Grinding up Logan Hill, another load of Powder River Basin black diamonds heads to a distant power plant. All UP traffic exits the east/south end of the Orin Sub.

AC power rules the range. An loaded BNSF unit coal train heads east/south on the Orin Sub at Reno Junction. The new loadout for Black Thunder Mine towers over the tracks. Eventually this will beco... (more)

Three trains on Logan Hill. Two loads climbing and one MT descending are visible on the hill. Coal traffic is off about 25 to 30% due to power plant closures.

With mainline dispatching woes hindering the flow of traffic on the Orin Sub, I found South Black Thunder Mine plugged with one load parked at MP 49.5 (the mainline junction), a pair of smoky SD70... (more)

A broken rail on the BNSF's Orin Sub gets repaired on this cold January morning.

BNSF MOW workers take care of a switch a few miles north of Reno Junction on the Orin Sub.

BNSF coal hoppers slowly roll past an abandoned house as they are loaded at the Black Thunder West load out near Reno Junction.

You can't railfan the Powder River Basin, in the northeast part of Wyoming, without getting the trademark red mud that is seen covering my truck on your vehicle. The red mud is from the red dirt r... (more)

Coal hoppers fly through the snow across the Powder River Basin near Wright, Wyoming.

A Union Pacific coal train rolls under the coal carrying conveyer for the West Black Thunder loadout silos.

Three trains are visible in this grand view of Reno Junction. Besides the southbound (railroad east) movement on the mainline, the train at left is pulling through the balloon track at the Black ... (more)

Full trucks of coal head to the Black Thunder processing plant as a Union Pacific train waits to depart the former Jacob's Ranch Mine now part of Black Thunder.

An eastbound UP coal train passes the Black Thunder West load out where another UP train has almost completed loading.

An orange cloud from blasting at Black Thunder Mine hangs in the air as a Union Pacific train loads out at Black Thunder West under the silo/flood loader.

A tiny train passes through the massive Black Thunder West loadout.