Just came across an amazing two-part article in the New Yorker Magazine of all places(October 3 and 10 editions) about life on the UP, focused on coal trains in the PRB. Written by John McPhee who is an excellent writer by any account... you'll find this technically 99.999% accurate down to discussions on ruling grades, dynamic braking and fallen flags. Excellent! Hopefully you can find it in a library if interested.
Railroad Forums
Railroad article in the New Yorker
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