The year was 1988. On October 13, the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad's holding company purchased the Southern Pacific Railroad, setting in motion a series of events that forever changed the face of western railroading. But on Christmas Eve, all of that was yet in the future. For a little while yet, the Rio Grande was still... the Rio Grande.
Christmas Eve morning found my cousin and me at Tunnel One on the Moffat route. We were there to photograph the eastbound Railblazer (train 102) on its way towards Denver. (The Railblazer was the hottest piggyback train on the railroad, cycling between Salt Lake and Denver each night.) Right on time, it snaked down from Plainview and through the tunnel.
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This day it was in the care of GP40 No. 3077 and GP40-2 No. 3116. This, one of my favorite photos, would do well on a Christmas card! |
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The train was heavy with FrontRunner single-platform piggyback cars as usual, but today there were some 89-footers in the consist as well. |
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Here you can see the entire train as it crosses the bridge over Colo. 72 in Coal Creek Canyon. |
After 102's passage, we heard a westbound approaching from the direction of Rocky, and decided to catch it on the uphill side of the tunnel (railroad west). We hiked over the top of the hogback to the opposite portal. Shortly a manifest train made its appearance...
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... led by GP40-2 No. 3130. This is the highest-numbered GP40-2, and the last delivered, in 1982. |
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Third unit in the consist is a SP SD40T-2, No. 8550. It's a sign of changes to come. |
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The fourth and fifth units were GP40s in the small Rio Grande scheme. No. 3051 was the first GP40 delivered, so this train contains the first and the last, as it were. (This doesn't count the ex-Conrail GP40s, by the way, one of which is second in the consist). The train was a fun mix of cars, including a number of tank cars of anhydrous ammonia. |
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© 2009, James R. Griffin. All rights reserved.