Oh Rio, Rio dance across the Rio Grande. Utah Railway MK50-3 5003 leads a train of 22 tank cars (and a hopper car acting as a buffer car) eastward from Provo to Helper on March 14th, 2015. UTAH 5003 was built in 1994 by MPI as Southern Pacific MK5000C 503 (Caterpillar powered), and in the late 1990s it was repowered with EMD components to make it, internally, an SD50. After testing on the Utah, it was purchased by the railroad in November 2000. Rio, on the former Rio Grande, sits at an elevation of 5280 feet (1609.3m) – exactly one mile high! And the line climbs 3000 feet (914.40m) in elevation in the fifty miles (80.4762km) between Provo and Soldier Summit. In the distance is Loafer Mountain – not the most appropriate name for a 10,689 foot (3258.0m) peak. (Thanks to James Belmont for much of this information!)
