11 locomotive Southern Pacific freight train exits Tennessee Pass tunnel

There has been recent talk about opening up the long dormant Tennessee Pass in Colorado for hauling grain or crude oil. Here is a old video of a Southern Pacific freight train exiting the Tennessee Pass tunnel. Conrail power was not common but sometimes used during traffic surges. The D&RGW mid train helpers were cut off soon after reaching the summit and sent back down for another train. The Southern Pacific and the D&RGW railroads were both famous for often using a absurd amount of locomotives on a train (I once saw photos of 23 locomotives on one D&RGW train). One of the reasons was locomotives often overheated or died out in the thick black smoke in the tunnels. I grew up in Denver but didn't film or photograph the D&RGW or SP very often as their locomotives were always filthy dirty (regrettably). They were also not the most rail fan friendly railroad. Hopefully Tennessee Pass will open again and we can get some great high quality video. Filmed in early 1990's.