| A 45-car AEPX coal train was stopped at Minturn, Colorado for a crew change, a helper, and a meet. The train's road power was SD45 5334, GP40-2 3125, GP40 3069 and GP30 3026, while 30 cars back six more geeps were being cut in for the climb up to Tennessee Pass. The helper set consisted of GP40-2 3107, GP40 3065, GP40-2's 3113 and 3110, GP35 3047 and GP40 3097, giving the train a total of 29,350 horsepower to move 6,000 tons! In the next 21 miles, the train would climb from 7,820 feet here to 10,200 feet at the east end of the Tennessee Pass Tunnel. Eighteen miles were on a 3% grade, while the middle three were slightly less than 2%. Before this line was closed to through traffic by the Union Pacific in 1996, Tennessee Pass was the highest mainline location in North America. |