Under storm light on the afternoon of October 11, 2018, a westbound Eastern Washington Gateway Railroad grain train approaches Medical Lake, Washington, powered by two former Montana Rail Link SD45s—Nos. 328 and 329. The EWG only has a few more weeks of survival, with its last train operating on the former BN/BNSF CW Subdivision branch to Coulee City on November 3, 2018. The track is owned by Washington State Department of Transportation and now has a new operator.
The EMD SD (special duty) series are a strong and reliable kind of locomotive which still serve America's rails today. They have proved themselves reliable by clocking in several million miles of freight service over several decades.