Westbound Coal Across The Desert
Celebrating the Transcontinental Railroad in the Wrong...but truly Right Place!
This truly was one of the most epic days of railfanning in a long time...if ever really. I just posted a few other photos in the Utah desert, but here is another from that day, but first a bit of history.
On the 150th anniversary of the completion of the first transcontinental railroad Frank Keller, John Tarble, and I spent it along the rails of the UP's upstart little narrow gauge competitor that finished its own "transcontinental" 3 ft line from Denver to Salt Lake City less than 14 years after the UP and CP met at Promontory. On March 30, 1883 the last spike was driven at a lonely place east of Green River, Utah aptly named Desert, and General Palmer's "baby road" from Denver to Salt Lake via Pueblo, the Royal Gorge, Salida, Gunnison, the Black Canyon and Montrose was complete. It would soon prove more successful than expected but also unable to truly compete against the standard gauge lines because any hope of acquiring substantial amounts of the much needed connecting traffic would require a change in gauge.
That finally was completed in 1890 and as excerpted from Robert G. Athearn's fine history "Rebel of the Rockies:
"The line from Salt Lake City to Ogden of the Rio Grande Western Railway, as the July 1889 successor to the D&RGW, was changed to standard gauge on March 6, 1890. On June 10, 1890, RGW completed conversion of tracks between Ogden and Grand Junction from narrow gauge to standard gauge. D&RG did not complete its standard gauge connection, via Tennessee Pass and Glenwood Springs, until mid November 1890, by-passing the original narrow gauge route to the south over Marshall Pass. On November 17, 1890 the first standard gauge through train from Denver entered Salt Lake City."
The D&RGW would weather many ups and downs and emerge as a prosperous, progressive and formidable competitor in the second half of the 20th century and ultimately end up buying the far larger Southern Pacific...successor to UP's original transcontinental partner the Central Pacific. For 8 years the primary outlet for all traffic moving over the one time CP would be vie the old Grande east from Ogden. But this would not last and the SP/D&RGW sold itself to the mighty UP in 1996 and the importance of this route quickly waned in favor of the Overland and the original UP.
But it isn't dead just yet....far from it in fact. While intermodal trains, auto racks, and even thru manifests are a thing of the past coal trains, oil trains, miscellaneous unit trains, manifests of tenant BNSF, and the daily California Zephyr still pass this way.
We were truly amazed to catch so many trains on this glorious Friday that began with our epic chase of the Potash turn and ended with us following this loaded train of export coal from the West Elk Mine on Colorado's North Fork branch west until the light was gone. You've seen some shots of this train and others on my feed before, but if you missed them just sort by date to May 10, 2020.
Anyway, this may not be the most inspiring location we shot this train on this day, but I share it because of where it is on UP's Green River Sub. We are at a lonely spot east of Green River called Desert Siding. Yes...if you've read all this...it is THAT desert siding. Where else to celebrate indeed! While most folks were up at Promontory where the Golden Spike was driven, Frank and I were here where the Denver and Rio Grande Western claimed its glory!
Emery County, Utah
Friday May 10, 2019
Westbound Coal Across The Desert
Celebrating the Transcontinental Railroad in the Wrong...but truly Right Place!
This truly was one of the most epic days of railfanning in a long time...if ever really. I just posted a few other photos in the Utah desert, but here is another from that day, but first a bit of history.
On the 150th anniversary of the completion of the first transcontinental railroad Frank Keller, John Tarble, and I spent it along the rails of the UP's upstart little narrow gauge competitor that finished its own "transcontinental" 3 ft line from Denver to Salt Lake City less than 14 years after the UP and CP met at Promontory. On March 30, 1883 the last spike was driven at a lonely place east of Green River, Utah aptly named Desert, and General Palmer's "baby road" from Denver to Salt Lake via Pueblo, the Royal Gorge, Salida, Gunnison, the Black Canyon and Montrose was complete. It would soon prove more successful than expected but also unable to truly compete against the standard gauge lines because any hope of acquiring substantial amounts of the much needed connecting traffic would require a change in gauge.
That finally was completed in 1890 and as excerpted from Robert G. Athearn's fine history "Rebel of the Rockies:
"The line from Salt Lake City to Ogden of the Rio Grande Western Railway, as the July 1889 successor to the D&RGW, was changed to standard gauge on March 6, 1890. On June 10, 1890, RGW completed conversion of tracks between Ogden and Grand Junction from narrow gauge to standard gauge. D&RG did not complete its standard gauge connection, via Tennessee Pass and Glenwood Springs, until mid November 1890, by-passing the original narrow gauge route to the south over Marshall Pass. On November 17, 1890 the first standard gauge through train from Denver entered Salt Lake City."
The D&RGW would weather many ups and downs and emerge as a prosperous, progressive and formidable competitor in the second half of the 20th century and ultimately end up buying the far larger Southern Pacific...successor to UP's original transcontinental partner the Central Pacific. For 8 years the primary outlet for all traffic moving over the one time CP would be vie the old Grande east from Ogden. But this would not last and the SP/D&RGW sold itself to the mighty UP in 1996 and the importance of this route quickly waned in favor of the Overland and the original UP.
But it isn't dead just yet....far from it in fact. While intermodal trains, auto racks, and even thru manifests are a thing of the past coal trains, oil trains, miscellaneous unit trains, manifests of tenant BNSF, and the daily California Zephyr still pass this way.
We were truly amazed to catch so many trains on this glorious Friday that began with our epic chase of the Potash turn and ended with us following this loaded train of export coal from the West Elk Mine on Colorado's North Fork branch west until the light was gone. You've seen some shots of this train and others on my feed before, but if you missed them just sort by date to May 10, 2020.
Anyway, this may not be the most inspiring location we shot this train on this day, but I share it because of where it is on UP's Green River Sub. We are at a lonely spot east of Green River called Desert Siding. Yes...if you've read all this...it is THAT desert siding. Where else to celebrate indeed! While most folks were up at Promontory where the Golden Spike was driven, Frank and I were here where the Denver and Rio Grande Western claimed its glory!
Emery County, Utah
Friday May 10, 2019