Doug Harrop retired from Union Pacific in 2003. He hired out with the Southern Pacific in 1967 in Arizona. He left the management ranks a decade later to return to Utah to enter engine service out of Ogden. Known for his photographic coverage of Utah, Harrop’s enthusiasm for railroads took him across the continent. He died in 2014 at age 73.
With Southern Pacific SD45 No. 8800 first out, an Ogden, Utah-to-Roseville, Calif., manifest departs Ogden in summer 1978. The author, an SP engineer at the time, notes on the back of the print that this locomotive was “very dependable down thru the years.” Doug Harrop photo
A long Union Pacific grain train, headed by five EMD and GE units, struggles up the long curve near Hammett, Idaho. The train is climbing out of the Snake River Valley, which is the notch on the horizon. Doug Harrop photo
The east side of the Wahsatch range provides one of the West’s prettier backdrops as Union Pacific SD40-2 No. 3302 hustles a manifest east through Mountain Green, Utah, in December 1978. Doug Harrop photo
Utah Railway’s Provo Turn struggles up the 2.4% grade of the Price River Canyon behind three leased Union Pacific SD40s in June 1978. On Track 1 in the distance, a Rio Grande freight slowly overtakes the Utah coal drag. Doug Harrop photo
The combined Wattis and Hiawatha turns are recognized by the caboose in the middle of the train. The trains have completed their work and are easing down the 2% grade back to Martin, Utah, on this June 20, 1980. Doug Harrop photo
On a perfect February 1982 day, a Utah Railway Hiawatha Turn departs Martin Yard for another day at the mines. Four Alco RSD12s create a smoke scene that was not often seen in the diesel era. The photographer notes that No. 402 was often the smokiest of the coal hauling railroad’s units. Doug Harrop photo
On a perfect February 1982 day, a Utah Railway Hiawatha Turn departs Martin Yard for another day at the mines. Four Alco RSD12s create a smoke scene that was not often seen in the diesel era. The photographer notes that No. 402 was often the smokiest of the coal hauling railroad’s units. Doug Harrop photo
