On a pleasant April 3, 2000, afternoon, a fleet of Rio Grande Tunnel Motors gathers beneath the Book Cliffs looming over Helper Yard in Utah. Still being used for helper service on trains up Soldier Summit in addition to the dirt train to East Carbon, twelve SD40T-2s call Helper home this day. Present are 5342, 5347, 5349, 5353, 5360, 5365, 5373, 5392, 5400, 5401, 5406 and 5410, and not a yellow locomotive is seen almost four years after the Union Pacific’s merger of Southern Pacific.

Several years ago, my brother Tom gave me a hard time about fishing when a train was passing by. See: www.flickr.com/photos/tdanneman/6982362495/in/photolist-9...

Well, over thirty years ago, he was doing the same thing when an eastbound Rio Grande freight rolled by dropping downgrade at Crystal Lakes near Malta, Colorado, early in the morning of July 10, 1985. A train running on Rio Grande’s famed route over 10,221-foot Tennessee Pass, and he’s fishing!

An eastbound Union Pacific “dirt train” led by Rio Grande EMD SD40T-2 Tunnel Motor No. 5390 curves by the colorful rocks west of Narrows, Utah, on May 5, 2004.

Somber gray clouds hang over the Wasatch Range on the morning of January 30, 2003, as Rio Grande SD40T-2 No. 5371 leads Union Pacific’s “dirt train” past mile 607.4 between Wash and Mounds, Utah. Engineer Mel Baughman notches up the four black Tunnel Motors with a bit of smoke as the eastbound train storms by headed for the Sunnyside Branch.

By mid-2002, there were still 47 former Rio Grande EMD SD40T-2s running on the Union Pacific system, but only seven were not patched or painted yellow. At this time, a quartet called Helper, Utah, home and could be found running on the local that operated to East Carbon on the Sunnyside branch and return. On July 26, 2002, the “Gang of Four” as they became known, passes mile 606.7 west of Mounds, Utah, with UP local LJP45. Rio Grande Nos. 5390, 5401, 5377 and 5371, equalling 12,000 hp worth of aging black Tunnel Motors, storm by on the warm summer morning.

It’s a mostly cloudy early afternoon in the desert country of Utah on February 4, 2003, as a fortuitous sliver of sun illuminates a quartet of Rio Grande Tunnel Motors on Union Pacific’s LJP45 local heading back to Helper Yard as it approaches the junction at Mounds.

By mid-2002, there were still 47 former Rio Grande EMD SD40T-2s roaming the Union Pacific system, but only seven were not patched (renumbered) or painted Armour yellow. At this time, a quartet called Helper home and could be found running on the dirt train local that operated to East Carbon on the Sunnyside branch and return. On the morning of July 26, 2002, the “Gang of Four” passes mile 606.7 east of Mounds, Utah, with UP LJP45. Twelve-thousand horsepower worth of aging black Tunnel Motors smoke it up as Nos. 5390, 5401, 5377 and 5371 storm by.

As early summer thunderstorms rumble over the Book Cliffs, a trio of Rio Grande SD40T-2 Tunnel Motors, Nos. 5349, 5390 and 5371, head westbound out of Mounds, Utah, with Union Pacific’s LJP45 “dirt train” local on the afternoon of June 25, 2004.

Springtime thunderstorms gather over Tennessee Pass as a westbound Rio Grande freight descends the steep three percent grade through the town of Red Cliff, Colorado, on the afternoon of May 24, 1991.

Even in Utah desert country, the Price River brings autumn colors to the short canyon between Mounds and Wash on the afternoon of October 6, 2004. Curving through the scene is a trio of Rio Grande SD40T-2 Tunnel Motors (Nos. 5390, 5349 and 5371) powering an eastbound Union Pacific LJP45 dirt train.

A quartet of Rio Grande EMD SD40T-2 Tunnel Motors bring the westbound Union Pacific LJP45 “dirt train” local into Mounds, Utah, on the sunny afternoon of January 30, 2003. The train is about to enter the Green River Subdivision main line from the Sunnyside Branch, which UP calls the Sunnyside Industrial Lead.

