A westbound Southern Pacific freight follows the Arkansas River just west of Cotopaxi, Colorado, on Rio Grande’s original mainline route through the Royal Gorge and over Tennessee Pass on September 4, 1995. Powering the train is a pair of SP EMD SD40T-2 Nos. 8521 and 8547, followed by a SP SD40M-2 in a SD45 carbody and Cotton Belt GP40M-2 No. 7286, a rebuilt GP40.
The EMD SD (special duty) series are a strong and reliable kind of locomotive which still serve America's rails today. They have proved themselves reliable by clocking in several million miles of freight service over several decades.
