To comment on the portions below.

> Last spring there was a mixed freight from the
> west. It had 90 loaded cars and 50 emptys for a
> total of 142 cars (12,659 tones, 9,077 feet long.)
> A lineup in 2005 showed a train with 250 cars
> going through the Roper Yard in Salt Lake City.
> This would have been about 14,000-15,000 feet - nearly
> 3 miles!

Although I can not say this is absolutely not true, I question it.
An EB 90 + 50 car train over Soldier Summit, if that is what was meant "from the west", is very questionable. The lineups I have had the chance to see have often shown monster trains but the reality is the trains are much smaller.
As for the monster train between Roper and SLC, once again based on a lineup.

> Empty trains coming from the west through
> Grand Junction commonly have around 105 cars.
> have around 105 cars. If one dies and has to be
> dogged, another one will pick it up, making a train
> of 210 cars coming into the Grand Junction Yard
> (about 11,000 feet.)

As for this one, I am familiar with this area. I live in Avon, CO (on TP) and the only 210 car trains I have heard of and seen in the last five years are the empties that were stored on the line around Wolcott a few years ago. When the cars were put back into service, the UP pulled two strings at once. No one had fun with this train.
Trains rarely die on the main around Grand Junction and if they do, a GJ based extra board crew is sent to get it.

Todd Busse