 |
GP30 No. 3002 -- May 14, 1999, at Alamosa. By the time this was taken, it was one of only 3 Rio Grande GP30's still running. The other two (3003, 3015) were retired by the end of the month.
The 3002 was retired at Little Rock on August 3rd, 1999, and subsequently scrapped.
|
 |
Here are two views of GP30 No.
3006, at Colorado Springs
in September 1994. The Rio Grande, and its two successor
roads, typically kept a four-axle unit in the Springs to handle the switching
chores. There are a number of industries around the city that are served
by the railroad. As of this writing there is still a Rio Grande caboose
that is used for the local jobs.
The 3006 was retired at Denver on December 23rd, 1998, and was sold in September 2000. Currently it is stored at Burnham shops in Denver.
|
 |
GP40B No. 3051 -- Dec. 24, 1988, on a westbound manifest at
Tunnel 1 above Denver (shortly after the SP merger). Most Rio Grande
GP40s were demoted to B-unit status in 1972. This unit is featured in my
Detailed Photos
section. The 3051 was retired in 1996, prior to the UP merger.
|
 |
GP40B No. 3057 -- January 1982. It's the trailing unit on a westbound manifest at Blue Mountain crossing (Coal Creek Canyon). Dan Adams photo.
The 3057 was sold to Omnitrax (Loveland, CO) in February 1995.
|
 |
GP40 No. 3065 -- This unit was sold to Helm Leasing, and was sent to the new San Luis & Rio Grande Railroad in Alamosa. Here it is, back on home rails but in different colors, on June 30, 2003.
|
 |
GP40 No. 3072 -- At Alamosa, May 14, 1999. It was in the road power consist, waiting for the local to finish its chores.
The 3072 was retired on May 15th, 2000.
|
 |
 GP40
No. 3077 -- Dec. 24, 1988, with the eastbound RailBlazer piggyback train
emerging from tunnel one. That's GP40-2 No. 3116 on the drawbar.
The 3077 was retired in 1996, prior to the UP merger,
and is now Helm Leasing (HATX) No. 806, working on the Vermont Rail System.
Unit now classified as a GP40-3. |
 |
Sometimes you
just have to take what you can get... Here
is GP40 No. 3080, buried deep in the readyline area at Grand Junction (8/03/98).
It's mostly original, minus the low-nose lights. This is the highest
numbered unit to receive the small "flying" Rio Grande herald.
The 3080 was retired
6/20/01, and sold 12-10-01 to the W&LE. |
 |
Three views of GP40-2 No. 3097, as it was
serving as the Colorado Springs switcher, Sept. 19, 1999. The paint was starting
to fade a bit by this time. Notice the lack of a nose herald on this unit.
In earlier days it did indeed have the "Rio Grande" lettering on the nose, but
lost it in the early 1980s for some reason.
|
 |
No. 3100
worked around Denver and the front range for many years after the UP merger, but
I never managed to get a decent photograph of it before getting patched.
It was the last D&RGW GP40-series unit to be renumbered from its original
number, on 1/31/2006. Here it is at Pueblo, on 6/30/2006,
now
UP No. 1350. |
 |
GP40-2 3103 and two mates are seen with a westbound fast freight at Glenwood Springs
on Nov. 8, 1981.
This was before the pedestrian bridge was built, and I was standing on a very
narrow sidewalk with my back to traffic while I took this photo.
|
 |
GP40-2 Nos. 3118 and 3109 on the "Minturn Local", hustling east past Cameo with a string of covered hoppers
late on October 10, 2000. It was a rare and pleasant thing to see a train under all-Rio Grande power by this date. The 3118 had been rather
heavily tagged sometime earlier (note the graffiti).
|
 |
West Helper on the CSDPU Train-- Two GP40-2s apply dynamic braking on the rear of the train as it crosses Coal Creek canyon in April 1984. The West Helper (set) would often ride a heavy eastbound train down the mountain for braking, then return light or with another train to Tabernash.
Today the helper consists of GP40-2 Nos. 3111 and 3117. Note the red class light on 3111.
|
 |
GP40-2 Nos. 3109 and 3097 head up the valley of the Gunnison near
Dominguez on March 8, 2002. No. 3109 receives a detailed study in the
Detailed Photos
section. |
 |
Top photo: GP40-2 No. 3118 sits on the readyline with the rest of the power for the Alamosa local, in the yard at Pueblo (9/19/1999).
It's been modified with a beacon (courtesy of the SPL era), the horns have been moved to the long hood (judging by the color, they're a UP modification), and ditch lights have been added. But, the low nose lights are still there. The opposite side of the unit has been heavily vandalized by taggers.
