The remains of what appear to be a traction motor (perhaps?) lays covered in dirt about 100 feet away from the tracks at Brendel. The Potash Local switches in the background.
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It is getting late in the afternoon (around 5pm) as Amtrak 5 moves swiftly through the desert just west of Agate. The train has left Ruby Canyon behind and has sped up to track speed at 79 MPH.
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The Potash Local has reached the end of (roughly) 30 mile journey down the Cane Creek Subdivision. On this Friday afternoon, the local was led by a C40-8 sporting "baby wings" on the nose.
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Having descended down to the level of the Colorado River, the Potash Local follows SR-279 through a Canyon about three miles from the end of the line at the Potash plant.
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The Potash Local departs the mainline at Brendel (the Crescent Junction exit on I-70) and turns south on the Cane Creek Subdivision. The terrain starts off very open in the Utah Desert, but will change rapidly as the branch approaches the Colorado River.
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The Potash Local is a weekly job that runs from Grand Junction, CO to Potash, UT (about 15 miles southwest of Moab). The train only runs on Friday's and had clear blue skies on this day as the train passes just east of Thompson, UT.
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Approaching the east end of Thompson, the MRONY led by UP 4945 has a clear signal to continue east over Thompson Hill. Only a few non-threatening clouds are hanging around the Book Cliffs this morning.
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Although it is well past sunrise, the clouds in the east are still obscuring direct sunlight from the MNYRO. The North Yard to Roper manifest has just come over the top of Thompson Hill and is approaching the east switch of Thompson siding.
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While the rain in the desert turned the dirt into thick, sticky mud, it also really brought out the colors in the desert. Amtrak 5, running about an hour late, is coming through the S-Curve just east of Thompson Hill.
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One of the few hills in the desert is Thompson Hill, located just east of the town of Thompson, UT. While a heavy manifest might have a little bit of challenge, Amtrak can glide right over it. Here, AMTK 124 leads the eastbound Zephyr with nine cars just west of Thompson Cut at the apex of Thompson Hill.
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