This being my first time in Colorado I was blown away by how "in the middle of nowhere" places that, even if they're actually near the growing metropolises, can be. Here, a lone GEVO ... (more)

ATSF 2-10-2 1696 is seen helping EMD E6 number 15 with a ten car Super Chief near Morley Colorado in 1942. Otto Conrad Perry photo, from my collection.

An eastbound Montana Rail Link helper set of the usual four EMD SD70ACes, drops downgrade out of Weed, Montana, and through Iron Ridge cut on MRL’s main line over Mullan Pass on June 29, 2022. T... (more)

Helper set.

Cleanup Help: After 12G derailed at the CP MO interlocking in Cresson, PA, crews worked for hours to clean up the mess. Here, nearly 8 hours later, the first eb train, a helper set gets a clear s... (more)

Forest fire smoke fills the air as Helena's Helper #2 crew heads back home after assisting a loaded train over Mullan Pass. They picked up Helper #1's power who outlawed at Elliston earlier in the... (more)

MRL SD70ACe 4403 shows off its "Helper Link" as it prepares to nose onto the tailend of a loaded coal train before shoving it over Bozeman Pass.

PALMER LAKE CO — Rio Grande SD50 5506 and SD40T-2 5357 drift north on the Joint Line. I failed to label the slide and took no notes. I am only sure of the location. It is a Kodolux mount and has... (more)

A pair of helper engines wait on a siding in Spruce, Colorado in case they are needed to help a train get over the Palmer Divide on the Joint Line.

Livingston Helper #3 meets Helper #4 shoving hard on the tailend of a loaded coal train at the east end of Muir, MT.

Helper #2 heads back to Helena.

8 MRL SD70ACes head east around the horseshoe curve at Austin, MT.

The Bridgeport Helpers have cut away from the C WTMPFK0 46A (Highland Mine at Thunder Jct West, WY to Paducah, KY) after pushing the train up the 13 mile stretch of a 1% grade between Bridgeport a... (more)

An eastbound train on the Modoc Line has arrived at Wendel, where the midtrain helpers will be set out. Southern Pacific had less than a month of independence remaining.

EMD 645s and smoke belching tunnels. Exhaust erupts from Tunnel 5 as the mid-train helpers provide 12,000 horsepower to assist the daily "Oil Can" train as it struggles upgrade through ... (more)