Wyoming's Powder River Basin may possibly be the last great American rail frontier. In the 1970s, the Burlington Northern and the Chicago & North Western Railroads laid trackage into the new mines that were being opened to harvest the low sulfur coal that lies buried under forty percent of the state. Since then, growing numbers of coal trains have been rolling out of the Powder River Basin, headed for distribution around the world.

Pentrex captures the excitement as these heavy trains move out of the Basin. Helper engines are required to get the loaded trains over White Tail Hill and the north end of the Basin. We'll climb aboard a set of helpers as they give a 14,000-ton train a shove up the mountain.

You'll see new General Electric C40-8 locomotives, painted in a darker yellow paint scheme, as they work the coal trains of the Chicago & North Western. Burlington Northern coal trains are headed by a great mix of newer and older generation locomotives.

Heavy ballasted mainline now runs where no railroad existed twenty years earlier. The 136-pound rail is laid on concrete ties to support the weight of train after heavy train. Wyoming's wide open spaces provide a dramatic and ever-changing backdrop as we witness the non-stop action of Powder River Basin Coal Trains.

90 Minutes
In Color with Live Audio and Narration
Packaged in Plain Wrap
Produced by Pentrex 1992

PRB