An eastbound BNSF coal train passes through the massive cut at East Stokes, Wyoming, on June 21, 2020. In the spring of 1998, BNSF daylighted Sunset Tunnel, also known as the 1,928-foot Tunnel 2 between Guernsey and Wendover. The wood-lined tunnel on this 9-mile segment of railroad was originally built by the CB&Q in 1915 and was one of three tunnels on the line. Besides the massive amount of work to remove the tunnel, BNSF also had to stabilize the soft earthen boundaries of the excavation with a concrete mixture sprayed to the sides of the cut, giving the scenery a strange new look. It also gave the railroad a lengthened Stokes siding to the east. Construction techniques aside, given the cracks and numerous anchor bolts, the big cut appears to have given the railroad some maintenance headaches in recent times.
