Union Pacific's Salt Lake City to Denver manifest negotiates a slight track realignment at Lakota Junction, about five miles west of Provo, Utah. The realignment of main #1 was made necessary to free up space to add two additional tracks for UTA's new commuter rail line under construction. As a matter of fact, most of the land behind the manifest will be be developed as a big regional transportation hub for UTA buses and trains. Union Pacific's old Lakota yard is visible at right, was once a busy storage area for iron ore, coal, and finished steel via USS Geneva Works, shut down in 2001. Most of the heavy industrial site has all but been erased from the landscape today. A hovering 'brown cloud' from the steel mill was a common phenomenon in the valley back in the day. A visiting Norfolk Southern SD70 has managed to create a retro brown cloud of it's own as the MRONY powers up for it's journey east to Denver.