No. 3118 also receives a detailed study in the
Detailed Photos
section.
That's SP No. 7129 on the drawbar, which has been a regular on
this run for years, and has even done Ski Train duty in 1993. The UP unit
visible in the background is No. 5702, one of the ex-DRGW GP60's (No. 3156)
which was repainted and renumbered.
Bottom photo:
The 3118 was patched to UP 1359 on 9/15/2005.
Here it is in Grand Junction on July 1st, 2006. The patched unit to the
left is the ex- SP 7110. |
 |
GP40-2 No. 3123 -- On the Ski Train in January 1982 at Crescent,
CO. Notice the dent in the fuel tank.
The 3123 was renumbered (patched) as UP 1346 on Aug 10th, 2001.
|
 |
GP40-2 No. 3126 -- At Grand Junction on 8/03/98. Notice an unusual feature: ditch lights on the rear as well as the front!
These are installed on locomotives that are used predominately in local service,
where running long-hood-forward frequently can be expected. Their location
above the deckline indicates an SP-era modification. |
 |
GP40-2 No. 3128 -- The highest-numbered "standard" GP40-2, still at work in Alamosa on March 7, 2003.
It
also receives a detailed study in the
Detailed Photos
section.
|
 |
GP40-2 No. 3129 -- One of the last two GP40-2's delivered to the
Rio Grande, here it is working the West Local (Rocky) on 3/26/2002. This unit is featured on the Detail Photos page.
|
 |
GP40-2 No. 3130 -- The other of the last two GP40-2's delivered, here it leads a westbound manifest on 12/24/88. It's exiting tunnel 1; you can barely make out the nose of #3131 in the tunnel. The shot of #3051 above is
of the same train.
This unit is featured in my
Detailed Photos
section. |
 |
GP40 No. 3131-- This unit was at Alamosa yard on 8/02/97. This is a new scan, directly from the negative. Unfortunately, there's only so much you can do with a backlit subject...
However I have retuned the image again and it's slightly improved.The 3131 was retired on 5/25/01, and sold to the Wheeling and Lake Erie (W&LE) on 12/10/01.
|
 |
GP40 No. 3141 -- One of the Conrail geeps, passing the
Glenwood Springs depot on 6/29/95.
The 3141 was retired in August 2001 and scrapped in December of that year.
|
 |
GP40 No. 3149 -- Another one of the Conrail geeps. Brad Hoeme photo.
The 3149 was renumbered as UP 735 in 2000.
|
 |
Top: GP60 No. 3154 sits on the Pueblo ready line, May 16, 1999. The white reflective stripes, applied only to this unit, are clearly visible.
What were they thinking?
Center: Another look at No. 3154, in Denver on a misty Sunday
morn-- Sept. 19, 1999. She's on the leg of the wye on the west side of
North Yard.
Bottom:
No. 3154 is on the point of the Ski Train on 12/28/2000, seen here after
unloading at Winter Park. This was the first season of service for the
newly-painted F40PH's, but No. 242 was having mechanical problems. So, No.
3154 got the call to substitute on the train. Yes, it was great to look
out the window and see a Rio Grande motor on the head end!
The 3154 was patched to
UP 1900 on 1/25/02.
|
 |
GP60 No. 3155 -- leading unit of a
pair of GP60's, with the Ski Train at Plainview (1/04/97). At some point
her anticlimber was repainted black, instead of gold like the rest of the fleet.
This probably happened after she was in a
wreck in Spanish Fork
Canyon, UT, in 1992.
The 3155 was patched to UP 1901 on 1/25/02.
Here it's seen at Pueblo on 6/30/2006. |
 |
GP60 No. 3156 -- the trailing unit
of a pair of GP60's, with the Ski Train at Plainview (1/04/97). The DRGW
GP60s were used commonly on the Ski Train during the 96-97 season, making for an
all- Rio Grande passenger train (in the era of UP ownership, more's the irony). |
 |
GP60's 3154 and 3155 -- nearly four years later, the two remaining sisters rest between assignments on the ready line at North Yard, Denver(11/24/2000).
|
 |
Beat the Train? GP60 No. 3156 Meets
Ford.
The 3156 was repainted as UP #5702 on 5/11/98, and renumbered 1902 on 1/05/01.
|
 |
The Railblazer
-- GP40 No. 3077 and GP40-2 No. 3116 lead tthe eastbound overnight piggyback train on the last leg of its trip from Salt Lake to Denver, on Christmas Eve morning, 1988. This hot overnight TOFC train kept the rails warm between Denver and Salt Lake for the latter half of the 1980's. It was the ultimate short fast piggyback train...
|
the
