC traction Pushers based out of Weller Yard are shouldering har... (more)

A chill is in the air as rain pours down on the east slope of Raitt Mountain. The whine of prime movers and the squeal of traction controlled drivers on wet rail could be heard as this coal load t... (more)

A cold November Rain has been falling all morning on Raitt Mountain in Buchanan County, Virginia. This mountain grade is one of the steepest on the Norfolk Southern at 1.7%, and the wet rail ha... (more)