Western Railroad Discussion > A Flashback to 2005: Utah Railway SD50s

Back in October of 2005, the sight of Utah Railway SD50 motors rambling along a weed grown branch seemed like observing the passage of royalty. Sporting their shiny paint jobs, decked out in the contemporary livery, it really was a sight to behold.

Utah Railway 6062 (and sibling 6060) were built new for Hamersley Iron Ore in Australia back in 1982 by EMD licensee Clyde Engineering. Utah Railway acquired all five of HI's SD50S roster from NRE late in 2001.

This 21 car train is returning from Kennecott Copper interchange at Magna with KCCX tank cars of sulphuric acid, BNSF box cars of copper concentrate, and covered hoppers picked up at a PVC pipe manufacturer at Welby. This pastoral setting has changed radically since the RUT311 local was captured on Fujichrome Provia slide film on October 15, 2005.

Giant sound walls line Utah Transit Authority's double tracked, concrete tied, and catenary equipped light rail route called the 'Mid-Jordan' line. The open fields and trees are gone, replaced with a park and ride lot that borders Sugar Factory Road and 27th West streets in West Jordan.

Freight traffic now runs nocturnally on UTA owned trackage, shared with the Savage Bingham & Garfield Railroad. The Aussie SD50s were removed from service in the Salt Lake Valley five years ago, and now work exclusively in heavy coal train and helper service over Soldier Summit.

Thanks for taking a look back,

JB in SLC

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Great color in this James, Happy New Year to ya!

I wish we could still take that shot. Things change fast. That's alot of power for a train on that line. Nice catch.

I can get my 2005 and Utah fix just about any day in Corvallis, OR. The former Utah 2005 is the quintessential power for the Corvallis Local of the Portland & Western, seen here on 12-28-2011 with two empty covered hoppers for the Albany & Eastern operation South of town. Alas, we just don't often get those Utah blue skies.

Rob



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 12/29/11 22:15 by SilvertonRR100.

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