971364 Powder River Basin: Four parallel tracks at Logan, Wyoming, Oct. 4, 1997 (looking north from the Steckley Rd. bridge). On the leftmost track, a loaded Union Pacific coal train with a remote-controlled rear-end helper (visible at the center of the photo) is headed south. On the next track over, an empty coal train is is headed north towards the mines. On the third track from left, a loaded BNSF coal train is headed south. The rightmost track was not not in use due to track machinery south of this location.

The four tracks were a temporary situation during the rebuilding of the route over Logan Hill from tracks on 15 foot centers to tracks on 25 foot centers. Three tracks with greater distance from each other actually offer more capacity than four closely spaced tracks. When maintenance work is in progress on closely spaced tracks, adjoining tracks frequently also have to be shut down for safety reasons. So, if the maintenance is in progress on an inside track, three tracks would actually have to be shut down. With the greater track spacing, trains can safely operate on adjoining tracks without endangering work crews.

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