After switching Mounds, Utah, at sunrise, the “dirt train” heads toward East Carbon past low morning light and “John Ford movie-like” desert buttes. Leading the train are three Rio Grande SD40T-2 Tunnel Motors, Nos. 5371, 5349 and 5390. At this point, there were only five D&RGW Tunnel Motors left on the Union Pacific in Rio Grande colors and numbers. So, here is the majority on October 8, 2004. The “dirt train” hauled contaminated dirt, household trash, etc., from Helper (marshaled here from other points like Salt Lake City, etc.) to a landfill at East Carbon on UP’s Sunnyside Branch.
