Wyoming’s ever-present wind drags Union Pacific 28’s exhaust across the prairie east of Laramie as the 8500-hp turbine single-handedly muscles a drag up the approach to Sherman Hill, March 19, 1966. The climb, which will soon reach .82 percent, is evident from the picture, and is the reason the railroad kept its Laramie roundhouse well-stocked with heavy steam power until a few years ago. The most powerful locomotives in the world and destined to remain so, the turbines will find work on the hill for a few more years, but will be pushed aside by 1970, their place taken by ranks of efficient, flexible diesels.
