A four hour wait at Laramie for westbound Amtrak No.5 turned into twice that long as the train was running about 4 hours late, apparently quite a normal occurrence. Still there was plenty of passing trains on the Union Pacific main line to keep us entertained, of which the following are a small sample.
An eastbound freight headed by Union Pacific SD40-2 No.3483, a Union Pacific GP30B and Burlington Northern Nos.5619 and 6396.
The eastbound Amtrak No.6 leaving Laramie with Union Pacific E9 No.951 leading two Amtrak SDP40F locomotives. UP 951 was retired in July 1980 but reinstated in 1984 as part of the Union Pacific's heritage fleet, although its been out of use since 2017 requiring new wheels and axles to return it to service.
A westbound freight headed by Union Pacific U30C No.2902 and Chicago & North Western SD40-2 No.6932.
The Laramie switcher - Union Pacific GP9 No.170.
A westbound piggyback van train headed by 3 Union Pacific units, the first two being 'Centennial' DD40X locomotives, the largest diesel electric locomotives ever built, with No.6914 leading.
Another westbound with 160 cars headed by Union Pacific SD40-2 No.3482, Burlington Northern No.5618 and Southern Pacific and Chicago & North Western units.
From Laramie we travelled west by Amtrak No.5 on one of the roughest rides I've ever had on a mainline train, trying to make up time on a track battered by heavy freight trains. We were due to change at Ogden on to Amtrak No.25 'The Pioneer' for the journey north to Portland, but with no chance of making the connection we were taken off at Green River and then had a 4 hour bus ride (in the dark !) to catch The Pioneer at Pocatello at about 2 am.
In Portland we managed to locate Southern Pacific GS4 No.4449, stored in a warehouse near the Union Pacific roundhouse. It was still in the red white and blue livery it received for the "Freedom Train" specials in 1975 to commemorate the United States Bicentennial and had last been used for a special train just two months before our visit. (sorry about the poor quality of this photo !)