Burlington Northern’s “Beer Train” switches cars on the steep interchange track with Coors Brewery Railroad to BN’s Golden branch at Golden, Colorado, on July 14, 1986. A portion of the huge Coors Brewery complex is in the background as the three BN EMD SDP40s pull tonnage east. For a good portion of the ’80s, there was a trio of former Great Northern passenger-hauling SDP40s were used on the branch, with BN Nos. 6398, 6395 and 6397 powering the train this particular day.
The EMD SD (special duty) series are a strong and reliable kind of locomotive which still serve America's rails today. They have proved themselves reliable by clocking in several million miles of freight service over several decades.