I caught a Rio Grande unit in Houston on the evening of Dec 1st on my way home from work. This may not seem like much to non-Grande fans, but I had a heck of a time driving while trying to pick my jaw up off the floorboard of my truck at 75 MPH!

This is only the second Grande engine I've ever seen in Houston. Of course UP has patched her, but I was still darn happy to see her. If you're familiar with Houston, I caught her stopped on the UP line along the Hardy Toll road between 610 and the Beltway. The tracks are between the north and southbound lanes here, so it was impossible to get up close.

UP 1901 was DRGW 3155. She's a EMD GP60. I got this info from Nathan's site: DRGW.net

The other engine appears to be a repainted Southern Pacific Tunnel Motor.

I apologize for the low quality, I didn't have a camera with me. These were taken with my cell phone.  I've asked Santa for a camera to keep in my truck so I'll be prepared in the future.

 

I saw both engines again the following night leading a mixed consist south. Once again... no camera!

I'm hoping she'll be back in Lloyd Yard (Spring, TX) soon. If so, I'll take the camera and tripod and get some good pictures. Lloyd Yard is UP's main terminal on the north side of Houston and it's about a half mile from Casa de Rose.

These days anything with "Rio Grande" on it is pretty darn cool! And, of course, anything Grande related this far south is grounds to get pretty excited! =)