At the end of a cold and snowy February 5, 2004, a westbound Union Pacific coal train cruises through Thistle, Utah, on the westward descending grade of Soldier Summit.

Coal loads exit the twin tunnels at Thistle, catching the soft glow at dusk along the realigned right-of-way, rebuilt after a massive landslide blocked the canyon and wiped out the original D&RGW ... (more)

As an eastbound Denver & Rio Grande Western exits the Thistle tunnel, thick black smoke pours out of the tunnel portal. The tunnel was constructed in 1983 after a huge landslide wiped out the town... (more)

The Roads No Longer Taken

Four years after a landslide at Thistle, Utah blocked the Spanish Fork River with thousands of tons of earth, wiping out the town, a westbound Rio Grande ... (more)

An eastbound empty coal train rounds a sweeping curve as they climb Soldier Summit.

An historic day on the Rio Grande. Rio Grande GP40-2 and GP40's 3107, 3059, 3109, 3074, 3052 are approaching the west end the brand new Thistle Tunnel. This will be the first train through the Thi... (more)

History being made. The first train makes it's way through the Thistle Tunnel. The men are able to sit back and admire their hard work for a minute. With the Rio Grande main line out of service. T... (more)

The California Zephyr has just exited the Thistle Tunnels

An eastbound Rio Grande manifest clears one of the two tunnels built to bypass the mudslide at Thistle, Utah, which is hidden behind the mountain that now hosts the tunnels. At the extreme left, f... (more)

A westbound Rio Grande freight drifts downgrade after clearing one of the two newest tunnels on the system. The twin tunnels in the distance were cut into that mountain after the disastrous Thist... (more)

Running elephant style, a Rio Grande SD50 and two SD40T-2’s lead an eastbound freight onto the post-1983 alignment of the main line near Thistle, Utah. A huge mudslide and subsequent flooding wi... (more)

Westbound approaching Thistle.

The California Zephyr, passes through Thistle, Utah. This is near the site, where a mudslide occurred, in 1983. The landslide, dammed up there river, creating a lake, which wiped out the railroad... (more)

Rio Grande's 101 train emerges from the Thistle Tunnels on May 20, 1989. To the right is a large landslide that made necessary the 1983 line change through Billy's Mountain.