Life in Small Town America: While folks mill about on South Main Street, a Utah Railway coal load climbs it's way through the town of Helper, Utah. Back in 1996, Utah Railway gained trackage rights from Utah Railway Junction east to Grand Junction, CO and with that came access to the Castle Valley Spur, a point 13 miles east of URJ where this 85 car Savage coal train was loaded earlier in the day. A visage like this was unheard of before that time since Utah Railway's mainline actually connects to the former D&RGW a couple of miles west of town. A few interesting landmarks can be spotted in this view including the Strand theater's marquis which reads: Christmas Carol at the Rio, No "Hum Bug." Other notable structures are the LaSalle Hotel, the Helper Emporium, Pearson Tire, the Hotel Newhouse, the Piggly Wiggly, the Hillcrest Hotel, and the Helper Mining & Railroad Museum. The roar of freight trains, passenger trains, and helper engines have been a part of daily life in Helper since narrow gauge rails were spiked down in the 1880's.
