Rio Grande EMD SD40T-2 Tunnel Motor No. 5390 leads the eastbound Union Pacific LJP45 dirt train through the short canyon between Wash and Wellington (sometimes referred to as Wellington Canyon), U... (more)

Heavy clouds and fog envelop the Clark Fork River valley as an eastbound BNSF coal empty follows the southern bank of the river approaching Trout Creek, Montana, on January 25, 2020. The Clark For... (more)

An eastbound BNSF grain train passes by on the main line while Montana Rail Link’s Helena local prepares to pick up a BNSF SD70ACe off the house track at Lombard, Montana, very late in the day o... (more)

A Canadian Pacific local arrives in front of the grain elevators lining the tracks at Max, North Dakota, on August 28, 2018. This local works east out of Max on the railroad’s New Town Subdivisi... (more)

A westbound Union Pacific container train works upgrade through the milepost 823 signals between Green River and Peru, Wyoming, on the afternoon of June 22, 2023.

Searchlight signals protect the west end of Winston siding atop Winston Hill on Montana Rail Link’s Second Subdivision on the afternoon of July 2, 2018. Slowly climbing the grade from Townsend i... (more)

California Zephyr dome-observation car “Silver Solarium” carries the markers of Amtrak’s westbound CZ at the station stop of Grand Junction, Colorado, on February 5, 2018.

The lounge at the rear of California Zephyr dome-observation car “Silver Solarium” is a popular place to ride, relax and enjoy the passing scenery—second to the dome—of course. The car is ... (more)

From the front dome window of California Zephyr dome-observation “Silver Solarium”, riding the tail of Amtrak’s westbound CZ, is a view of a meet with an eastbound BNSF freight at Tabernash,... (more)

Out of the storm
With the collapse and reconstruction of MRL’s Yellowstone River Bridge near Reed Point from June 24 to July 22, 2023, and the subsequent severing of a busy main line,... (more)

Led by Duluth, Missabe & Iron Range EMD SD18 No. 185, a Missabe taconite ore train rolls southbound toward the docks on Lake Superior just south of Iron Junction, Minnesota, on September 21, 1991.

Pend Oreille Valley Railroad’s Sandpoint turn smokes it up as it approaches Laclede, Idaho, on the morning of October 1, 2021. A pair of former Illinois Central EMD GP10s power the eastbound tra... (more)

Pastel colors of dawn emerge from the darkest hours of the night as Amtrak’s westbound California Zephyr bolts across a fill at 79 miles per hour at Barr, Colorado, on January 6, 2011.

ACe race
On the four-track main line over Logan Hill north of Bill, Wyoming, SD70ACe-led coal trains from both roads serving Powder River Basin put together a slow race over the top of ... (more)

On the morning of June 23, 2023, a trio of flared Union Pacific SD70Ms curves through a cut while heading downgrade on Peru Hill toward a crew change at Green River, Wyoming. Dirty and a bit faded... (more)