Nostalgia & History > RGZ F-units after the RGZ

Rio Grande used spent mine slag for a lot of its ballast requirements, and most came off the branch to Leadville, loaded at Eilers. After the Rio Grande Zephyr ended, the F-units were placed in gutsy unglamorous service on those slag trains providing ballast for the system. One of these loaded trains passes under the lofty US 24 steel arch bridge at Red Cliff on June 30, 1984, led by the A-B-B F's and a GP-40, about to pass over the Eagle River. Going down the steep incline of the west side of Tennessee Pass, the engines are in heavy dynamic braking, and the cars are enveloped in brake shoe smoke. Pretty unceremonious last in-service days for the F's; now 5771 and a B are on display at the Colorado Railroad museum painted in four-stripe Rio Grande colors, and the second B is rotting away outside UP's Steam Shop in Cheyenne. === === = === Photo by JLH



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/16/15 19:50 by highgreengraphics.

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Spectacular!

Another beauty, thanks!

Geez another fantastic classic image ... ty for the post ... you did catch an end of an era ... Leadville will probably never produce any more metals from its mines and the odds are Tennessee Pass will never see a commercial train again ... thanks for documenting the history!

Odyssey,
Evergreen, CO

Thank you Thank you very much