Photo ID: 112307 Date Shot Photo By Friday, May 2, 2025 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Brendel (5,100 ft) Grand County, UT 57 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Green River (UP) Union Pacific In the distance, you can see the new burial site for Uranium mill tailings that are being transported by Union Pacific with the Department of Energy from a previous site near Moab that threatened ground waters and the Colorado River itself. Roughly 14 million of an estimated 16 million tons of tailing have already been transported here. The project is expected to be complete by the end of the decade. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 112306 Date Shot Photo By Friday, May 2, 2025 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Brendel (5,100 ft) Grand County, UT 90 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Green River (UP) Union Pacific Starting in 2009, the Department of Energy set forth on a project to clean up an estimated 16 million tons of Uranium Mill Tailings at the former Atlas Minerals Corporation site, close to the Colorado River near Moab. UP upgraded much of the rail on the Cane Creek Sub, even installing some welded rail, to support the project. Uranium mill tailings are loaded onto trains that are taken up the Cane Creek Sub to the Crescent Junction Disposal site, created for the project. Here, the tailings are buried in a safe location with no ground water implications. UP 5302 and UP 6967 are two of the units that currently have the duty of moving roughly 4,700 tons in each trainload. The train does not run Friday through Sunday. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 112305 Date Shot Photo By Friday, May 2, 2025 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Thompson to Brendel (MP 528.8 to MP 533.3) Grand County, UT 69 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Green River (UP) Union Pacific The Potash Local rolls east with 35 empty covered hoppers just east of Brendel. It is at Brendel that the train will depart the mainline (and the Green River Sub), and enter the Cane Creek Sub. The train already has their warrant from the dispatcher, so they are ready to head south. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 112304 Date Shot Photo By Friday, May 2, 2025 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Sagers (7,760 ft) Grand County, UT 63 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Green River (UP) Union Pacific UP's Potash Local is in the siding at Sagers, having just met the quickly-moving eastbound California Zephyr. The Potash Local only runs once a week, always on Fridays. Monday through Thursday, the same power is generally used on the Minturn Local, running east out of Grand Junction. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 112303 Date Shot Photo By Friday, May 2, 2025 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Floy to Solitude (MP 540.9 to MP 546.2) Grand County, UT 95 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Green River (UP) Amtrak Passengers aboard the California Zephyr are hopefully enjoying the incredible views of the Utah desert under crystal clear skies this morning. The train is making its way east toward its next station stop in Grand Junction, CO. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 112302 Date Shot Photo By Friday, May 2, 2025 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Floy to Solitude (MP 540.9 to MP 546.2) Grand County, UT 344 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Green River (UP) Amtrak The Utah desert is, without a doubt, one of my favorite places to shoot trains anywhere. There is such a raw beauty to the desert, as seen here with the eastbound Zephyr makes its way through some curves near Floy. The amazing Book Cliff create a fantastic backdrop for the scene. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 112299 Date Shot Photo By Thursday, May 1, 2025 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Sagers to Thompson (MP 521.4 to MP 527.3) Grand County, UT 60 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Green River (UP) Union Pacific A fitting shot to close out the first of three and half days out in the Utah desert. The sun has dipped behind the Book Cliffs to the west, as a few small rain showers pass through the area. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 112298 Date Shot Photo By Thursday, May 1, 2025 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Sagers (7,760 ft) Grand County, UT 99 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Green River (UP) Union Pacific I was hoping that the BNSF oil load that this westbound UP coal load was waiting on would have arrived by now. Alas, it took longer that I had hoped. The coal load would sit in the siding here at Sagers for well over an hour, until after sunset, for the oil train to arrive. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 112297 Date Shot Photo By Thursday, May 1, 2025 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed CP RG521 (West Sagers) Grand County, UT 93 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Green River (UP) Union Pacific As is the case with several sidings in the desert, UP has installed new signal masts here at West Sagers, but has not yet put the new signal heads on. I am not complaining, though, as I am a sucker for the old Rio Grande signals. A westbound coal load, headed for Intermountain Power in Utah, sits in the siding. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 112296 Date Shot Photo By Thursday, May 1, 2025 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Sagers (7,760 ft) Grand County, UT 90 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Green River (UP) Union Pacific This westbound coal load has taken the siding at Sagers to wait on an eastbound BNSF oil train. A derailment about a week ago at West Solitude still has a 10 MPH slow order out in the desert, delaying all trains that have to run through there. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 112295 Date Shot Photo By Thursday, May 1, 2025 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Agate to Cisco (MP 499.1 to MP 503.7) Grand County, UT 93 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Green River (UP) Union Pacific Running with four units (setup 2x2), this westbound coal load is actually moving pretty quick across the Utah desert. The red rocks of Ruby Canyon are visible in the distance. The train is ultimately headed for Intermountain Power in Utah. Intermountain Power is planning to shift away from coal in 2025. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 112294 Date Shot Photo By Thursday, May 1, 2025 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Agate to Cisco (MP 499.1 to MP 503.7) Grand County, UT 72 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Green River (UP) Union Pacific After running through Ruby Canyon, the tracks start to make a climb up toward a summit at Thompson Hill. You can see the red rocks and the far west end of Ruby Canyon in the distance. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 112293 Date Shot Photo By Thursday, May 1, 2025 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed CP RG504 (East Cisco) Grand County, UT 59 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Green River (UP) Union Pacific No trains in this particular shot, but liked the black and white and the desert vibe. UP has erected some new signal masts, but they do not yet have signal heads. Many classic Rio Grande signals are still used here in the desert. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 112090 Date Shot Photo By Friday, March 28, 2025 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Brendel Grand County, UT 94 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Green River (UP) Rocky Mountaineer At the Moab exit off of I-70, exit 182, there is an eccentric gas station known as "Jackass Joe's". It is colorful and covered in stickers. The gas is a bit pricey...$2.00 more per gallon than the Exxon a few miles east in Thompson Springs...but it is quite the little station. The westbound Rocky Mountaineer passes by on the mainline at Brendel. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 112089 Date Shot Photo By Friday, March 28, 2025 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Brendel Grand County, UT 117 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Green River (UP) Rocky Mountaineer After coming up the Cane Creek Subdivision from Seven Mile and running around their train at Thompson, the Rocky Mountaineer is now heading further west than it ever has before. In 2026, the plan is to expand service of the train from Denver to Salt Lake City. This is the a non-revenue test run of the service. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture.

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