Rio Grande's Roper and Helper steam derricks were called to clean up a 13 car derailment at West Gilluly on March 28, 1976. GP9s 5922 and 5932 handled the Roper wrecker with crane 027 while GP40-2... (more)

Scott and Jennifer, workers at America West Resources loadout near Helper, Utah, set batch and volume controls on a Kanawha Scale System to flood load 103 aluminum hoppers of Utah coal for the 950... (more)

A group of Union Pacific employees gather on the platform of Salt Lake City's new passenger terminal while a UTA FrontRunner commuter rail test train departs for Ogden.

In April of 1983, the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad yard and the small town of Thistle, Utah became victims of of a landslide which dammed the Spanish Fork River. Residents of the small tow... (more)

One of Utah County's biggest employers, United States Steel's Geneva Works, appears to be working at capacity as Rio Grande's Provo Switcher departs the mill with 60 cars for Provo Yard. Include... (more)

At the end a stormy day, a BNSF Railway C40-8W awaits work out of Provo while a rainbow glows in the southern sky. Provo, Utah must seem a world away from 897's former days hauling freight along t... (more)

An astonishing NINE classic Alcos assigned as mid-train helpers, work a Utah Railway coal train approach Soldier Summit the afternoon of Sept. 3, 1978. The consist includes RSD-4s No. 301, 300, 30... (more)

While my heart will always be with the Rio Grande's nifty fleet of GP30s, I did make an effort to photograph the GP40 and GP40-2 motors in local service. D&RGW 3101, 3111, and 3148 prepare to pull... (more)

A colorful mix of EMDs lead a Roseville to Roper Forwarder into Roper Yard on July 24, 1996. The four unit set has 13 loads of piggyback trailers on the draw bar.

Retired SP conductor Gary Smart recalls with fondness the day he was called to work the RODVF train with engineer Kenny Leighter from Roper Yard to Grand Junction. He arrived at Roper on Oct. 15, ... (more)

We're a Great Big Rollin' Railroad

At sunrise, a Union Pacific coal empty charges east up the 2% grade at Gilluly, Utah. This train would load the following day on Union Pacific's North Fork Subdivision at the West Elk mine in sout... (more)

Rio Grande coal train No. 735 rambles down the eastward main track near Sutro on Sept. 2, 1989. A dramatic brush fire, set accidentally by two young kids, leaves its mark on the flanks of 9088 ft.... (more)

While enjoying a drive on the Oregon Coast Highway, I discovered this interesting little train in the small town of Wheeler. Port of Tillamook Bay GP9 No. 101, painted in 'cow' livery, was built t... (more)

Rio Grande's 101 train emerges from the Thistle Tunnels on May 20, 1989. To the right is a large landslide that made necessary the 1983 line change through Billy's Mountain.