Five EMDs pull a large Union Pacific LJP45 “dirt train” local onto the Sunnyside Branch at Mounds, Utah, on the morning of November 20, 2003. Rio Grande SD40T-2s Nos. 5349, 5371 and 5390 bracket U... (more)

A tired turbocharger is beginning to plaque Rio Grande SD40T-2 No. 5371 late in life as seen while switching the East Carbon Development Corporation (ECDC) landfill at East carbon, Utah, on April ... (more)

On February 9, 2006, Rio Grande EMD SD40T-2 Tunnel Motor No. 5371 leads Union Pacific SD40-2 No. 3747 and a patched former Southern Pacific SD40-2M No. 2776 on a very short three-car LJP45 dirt tr... (more)

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, 20... (more)

Swinging through the “S” curve at Mounds, Utah, is Union Pacific’s LJP45 local nearing the approach signal for the junction with the main line a trip back Helper on February 5, 2004. Rio Grande EM... (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 2... (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.

Union Pacific’s LJP45 “dirt train” passes through a gap in the rocky cliffs that is also shared with the Price River called Wellington Canyon just east of Wash, Utah, on June 23, 2004. The westbou... (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 Mounds... (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 25, ... (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 Grande SD40... (more)

Engineer Mel Baughman smiles from the cab of Rio Grande EMD SD40T-2 No. 5349 at East Carbon, Utah, on February 5, 2004. Around Helper, these sullied, weary, black locomotives parked over by the en... (more)

Goodbye, Mel
Railroading and I lost a friend last week. Mel Baughman was born in Rifle, Colorado, on November 2, 1948, and began working for the Rio Grande in 1967, subsequently becoming... (more)

Union Pacific's LJP45 "dirt train" local passes through Spring Glen, UT with a string of empties in tow. In a few moments the train will arrive back in the yard at Helper. Powering the... (more)

Three Rio Grande EMD SD40T-2 Tunnel Motors head eastbound through Castilla with a short “dirt train” picked up at Sutro on the west side of the Soldier Summit grade. With only five unpatched/unren... (more)