Engineer Mel Baughman pauses outside the depot at Helper, Utah, with Rio Grande SD40T-2 “Tunnel Motors” sitting in the yard behind him on October 5, 2004. Mel was born in Rifle, Colorado, on November 2, 1948, and began working for the Rio Grande in 1967. Later becoming an engineer and retiring after 41 years with the railroad—he still called Helper, Utah—home. He passed away on November 2, 2017, on his 69th birthday.
Photo albums dedicated to the Men, and Women that keep the Railroad running around the clock 365 days a year. From Dispatcher to Track Gangs, these are the people that make the railroad moves!
