These are the swing helpers on Utah5001 west. The straight section of track the locomotives are sitting on is the steepest portion of the climb for Solider Summit... A knuckle busting 2.5%! This... (more)

The straight section of track the locomotives are sitting on is the steepest portion of the climb for Solider Summit... A knuckle busting 2.5%! This heavy coal load for Intermountain Power has a... (more)

A quartet of Utah Railway SD40s depart Martin Yard for a trip to US Fuel's conveyor fed coal loader at Mohrland.

Utah 5001 climbs into the beginning of the 2%+ near Castle Gate. In a couple miles the grade will increase to a ruling 2.4%, but this Utah Load will still make excellent time with 11 high horsepow... (more)

A pair of four axle Rio Grande EMDs await a call to serve as swing helpers west out of Helper Yard.

Constructed by the D&RGW in 1913, Snow Spreader 042 awaits a chance to push some snow at Helper Yard on a hot summer evening in 1986. The Rio Grande assembled the plow using a 1901 built Rio Grand... (more)

Post UP-SP merger, the Utah Railway has become by far a trackage-right railroad. In fact, this shot, taken maybe 10 miles off UP rails is as far into UTAH territory as one can get now adays. Aside... (more)

UP8072 leads two SP motors over Solider Summit. With Tennessee Pass and Raton now closed or seeing no freight, the 2.4%+ climb over Solider Summit is the steepest mainline grade west of the Missi... (more)

A pair of Utah MK's shove on the rear of a BNSF train exiting the Price river Canyon.

DRGW 5342 and 5 sisters act as mid-train help on a westbound Nevada Power coal load. The train is exiting the Gooseneck curves.

Helper was the last strong hold for DRGW locomotives. This August afternoon saw a swing help consisting entirely of these awesome machines....

By August 18, 1985, Rio Grande's Helper car shop was a true survivor that featured vintage buff and brown paint with the obsolete 'Scenic Line of the World' Royal Gorge Route logo painted above fo... (more)

Rio Grande GP40 #3147 awaits a call to serve among its Aspen Gold stablemates in Helper Yard. The 3147 was built for the Penn Central in Sept. 1968 and acquired secondhand by the D&RGW by Nov. 198... (more)

Although this line is owned by UP, you would never know by the looks of it. Trackage rights trains from BNSF and UTAH out numbered UP trains 2 to 1... literally, only three trains ran all day.

Utah Railway's shop and adjoining offices are the closest thing to a real life model railroad I've ever seen. Not only is the complex perched on a picturesque ridge with a small yard and oversized... (more)