Eastbound W&LE train 222 interrupts a peaceful twilight flatland scene at "Douglas" outside of Smithville, Ohio, with SD40T-2 tunnelmotor 5413 leading on Feb. 8, 2022.

A westbound Rio Grande freight drops down the steep 3% western grade of Tennessee Pass at Mitchell, Colorado, on July 20, 1990. Leading the train is EMD SD40T-2 “Tunnel Motor” No. 5349, which is m.u.’ed with a SD50, a former Conrail GP40 and a Cotton Belt SD45T-2.

New York, Susquehanna & Western Railway SD40T-2 #3016, SD40-2 #3018, SD70M #4052, and SD45 #3634 haul train BH-1 through CP Rail’s Bevier Street Yard and onto the “Binghamton Runner” approaching “BD” Interlocking at Binghamton, NY on May 12, 2011.

On April 14, 2001, a westbound Union Pacific manifest freight is led by Rio Grande EMD SD40T-2 Tunnel Motor No. 5345 as it pops out of the canyon into Pinecliffe, Colorado. Note that the unit has added ditch lights, but still retains it’s Mars light and class lights. She might be a bit beat up at this point in her life—weld repairs on a bent up plow, replaced numberboard and road grime that has become one with the paint—but at least she is still leading tonnage on the road where she grew up.

There are almost zero traces of the Rio Grande-Southern Pacific merger in this August 1993 view near Thistle, Utah on the west slope of Soldier Summit. D&RGW SD40T-2 5358 leads two sisters and a small of train of company steel hoppers loaded with coal, likely headed for US Steel's Geneva Works.

Powered by three EMD SD40T-2 Tunnel Motors, Rio Grande No. 5379 leads Southern Pacific’s Denver to Roper Forwarder (DVROF) up Thompson Hill just east of Thompson, Utah, on the afternoon of August 3, 1996.

D&RGW SD50 No. 5508, SD40T-2 No. 5353 and SD50 No. 5505 pull Rio Grande train No. 136 through a photogenic four-degree curve three miles east of Springville, Utah the morning of Aug. 6, 1988. A lenticular cloud formation cloaks the peaks of 11,752 ft. Mt. Timpanogos on the northeast corner of Utah Valley.

Yeah, I posted this same angle not too long ago, but what a before-and-after comparison of just under two months! The WE 430 Lima-Brewster freight had a caravan of foam coming east across Ohio, effectively coating the whole state in the awful white stuff shown here. Did I mention it's gonna be 68 degrees on Wednesday now? ...

WE SD40T-2 5413, CRC GP30 901 in NKP paint, six scrap loads and six pieces of passenger equipment from the Cincinnati Railway Company turn the corner from the NS to CSX at Crestline, Ohio, on Nov. 14, 2021. The 901 is going to the Brewster shop for wheel work and the passenger cars will be used for W&LE employee Santa train trips the weekend after Thanksgiving.

Union Pacific’s MDVRO (Denver to Salt Lake City) manifest freight exits Tunnel 1 on the approach to Plainview, Colorado, on April 25, 2001. Leading the freight is Rio Grande SD40T-2 Tunnel Motor No. 5401. This locomotive is now preserved at the Colorado Railroad Museum, which is located several miles south of this location just behind North Table Mountain, visible in the middle distance in this photo.

By February 2006, Rio Grande EMD SD40T-2 No. 5371 was the last Denver & Rio Grande Western locomotive on the Union Pacific system in its original unpatched paint and road number. Slumbering next to the one-stall enginehouse at Helper, the Tunnel Motor sends smoke into a starry Utah night on the eve of October 23, 2007.

Rio Grande SD40T-2 No. 5371 leads the LJP45 24 between Wash and Mounds, Utah the morning of July 24, 2006.

