Situated at the eastern base of the Rio Grande’s crossing of the Wasatch Range is the appropriately named town of Helper, Utah. After making a sprint over the relatively flat line across the desert from Grand Junction, Colorado, westbound trains would need to stop here to add helpers for the climb to Soldier Summit. In this overview of the Rio Grande facilities, the main line from Denver enters from the lower left, and curves toward Salt Lake City at the center left. The yard itself is split, with some tracks along the main line, and others disappearing to the right. These tracks rejoin the main behind us, after going around the hill that is our vantage point. In the foreground is a wye, essential for turning helpers after returning from Soldier Summit. On this day, Helper is fairly quiet. There is one set of power near the split of the two halves of the yard, and there is a grain train waiting for a crew change, but there is no real action after the departure of the eastbound RGZ.
