The Denver & Rio Grande Western has long since faded into the realm of railroad lore (having been assimilated by the Union Pacific in 1996). Yet, here, on a Saturday morning just south of Pittsburgh, a Wheeling and Lake Erie crew makes good use of two former Rio Grande SD40T-2 tunnel motors in original livery ("tunnel motors" were specially-built with engine ventilation systems, characterized chiefly by air intake grates mounted low on the rear of the locomotive body, designed to operate in long, diesel smoke-choked Rocky Mountain tunnels). Lashed up to a pair of W&LE GP units, these old workhorses switch cars at Rook Yard in Greentree before taking a train to Monessen. The W&LE has done an admirable job of keeping the spirit of the Rio Grande alive, keeping these old units in original paint and painting its newer units in a similar style.
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