It's nice to know that at least one Rio Grande Tunnel Motor will be preserved. Union Pacific donated DRGW 5371 to the Utah State Railway Museum in Ogden, UT. Unfortunately, the museum does not have a lot of funds and the Tunnel Motor may never be restored to a "pristine" condition.
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The crew that spotted DRGW 5371 on track one at Ogden's Union Station (the location of the Utah State Railway Museum) did a fantastic job spotting it just perfectly so that it was in direct sunlight in the morning!
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Guess what unit made its way to Ogden in August 2009? Our old friend DRGW 5371, the only un-patched Rio Grande unit on Union Pacific's roster before being retired. It had been in Cheyenne, WY for over year, but has been moved to the Utah State Railway Museum. Union Pacific donated the unit to the museum.
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Modern modelers rejoice! You can now take your DRGW Heritage Unit and your Zephyr train set and run them together!! UP 1989 sits on the point of the Zephyr at Union Station. The second P42 was not loading and UP 1989 was added in Salt Lake City to help out. The train would leave Union Station about 20 minutes later, with UP 1989 still on the point for the trip to Chicago.
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In the foreground, UP 1989 and Amtrak 6 back down the passenger lead into Union Station. In the distance, the Colorado Rockies play the Pittsburgh Pirates at Coors Field. The Pirates would go on to win, 7-3.
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The eastbound Zephyr, led by UP 1989, backs down the passenger lead and into Union Station. Sure wish there had been a bit more water gathered in that pool on the ground!
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Arriving in Denver just a few minutes late, the California Zephyr is led by UP 1989 into BNSF's 31st Street Yard. The train will then back down the passenger lead into Union Station.
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In the 1980's, it was not uncommon to find a Rio Grande pilot engine on the point of Amtrak, particularly when a business car was catching a ride on the tail end. If Rio Grande was still around in 2009, it might look something like this!
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At the base of Coal Creek Canyon, UP 1989 leads the eastbound California Zephyr over Colorado Highway 72. This was just about the best light of the evening for sure!
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The leaves haven't started to change colors for the fall yet, but there is still a bit of grande gold in the mountains today! The second P42 on the Zephyr wouldn't load upon arrival in Salt Lake City and UP just happened to have UP 1989 available to help out.
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The eastbound California Zephyr pops out of the east portal of the Moffat Tunnel in the late afternoon. For the first time in nearly four years, one of the Heritage Units runs on an Amtrak train.
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It's great to see UP 1989 on the point of the MNYRO on a sunny Saturday afternoon. Granted the 1989 could use a little bit of a washing, but it still looks good coming through the S-Curve at Blue Mountain!
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UP 1989 leads the MNYRO west out of Rocky. Just a few minutes later and the train will be running down the main at Clay which can be seen in the foreground.
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Even though it is a shot from the shady side of the train, UP 1989 still looks pretty good leading the MNYRO westbound on the main at Leyden.
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A beautiful Saturday afternoon found a pleasant surprise with UP 1989 leading the MNYRO (North Yard, CO to Roper, UT) manifest west on the Moffat! Here, the train approaches the east switch of Leyden, the Denver skyline rising in the distance.
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