Today was one of those near perfect days for rail photography: strong, low, early winter sun, beautiful fluffy clouds, and absolutely crystal clear Rocky Mountain air. And it was cold too. I had spotted the Deseret Ry’s coal train unloading its last few cars at the Bonanza Power Plant from a vantage point several miles away. I hurried to get into position for this shot at one of the very few locations where there is any possibility of front light on the lead unit of an eastward train at this time of year; the S curve at milepost 33, just 1 mile out of the plant. As usual, the engineer radio’d “unit 1 departing the plant” and I knew the train was only a couple of minutes away. This shot is the result. DPR #1, a 1983 product of General Electric, is accelerating the 44 empty cars back east towards Colorado for another load of coal.
