Helper Helpers
The Friday prior I was chasing FL9s on Cape Cod and a week later I'm in the Wasatch Mountains on my beloved Grande. It just didn't seem real....and looking back it still doesn't.
This day seemed as if it might have been 1996 all over again! There were 10 trains in daylight and we shot 7 of them on the old Rio Grande including four on the lightly used mainline across the desert between Helper and Grand Junction on UP's Green River Sub.
Anyway, here is just one from earlier this amazing morning. After meeting a coal empty headed down the Pleasant Valley Branch to Skyline Mine the "Helper Helpers" backed through the crossovers and flew west around a disabled MofW vehicle. They were headed down the hill to help a loaded GREX slot train up the mountain. We'd see that much later, but after this shot we had to head east for a date with another once a week train on a certain branchline on an obscure corner of the old Rio Grande.
I hope you enjoy this shot of what may be the last regular manned Helper job on the entire Union Pacific.
Colton, Utah
Friday May 10, 2019
Helper Helpers
The Friday prior I was chasing FL9s on Cape Cod and a week later I'm in the Wasatch Mountains on my beloved Grande. It just didn't seem real....and looking back it still doesn't.
This day seemed as if it might have been 1996 all over again! There were 10 trains in daylight and we shot 7 of them on the old Rio Grande including four on the lightly used mainline across the desert between Helper and Grand Junction on UP's Green River Sub.
Anyway, here is just one from earlier this amazing morning. After meeting a coal empty headed down the Pleasant Valley Branch to Skyline Mine the "Helper Helpers" backed through the crossovers and flew west around a disabled MofW vehicle. They were headed down the hill to help a loaded GREX slot train up the mountain. We'd see that much later, but after this shot we had to head east for a date with another once a week train on a certain branchline on an obscure corner of the old Rio Grande.
I hope you enjoy this shot of what may be the last regular manned Helper job on the entire Union Pacific.
Colton, Utah
Friday May 10, 2019