Riding to a switch
Brakeman A.J. “Allen” Sillitoe rides the steps of Rio Grande EMD SD40T-2 No. 5371 to the next switch while setting out dirt train cars at Wash, Utah, on October 25... (more)

On June 22, 2004, Union Pacific’s LJP45 local out of Helper, Utah, was returning to town entering the yard when the lead truck of Rio Grande SD40T-2 No. 5349 derailed on the switch to Yard Track... (more)

Rio Grande EMD SD40T-2 No. 5371 leaves the desert in a blur west of Mounds, Utah, as Union Pacific’s LJP45 “dirt train” local hurries back home to Helper on February 9, 2006.

In more recent years, Helper could still be a busy place on occasion, such as in this view on October 23, 2007. A BNSF freight marches west on Main 2, while Union Pacific’s MNYPV manifest freigh... (more)

Rio Grande SD40T-2 No. 5371 is the last D&RGW locomotive left on the Union Pacific roster in original paint and numbers when photograph at Helper, Utah, on November 7, 2007. Machinist Tony Bueno i... (more)

Passing weathered hoodoos standing tall out of the desert floor at Mounds, Utah, is Union Pacific’s LJP45 “dirt train” approaching the junction with the Green River Subdivision main line at ... (more)

Rio Grande EMD SD40T-2 No. 5371 flies over Bridge 607.28 east of Wash, Utah, as it leads the “dirt train” out through the desert to the junction with the Sunnyside Branch at Mounds on October ... (more)

Traveling light engines on June 25, 2004, Union Pacific’s LJP45 “dirt train” local trundles into East Carbon under a spectacular thunderhead building over Utah’s Book Cliffs. Three Rio Gra... (more)

No. 5371, the last Rio Grande locomotive in original numbers and paint on the Union Pacific system at the time, is teamed up with two UP SD40-2s and is being used as a rear helper pushing MNYPV (D... (more)

Before she was famous, and the last operating Rio Grande tunnel motor, 5371 earns her keep as she leads a freight across the Utah desert in the setting sun. Sure do miss taking trips to photograph... (more)

On the beautiful autumn morning of October 6, 2004, Union Pacific’s LJP45 “dirt train” local out of Helper cruises through Spring Glen, Utah. Hardly looks like the UP though, with three Rio ... (more)

The weathered nose logo of Rio Grande EMD SD40T-2 “Tunnel Motor” No. 5371 at Helper, Utah, on May 6, 2004.

After pushing Union Pacific MNYPV to Kyune on the Price River grade up Soldier Summit, a helper set drifts downgrade through Castle Gate, Utah, on October 24, 2007. The last Rio Grande locomotive ... (more)

Machinist Tony Bueno uses a fusee to thaw out frozen grease caps on Rio Grande SD40T-2 No. 5371 in the small enginehouse at Helper, Utah, on a frigid December 1, 2004. Once the caps are off, he wi... (more)

By this date in 2002, there were only seven Rio Grande SD40T-2 Tunnel Motors still working the Union Pacific system in original paint and numbers. While sister motors Nos. 5349, 5354 and 5356 wand... (more)