Photo ID: 111941 Date Shot Photo By Monday, March 10, 2025 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Leyden (7,020ft) Arvada, CO 108 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific UP 6023 and UP 8312 pass the string of low side gondolas that have now been stored in the siding here at Leyden for a little over five months. It would have been great for the dispatcher to have Leyden available today as it would have been the perfect spot for a meet with an eastbound BNSF oil train. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 111940 Date Shot Photo By Monday, March 10, 2025 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed CP DS012 (East Leyden) Arvada, CO 109 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific A pair of units lead a westbound coal empty at a clear (green) signal at the east end of Leyden. Prior to this train, the last UP coal train I shot on the Moffat was in December 2024. That's not to suggest that was the last one that ran. Only that they are rare enough that I go quite a bit of time in between seeing them these days. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 111939 Date Shot Photo By Monday, March 10, 2025 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Arvada to Leyden (MP 7.5 to MP 11.9) Arvada, CO 110 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific UP 6023 is rolling west at a restricted speed of about 15 MPH. There is a spurious track occupancy between the intermediate signal at MP 9.7 (at Kipling Street) and the east end of Leyden. Consequently, the signal at MP 9.7 was red. Since it is an intermediate and not an absolute signal, the crew does not need authority for the dispatcher to pass, but they do have to continue at restricting speed, prepared to stop short of any obstructions on the track. The train is crossing Church Ditch, approach a clear (green) signal at East Leyden. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 111938 Date Shot Photo By Monday, March 10, 2025 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Arvada Siding (MP 6 to MP 7) Arvada, CO 120 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific As the last unit on a BNSF oil train rolls away on Main 1 to the left, a UP coal train is ready to throttle up and head west on Main 2 (over to the main track) at Arvada. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 111937 Date Shot Photo By Monday, March 10, 2025 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Arvada Siding (MP 6 to MP 7) Arvada, CO 112 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) BNSF A westbound UP coal empty is ready to charge west on Main 2 at Arvada, as the three DPUs on the tail end of an eastbound BNSF oil train roll by on Main 1. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 111936 Date Shot Photo By Monday, March 10, 2025 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Arvada Siding (MP 6 to MP 7) Arvada, CO 106 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific Unfortunately, with the siding at Leyden still full of low side gondolas in long term storage, and a BNSF manifest blocking the siding at Rocky, there was no place for this westbound coal empty to go until this eastbound BNSF oil train arrived here at Arvada. Now, with the oil train rolling by, the engineer has turned the headlight on and is ready to go when they get a signal. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 111935 Date Shot Photo By Monday, March 10, 2025 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed CP DS007 (Arvada) Arvada, CO 143 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) BNSF BNSF 5826 knocks down the signal at CP DS007 at Arvada as it continues east, moving from the main track to Main 1. The switch here at Arvada is a high speed switch. It actually has to switch motors as it has a moveable point frog. Rather than a solid chunk of steel, the frog point moves similar to a switch point. The oil train here is taking the non-diverging route. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 111934 Date Shot Photo By Monday, March 10, 2025 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Wadsworth Blvd (Overpass) (MP 7.65) Arvada, CO 135 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) BNSF I really enjoy an telephoto shot of a unit train, regardless of what type of unit train it is. The long line of uniformity looks mighty nice to the eye. Here, an eastbound BNSF oil load crosses the Wadsworth Bypass overpass as it approaches the signal at Arvada (CP DS007). Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 111933 Date Shot Photo By Monday, March 10, 2025 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Arvada Siding (MP 6 to MP 7) Arvada, CO 106 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific While coal on the Moffat, the king commodity of the route 20 years ago, has basically vanished, it is not gone completely. Every so often, a coal train will show up. Today happened to be such a day, with an AC4400CW and an SD70ACe for power. No DPUs mid-train or on the end. UP will likely send some light power west...or some power on the MNYGJ...for DPUs on the journey east. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 111932 Date Shot Photo By Monday, March 10, 2025 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed CP DS020 (East Eisele (Clay)) Arvada, CO 138 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) BNSF, Union Pacific The engineer on the eastbound BNSF oil load has turned the headlights back on the bright after the lead unit of this westbound UP oil empty has passed by. The UP train is headed to a transload facility in Utah. The same place the BNSF train came from. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 111931 Date Shot Photo By Monday, March 10, 2025 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Big Ten Curve (MP 19.5 to MP 20.2) Arvada, CO 134 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific Four UP units, the leader being a recently repainted C44ACM, leads this UP oil train west along the south edge of Big Ten Loop. The train will go in the siding at Eisele (Clay) to meet an eastbound BNSF oil load that is on the main, waiting. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 111930 Date Shot Photo By Monday, March 10, 2025 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Eisele (Clay) (5,780 ft) Arvada, CO 234 (1 Comment Posted) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) BNSF The BNSF train to the left and the UP train to the right are both currently facing south (geographically). However, the BNSF train at Eisele (Clay) is eastbound and the UP train at Rocky is westbound. The UP train will climb up and around Big Ten, taking the siding at Eisele to meet the oil load. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 111929 Date Shot Photo By Monday, March 10, 2025 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Big Ten Curve (MP 19.5 to MP 20.2) Arvada, CO 117 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific A westbound UP oil empty meets a BNSF manifest (tied down in the siding at Rocky) and heads toward an Approach Diverging (yellow over yellow) signal at west Rocky. In a few minutes, the train will enter into the siding at Eisele (Clay), the track second away from the camera in the foreground. While it is only about 2,500 feet (as the crow flies) between the signals here at Eisele and the ones at Rocky, it is about 1.5 miles by rail to cover the distance (around Big Ten). Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 111928 Date Shot Photo By Monday, March 10, 2025 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Eisele (Clay) (5,780 ft) Arvada, CO 113 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Kansas City Southern, BNSF Between late 2018 and early 2019, Kansas City Southern decided to dip a toe into the Tier-4 locomotive lineup, purchasing 25 GE ET44ACs. One example, KCS 5010, just happened to be the second unit on an eastbound BNSF oil train here at Eisele. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 111927 Date Shot Photo By Monday, March 10, 2025 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Eisele (Clay) (5,780 ft) Arvada, CO 123 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Montana Rail Link, BNSF With MRL units now owned by BNSF and, consequently, in the general power pool, they are rolling through the Denver more often. This makes me happy as it is allowing me to get more pictures of them before they are inevitably repainted BNSF orange at some point. This shot makes the 12th MRL SD70ACe I've been able to shoot. It is the third unit on the head end of an eastbound oil train on the main at Eisele (Clay). Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture.

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