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.

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)

A trio of Rio Grande tunnel motors are putting on a show, with the Utah book-cliffs for a backdrop.

The “dirt train” out of Helper approaches the west switch at Mounds, Utah, on November 22, 2003. A light dusting of snow has frosted the remarkable textures of the high desert as Rio Grande Tu... (more)

Ribs and rivets
Incredibly bright rays of a desert sunrise at Mounds, Utah, light up the aluminum sides of a coal train on October 6, 2009.

With the Green River Subdivision main line in the foreground, Union Pacific’s LJP45 “dirt train” curves through Mounds, Utah, on the Sunnyside Branch on November 21, 2003. Three Rio Grande E... (more)

Eastbound Union Pacific “dirt train” LJP45 local pours it on approaching Mounds, Utah, on May 4, 2004. Many times as the train approached our location, regular engineer Mel Baughman would spot... (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)

Rio Grande EMD SD40T-2 Nos. 5390, 5377 and 5401 power the westbound LJP45 “dirt train” just east of Mounds, Utah, on the Sunnyside Branch on May 22, 2002.

After a Union Pacific track gang replaced the frog at West Mounds, Utah, on May 11, 2006, welders move in and use a thermite weld on the rail joints. A one-time-use form is attached to the rails s... (more)

On May 4, 2004, Union Pacific’s LJP45 “dirt train” local approaches Mounds, Utah, westbound on the Sunnyside Branch. Rio Grande SD40T-2 “Tunnel Motors” Nos. 5349, 5371 and 5390 bracket U... (more)

Amtrak No. 6, the eastbound California Zephyr, cuts through a dusting of winter amid the beautiful textures of a high desert approaching the west switch at Mounds, Utah, on a cold November 22, 200... (more)

A large group of trackmen from Helper work in unison to change out a frog at the west switch at Mounds, Utah, on the morning of May 11, 2006.

Amtrak's number 6 the California Zephyr rolls through Utah's eastern desert. As the day light journey begin for it's passengers, in a area known as the book cliffs.