An eastbound Rio Grande coal train works through Parshall, Colorado, between the sidings of Flat and Sulphur on the grade toward the Moffat Tunnel on July 8, 1988. A pair of EMD SD40T-2 Tunnel Motors and a SD50 are up front, with another set of locomotives (“swings”) located back in the train (in the trees, above the building with the brown roof) in the background curve. Another set of helpers will be added to the rear of the train at Tabernash for the final climb to the tunnel, and these units frequently stayed on the train to help it down the long 50-mile grade to Denver.
