Tuesday, August 23, 2005 - Good news! The patch kit for DRGW 5371 (Search Photo Gallery) never showed up at Roper, so the tunnel motor will be sent back to Helper without a patch. The unit should be sent back on the UROHP-22 to be returned to service on the Dirt Train. Thanks to Dave Blazejewski on the DRGW List for this information.
This past Sunday, I was able to head north and spend some time in the Cheyenne-to-Laramie area along the Overland Route. While the two main tracks follow I-80 relatively well, there is the less-explored (and, in my opinion, more scenic) third track west of Cheyenne that lies on a completely different grade. The third main is separated by the first two mains by as much as 15 miles in some locations. Long, heavy westbounds tend to use the third track to avoid the bigger grade on main's one and two.
This main is longer than the other two, but the scenery is much better. To see a few shots of the line between the siding of Harriman and Dale Junction (where the third main converges with the first two when heading west), you can see them by clicking this link. The first shot in the series is of a northbound on BNSF's Front Range Subdivision just south of Owl Canyon, roughly 90 miles north of Denver.
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