After the Heritage Reunion in Salt Lake City at the end of June, I honestly thought the changes of seeing any of the six Heritage Units in Denver again was somewhat slim. Coal is the main commodity for UP in Denver, not general merchandise and certainly not intermodal. I expected the units to keep safely to the north, running through Cheyenne.
So, I was rather surprised when UP 1989 (the Rio Grande Heritage Unit) came down the Greeley Sub last week and wound up stopped at La Salle, CO. As was done last year, UP 1989 ran out to Milliken, CO (on the SLSLS – there’s a fun train symbol!) for Milliken Days.
Yesterday (Sunday), I heard that the unit was back in La Salle and would be headed for North Yard. I figured the MNPNY would probably pick it up in La Salle so I decided to go searching. As I got into La Salle, UP 5822 was calling the Greeley Sub Dispatcher to let her know that their switching was complete and they were ready to head south. Alas, UP 1989 was put on the point of the train. It was the fourth (of five) units in the consist.
No matter, I chased the train south regardless. The train was running almost directly into the sun for most of the trip south, so neither side of the train was really the superior side. The train left La Salle around 12:30pm and made it into North Yard at 2:45pm. The only slight delay was in meeting the MNYNP at Brighton.
Here are a few shots from the afternoon.
- I’m no farmer, but it must be hay-collecting time! There was plenty of hay to be found in this field about 28 miles north of Denver.
2. The train was held north of the siding of Brighton (so as not to block any grade crossing) until the MNYNP was close. Here, the train is starting to crawl south after receiving an approach signal at the north end of Brighto