By the mid-1990's, catching a Kennecott Copper ore train along the west benches of the Salt Lake Valley was a challenge. By this point in time, Kennecott ran only one single turn per day between Copperton yard near Bingham Canyon and the Bonneville Concentrator near Magna. Pictured here on a warm springtime afternoon, KCC 911, 706, & 910 appear to be a model of prosperity, pulling loads of copper ore near Bacchus. Both the 911 & 910 were 1992 rebuilds from Morrison-Knudsen in Boise, Idaho. They were built by EMD in 1977, equipped with factory installed 'vista cabs' and high mounted fuel tanks to work in the Bingham Canyon pit, and later transferred to ore haulage. The GP39-2's commanded my attention with the mellow purr of their EMD 645 turbo twelve power plants and the sweet sound of their Nathan five chime horns. Today, the heavy duty track structure of the high line (once even controlled by CTC) is caked with rust and dirt, sitting derelict for more than a decade. The efficiency of the ore hauling slurry line Kennecott installed in the mid-1980's made the railroad surplus, and the ore haulage line to Bonneville was shut down for good by the late 1990's.
From a hint of "Bee" (NKP 765), colorful "Bees" (KCS), "Bees" w/ "attitude", to "Bees" that "sting" your eyes, in their own way they have "Bee" on display! Equipment that "Buzzes" with Yellow & Black colors! ("Bees" can still "Bee" entering this "hive"!)
