There was confusion as to whether this train would make it up Byron Hill unassisted. The original plan was for the shovers to give the train a push, but due to an abundance of trains, that helper set was still attached to a train at the top of the hill, and several northbounds were in the way. Ultimately this X340 train was instructed to stop, and when the southbound ahead eventually cleared, X340 made a hard charge. The three big EMDs were able to lift the train's 13,933 tons up the hill at 13 MPH.