For my 1000th image accepted on Railpictures.net, I have uploaded a photo of a place I have held dear since I was a young kid. On a bright spring morning in 2006, I was on hand to catch the Rio Grande 5371 working the 'dirt train' local. Pictured here, the power approaches the old D&RGW shop building to inspect for a minor repair before hitting the high rail. What I found remarkable that day was how intact this former Rio Grande terminal was, nearly 17 years after the D&RGW and SP merged and nearly 10 years after the folks at Omaha took control of operations. This particular Rio Grande EMD 'tunnel motor' called Helper it’s home from the mid-1990's until it's retirement from service early in 2008. While the color of paint on locomotives has changed, the terminal's function remains the same. Extra locomotives are coupled to heavy trains, prepared to climb the steep grades through Price Canyon to the top of the grade at Soldier Summit.
