Two BNSF trains negotiate the grades on Mullan Pass west of Helena, Montana, on Montana Rail Link as late afternoon shadows play hide-and-seek over the twisting trackage climbing out of Austin on July 1, 2020. An empty grain train rolls downgrade, and is about to meet a freight working up the 2.2 percent grade. Directly above the head end power of the trains is a four-unit set of MRL EMD SD70ACes in a mid-train manned helper set giving the freight a needed boost up the grade. The second and third cars of the westbound freight are carrying two new 3-foot gauge locomotives built by National Railway Equipment Company for the White Pass & Yukon in Alaska.
