It is early June 1996 and SP164 is about 1 year old. The paint is still so fresh you can see your own reflection in the Bloody Red Nose. The locomotives are biting into the 3% at the old siding site of Mitchell.
This train has the normal 2 sets of manned helpers and 9 high horsepower AC locomotives to conquer the Rockies. Mitchell was the site of a Placer gold discovery in the latter part of the 19th Century. Known as the "Mitchell Placer", rounded gold laden river rock is abundant in the area.
