The northwest corner of Colorado is easily characterized as rugged; it's a tough place for anything to survive, and as the scrub brush adorning the rocky ridges attests, precipitation is a scarce commodity. However, it is in this tough land that the Deseret Power Railway not only survives, but even thrives -- some eight to ten loaded coal trains roll across this lumpy landscape each week, fueling the hungry fires of a power plant eager to supply electricity to its distant customers. A line of thunderstorms looms above the horizon as the swing shift's loaded train drops down the back side of Holum Pass, still a good 30 miles and an hour of hard running from its destination near Bonanza. Photo from railroad property taken with permission.