Rio Grande SD40T-2 “Tunnel Motor” No. 5361 leads Union Pacific MDVRO (Denver to Roper Yard, Salt Lake City manifest) freight between Clay and Plain at Coal Creek Canyon on a stormy April 27, 2001.

A Union Pacific manifest freight train rolls downgrade out of Plain siding at Plainview, Colorado, on September 25, 1997. It may be a UP train, but there isn’t an Armour yellow locomotive to be seen. Battle-worn Southern Pacific EMD SD45R No. 7464 leads Rio Grande EMD SD40T-2 No. 5353 and a pair of far-from-home Conrail GE units as power for the eastbound train.

As afternoon storms send light rain to the ground, hard-working locomotives of a Rio Grande coal train grinding its way up the two percent grade of Winter Park hill throws exhaust and sand into the sky on the afternoon of July 8, 1988.

Southern Pacific's Roper - Grand Junction merchandise train ascends the 2% grade between Detour and Gilluly, Utah the morning of April 16, 1994. Leading the charge are Rio Grande GP60 No. 3156, Cotton Belt GP60 No. 9667, Morrison Knudsen SD45 No. 9505, Southern Pacific SD40T-2 No. 8254, and Southern Pacific GP40M-2 No. 7110.

On a beautiful spring day in the Utah mountains, Union Pacific’s LJP45 “dirt train” makes a special run over to Sutro on the western approach of the grade over Soldier Summit. In this view, Rio Grande SD40T-2 No. 5390 leads the train through Rio under an eye-popping Wasatch Range on May 5, 2004.

EMD locomotives from the UP-SP merger of 1996 pull a Pocatello, Idaho to Yermo, California manifest through Stockton, Utah on July 23, 1999. Leading the charge are UP SD60M No. 6275, SP SD40M-2 No. 8670, and DRGW SD40T-2 No. 5353.

A loaded Fairlane ore train, led by a pair of DMIR tunnel motors and an IC SD40-2, head south on the Missabe at Zim, racing against the southward moving clouds.

A trio of Southern Pacific C44-9Ws and an SD40T-2 pull 105 loads of Minntac iron ore through Provo, Utah the afternoon of Feb. 5, 1995. The MNGVC is minutes away from deliver to Geneva Steel in Vineyard.

In the aftermath of a late high country snowstorm, Union Pacific MDVRO manifest freight rumbles westward on the main, meeting an eastbound BNSF helper set at Rollinsville, Colorado, on April 22, 2001. The freight is powered by five motors, including Rio Grande Tunnel Motors Nos. 5345 and 5371, while the two SD40-2 helpers are drifting back to Denver after helping a westbound BNSF freight to the Moffat Tunnel. Needless to say—UP doesn’t run Rio Grande SD40T-2s, nor does BNSF operate manned helpers—on the Moffat main line anymore.

A Rio Grande coal train snakes through the multiple curves leaving the east switch at Azure, Colorado, entering Gore Canyon along the Colorado River. A trio of EMD SD40T-2 Tunnel Motors lead the eastbound train on May 25, 1991.

Rolling over the very top of Tennessee Pass after helping an eastbound Rio Grande freight up the 3% grade out of Minturn are four Tunnel Motors—the engineer notching up the dynamics as they enter east portal of Tennessee Pass tunnel on July 9, 1985. All too soon, they’ll be needed again to wrangle more tonnage up the 10,221-foot pass over the Continental Divide in Colorado.

To see what it looks like today: www.flickr.com/photos/mikedanneman/31197160265/in/datepos...

Rio Grande SD40T-2 "Tunnel Motors" 5400 and 5384 lead an MDVROX 12 through East Gilluly on a perfect April 13, 1999 morning in the Wasatch Mountains of Utah. A shout out to Gordon Olsen, mechanic at Helper, Utah, who had pride in the Rio Grande, and kept his fleet of D&RGW tunnel motors looking and working in tip-top condition.

Rio Grande EMD SD40T-2 No. 5371 rolls westbound through Spring Glen, Utah, on a fine February 2, 2005.

