The Rio Grande had complained for some time that Utah Railway's Alco powered coal trains were too slow on its mainline across Soldier Summit. To remedy the problem, the UTAH established a pool power agreement with the Union Pacific for high horsepower locomotives late in 1977. One of the first Union Pacific powered Martin Turn coal empties departs Provo with a UP SD40X (UP 3045) and two SD40s (UP 3092, UP 3074) for power on Nov. 6, 1977.
