Western Railroad Discussion > BNSF westbound past "Cedar" between Woodside and Helper, UT.

While enjoying some sunshine this last Saturday between thunderstorms I made it down a dirt road to a siding which, if the signal box is to be believed, is named "Cedar". I walked about a mile West past the end of the siding enjoying some solitude when the daily Denver to Provo BNSF showed up, it was a short one that day.

On my way back to my van an empty eastboundd coal train passed, I'll post that video sometime later this week once I get some time to encode it down to a size that I can upload here.

As a side note, while in Green River later that day I stopped at the Green River Launch Complex, a cold war missile launch facility that has been abandoned for 40 years. Much to my surprise the base structures are being dismantled. Within a few months the bunkers, launchpads, and metal structures will all be gone.

Pardon the wind noise in the video, it was a very cool breezy day for August.

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Here is a photo of the signal box and an old Diet Pepsi can nearby.

I also noticed that a few sidings have been cleared of stored cars between Helper and Grand Junction.

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Nice shots and video! I'm sorry to hear they are removing the last of the launch facility south of town. Very interesting place to visit. I don't believe they have the inert missile stuff and mounted in the city park in town any more, either....

James Nelson
Thornton, CO
www.flickr.com/mojaveflyer

When the Rio Grande Western (pre-D&RGW in Utah) was standard-gauged in 1890, much of line between Fruita, Colorado and Wellington, Utah was re-aligned and the narrow-gauge tracks abandoned.  There are still many places in eastern Utah where the narrow-gauge grade, including old ties and wood culverts, still exist--preserved by the dry desert environment.  Years ago, I got to tour that area with some guys who worked MOW with the Rio Grande and who knew where most of the old narrow-gauge alignment was located.  There are also miles of grade built when the narrow-gauge was constructed, but were never actually used--better alignments found and used instead.  Much of that area is little changed in the last century-plus.