A Rio Grande merchandise train emerges from the deep shadows of Spanish Fork Canyon into Utah Valley near Mapleton the evening of May 13, 1976. We were waiting for the Rio Grande Zephyr to arrive from Denver and were treated to this brand new EMD SD40T-2 'tunnel motor' leading a train.

A pair of grimy Rio Grande SD40T-2 Tunnel Motors help Amtrak’s California Zephyr with some extra horsepower over Soldier Summit and the Rocky Mountains on July 7, 1988. At this point in the trip, the train is heading downgrade through the curves at Kyune, Utah. D&RGW EMD SD40T-2 Nos. 5407 and 5366 join three Amtrak F40PHs with the long train that includes two private cars on the rear.

A factory fresh EMD SD40T-2 leads a Rio Grande coal train at the Price River Coal Co. processing plant and loading facility in Castle Gate, Utah on Sept. 22, 1978. Price River Coal Co., a subsidiary of American Electric Power, shipped coal east of Helper, Utah on the D&RGW via Pueblo, Colorado in 110-car unit trains.

Right in the gut of rugged Rock Creek Canyon on Rio Grande’s Craig Branch, an eastbound coal train exits Tunnel 45 between Crater and Volcano, Colorado, on September 8, 1992. Four Tunnel Motors are up front, with two more as a swing helper in the middle of the train, with a symbol of AINNC (Axial mine to Nixon in Colorado Springs).

Rio Grande SD40T-2 No. 5412 leads a 15-car California Zephyr along the Price River through Kyune, Utah the evening of June 15, 1986.

Rio Grande SD40T-2 No. 5390, one of "Mel's Engines", leads the LJP45 17 local with 42 cars down the Sunnyside Subdivision, 1.7 miles from the main line connection at Mounds, Utah the afternoon of Oct. 17, 2003. At this point in time, the Rio Grande Tunnel Motor "Gang of Four" was down to three original D&RGW numbered units (5390, 5371, and 5349) remaining on the UP roster, hence the UP SD40-2 substitution.

An eastbound Southern Pacific freight rolls through Warren curve west of Mojave, California, on March 6, 1995. Powering the train is a pair each of EMDs and GEs—SP SD40T-2 No. 8517 leads Cotton Belt SD45T-2 No. 9396, SP B39-8 No. 8008 and SSW B40-8 No. 8074.

Rio Grande 5377 leads a Denver to Oakland Forwarder through the twists and turns of Spanish Fork Canyon approaching Narrows, Utah on Aug. 21, 1992.

Seen leading a gaggle of other SD40 variants, DMIR 408 is about to duck under Route 37 at Iron Junction with an empty limestone. Originally Jen and I were going to chase this south, but we were advised of the MRF with the 906 leading, so we broke off and headed over to the Iron Range sub instead.

Rio Grande GP30 3013, SD40T-2 5372 (new at the time), and Steam Generator Car 250 lead a once in a lifetime Rio Grande Zephyr consist along the Soldier Creek Line Change at Detour, Utah on a glorious Oct. 5, 1975 morning in Spanish Fork Canyon.

A Utah Railway MK50-3/CORP SD40T-2 duo slowly work the KYLE Railroad's biweekly LISA turn (Limon-Salina) east out of Bethune, CO on the Rock Island Rocky Mountain Rocket Route.

UTAH 5005 is one of six MK5000Cs built by MK Rail from 1994 to 1995. After being tested by UP and SP for a year and returned, all eventually found themselves in coal service on the Utah Railway. After only a month of service on the UTAH, ?they would have their main alternator removed and replaced with an EMD AR11 main alternator and the engine blocks replaced by EMD 3500 Horsepower 16-645F3B diesel engines from five retired Union Pacific EMD SD50 and one retired Union Pacific EMD GP50. They are now designated as MK50-3s. Once the Utah Railway's coal contract expired, five were sent to the KYLE Railroad in 2017 and earn their keep there today.