FL9

Unfortunately I only made one trip to Colorado back in 1985 while the Denver & Rio Grande was a separate entity.  Those slides will turn up one of these days.  By the time I returned in October of 1996, the Rio Grande had vanished into the Southern Pacific which in turn on September 11th of that year was merged into the Union Pacific.  With a little help from friends, bits and pieces could still be found.  Here for example are two venerable GP30’s on the Rocky Flats local with the front range in the background.

While today you can go to the Colorado Railroad Museum and see F-7A #5771 anytime, back in 1996 it was being stored for the museum inside the Coors Brewery.  After shooting the GP30’s in the morning, later that same day we looked at its roofline behind some equipment and a tall fence.  We decided nothing ventured nothing gained, so we asked a security guard at a nearby gate if we could go in for a few minutes to photograph it.  Even though we were in a far corner of the complex, we were surprised when he said to get in, get our shots, and get back out.  Maybe he was a closet foamer?  We soaked up the history as quickly as we could, and I took this head on shot that looks like the engine could still be in service; sitting in an engine terminal somewhere on the system awaiting its next assignment.

Tomorrow I will share another lucky Rio Grande catch.