Western Railroad Discussion > Headed for the mine

Work in the Red Wash Oil Field in eastern Utah got me close enough to my favorite railroad to set up for this shot. The frozen ground is beginning to thaw out and the mud is everywhere. Unless you like being stuck in the mud a shot like this from a paved road is the safest bet. Deseret Ry’s morning empty coal train is running east in this shot and is about half way back to the Deserado Mine loadout from the Bonanza Power Plant. This location is at Mormon Gap, Colorado, about 2 miles east of the Colorado/Utah state line. The Deseret Ry crosses over Rio Blanco County Road 21 here. This is one of only 5 crossings of paved roads in the railroad's 35 mile length and none of the 5 are at grade. The location marks the east end of the Uintah Basin, which the train has been traversing for the past 16 miles or so since it left the power plant.

Dick Ebright
Roosevelt, Utah

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