| A Rio Grande 6-unit helper set -- consisting of GP40-2 3107, GP40 3065, GP40-2's 3113 and 3110, GP35 3047 and GP40 3097 -- heads into the east portal of the Tennessee Pass tunnel. The locomotives had just boosted a 45-car eastbound coal train up the 3% grade from Minturn up to the top of the pass. They had been cut into the train 30 cars back, and were now returning to their base at Minturn. At 10,221 feet, the east portal was the highest mainline track in North America. The tunnel the locomotives are entering was built in 1945; while the original tunnel, built in 1881, was on the right. |