Minturn yard—1985
Rio Grande’s Minturn yard at the western base of a three percent climb over Tennessee Pass was an important location on the railroad’s map. It was a crew change ... (more)

Tennessee Pass—1985
Rolling over the very top of Tennessee Pass after helping an eastbound Rio Grande freight up the 3% grade out of Minturn are four SD40T-2 Tunnel Motors—the engin... (more)

With the Sangre de Christo Mountains providing a snowy backdrop, an eastbound Rio Grande DEGX coal train curves towards Texas Creek, Colorado, on April 23, 1984. Tunnel Motor (SD40T-2) No. 5362 le... (more)

An eastbound Rio Grande freight drops downgrade at Crystal Lakes near Malta, Colorado, early in the morning of July 10, 1985. This train is running on Rio Grande’s famed route over 10,221-foot T... (more)

MINTURN CO AUG. 23 1981 -- D&RGW GP30 3013 awaits a crew to take its train west.

The rear of D&RGW 5382’s westbound train is still in the Continental Divide and Tennessee Pass summit tunnel as the train now begins its 3% decline at Mitchell, Colo. The train will drop almost... (more)

D&RGW’s truncated Train 2, “Royal Gorge,” is loading passengers and about to depart Salida, Colo. for its trip back to Denver.

The westbound Rio Grande Zephyr passes Hideaway Park at Winter Park, Colo. headed for its next stop at Fraser. The date was May 16, 1970, just two months after the discontinuance of the famous Ca... (more)

How could a day of shooting get any better — after capturing the California Zephyr at this spot, behind it came the “Yampa Valley” Train 9 headed 231 miles (from Denver) to Craig in N.W. Col... (more)

Alco PA 6013 leads D&RGW’s amply-powered 2-car Train 1, The Royal Gorge, during its station stop at Pueblo on April 16, 1967. After going through the Gorge, the train will terminate in another ... (more)

Led by Rio Grande’s first Tunnel Motor, SD40T-2 No. 5341, an eastbound Rio Grande freight climbs the steep 3-percent grade of Tennessee Pass at Mitchell on a July 1984 morning. A total of 20,850... (more)

An eastbound Rio Grande freight climbs the steep 3-percent grade of Tennessee Pass at Mitchell on a July 1984 morning. A total of 18,600 horsepower of EMD locomotives is clawing at the rails with ... (more)

Denver and Rio Grande Western GP40 No. 3083 is the east unit on a helper set at Minturn, Colorado, in July 1984. Behind No. 3083 is a GP40-2, a SD40T-2, a SD45, and two more SD40T-2s. One track ov... (more)

A Rio Grande DEGX coal train heads eastbound along the Arkansas River at Cotopaxi, Colorado, on April 23, 1984. Tunnel Motor (SD40T-2) No. 5362 leads Missouri Pacific SD40-2s Nos. 6021 and 6003 on... (more)