That cloudy day in Utah feeling

Posted by Jim Wrinn, Editor

OK, so let’s just say that you are traveling in one of the greatest railroad states in the nation (Utah), and on the February morning you had free, you could choose anything you wanted to do — as long as you didn’t mind the cloud cover that was hovering overhead. That happened to me Wednesday, and the answer to my dilemma was to enjoy a short train ride, as well as a bit of freight action and a glimpse of some preservation. A three-in-one kind of day.
 
The day started out mid-morning near Castle Rock, Utah, on Interstate 80, where I found an exit ramp and pulled off to wait on the Union Pacific to run something – anything – through Echo Canyon. I was just getting to the side of the road and unfurled my USA Today from the Holiday Inn Express when I noticed a long string of covered hoppers rounding a bend in the distance. This is paired-track territory, so it took me a moment to realize that this westbound was on the track closest to me.
 
Soon, two big six-axle GEs (pictured above) roared by, 100 cars of grain sandwiched between them and a single distributed power unit (more on this type of operation in our September 2010 issue). I followed this train west through Echo and enjoyed the sight of the UP moving grain westward.
 
At Ogden, I got my train ride in the FrontRunner commuter train between here and Salt Lake City. A balky ticket machine on the platform wouldn’t take my credit card, but a helpful train host walked me through the procedure to buy the best bargain I’ve seen of late: almost two hours of riding for $9! The service is new and nice, with MP36s from Wabtec MotivePower (pictured at right) in Boise for power and bi-level coaches, as well as rebuilt single-level ex-NJ Transit “Comet cars.” The service runs beside the UP main line, but does not touch it. Trains run every half hour, and I found this to be a delightful way to railfan the UP from the enjoyable vantage point of a comfortable seat. At Salt Lake City, I had enough time to witness the TRAX light rail line cars leaving the transit hub, and to mourn the loss of rail service into the old Rio Grande passenger station.  Incidentally, if you want to see what a real intermodal hub is all about, this is it: At Salt Lake City, you’ve got Amtrak, buses, Front Runner, and light rail, all at one place!
 
Back at Ogden, I visited Union Station and the Utah State Railroad Museum there, home to Union Pacific 4-8-4 No. 833 and several diesels, including a recently donated Rio Grande tunnel motor: SD45-2T No. 5371. The museum has a pavilion built over the big steam locomotive and many of the diesels, good text panels to tell their stories, and plenty of fresh paint jobs. It’s a good display (pictured at right).
 
For a cloudy day in Utah, it wasn’t bad at all!

Previous: Union Pacific 2-8-0 No. 618 makes a rare appearance

Jim Wrinn photos