No, this isn't one of those "April Fools" style posts that, sadly, have become very frequent on this board. Here's what's happening:

UP is doing track work between Evanston, WY and Wahsatch, UT. At Wahsatch, they have the east end of the eastbound main out of service. This matters because there is a line separation from Wahsatch to just east of Emory (the top end of the old road east from Echo).

So: UP is temporarily running only one main from Emory to Wahsatch. Worse, it's the westbound main, which is the steeper one. That's where the manned helpers come in.

Yesterday, I saw at least 4 trains between Echo and Emory, waiting for a chance to go up the hill. When they get a chance, they use the center siding at Emory as a (very long) crossover. There was also a set of 2 SD70s, manned, in the eastbound bad-order setout track at Emory. Eventually, they pulled these out to help a loaded coal drag up the hill. (At least, I assume that's what they did. They had the coal drag in the center siding and the helpers beside the DPU on the eastbound main, and then they just stopped and waited for something. I didn't have a scanner with me, so I don't know what they were waiting for. And that's where they stood when I ran out of time and had to run.)

Oh, yeah, the center siding switches are manual. There was one guy in a pickup running back and forth between the two ends of Emory siding throwing switches.

Anyway, there's a lot of unusual activity at Emory right now. I don't know how long it will last, but if you get a chance, it's worth watching...