The Montandon horseshoe

Dawn in a deep Andean canyon

Skirting the scenic Bookcliffs, Union Pacific’s MRONY manifest freight is between Solitude and Floy, Utah, on March 16, 2009. Motive power on the eastbound train is EMD SD70M No. 4876 leading two ... (more)

Riding in a lava field

This enormous stone field was produced by the nearby Poruña Volcano. It must have been a harsh endeavour to build the line in this area.

Crossing the Loa River canyon - 1/4

In the old days, during its first decades of existence, the Calama - Ollague - Bolivia line crossed the Loa River canyon with a high bridge. Tod... (more)

The rear two DPU shove this westbound coal load over the top of Thompson Hill. The gorgeous and carbon rich Book Cliffs rise over the moon like landscape of the Utah desert. Abandoned Highway 6 p... (more)

The Utah desert stretches to the horizon as UP5860 assaults Thompson Hill. Thompson was once the sight of a branch line that reached into the Book Cliffs to collect coal from now long abandoned mi... (more)

The tranquil ocean of emptiness is broken by the scream of turbo chargers against gravity. Thompson Hill, Utah

Union Pacific’s Potash Turn heads north past unique red rock formations into Bootlegger Canyon on the afternoon of May 12, 2006. This train normally operates in the morning, so this late afternoon... (more)

A train full of iron ore goes down from the Atacama Desert into the Huasco Valley near Vallenar. The area may look remote, but it is close to a rather big city and the ground is covered by a lot o... (more)

With late season thunderstorms rumbling over the Bookcliffs in the background, Union Pacific’s LJP45 “dirt train” local approaches Mounds, Utah, late on the afternoon of November 21, 2003. Rio Gra... (more)

Crew change with a lot of bottled water in the Atacama Desert

Leaving the pass, starting the sharp eastbound downhill ride toward Prat at sunset.