A westbound oil empty climbs up and around Big Ten, the tail end passing by the site of a minor derailment five days ago. An SD70ACe-T4 leads the empty as it approach a red over yellow (Diverging Approach) signal at the east switch of Eisele (Clay).
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This BNSF oil train is running east through the siding at Rocky. The train is passing a rocky train tied down on the main. The train will head west out of the siding tomorrow to drop rip rock along the right-of-way.
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This rock train is set up in a push-pull operation. UP 6300 is on the east end of the rock train, and is currently tied down. Note the red flag just east of the unit. This particular AC4400CW is approaching its 30th birthday. It was delivered as SP 319 in July 1995.
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A UP rock train is tied down on the main at Rocky. The main between switches is currently out-of-service. All of this rip rock is going to be placed rail side, much of it on Big Ten Curve to shore up the tracks on the relatively soft ground.
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This eastbound BNSF oil train creeps through a work zone on Big Ten Curve. This was the location of a derailment last Friday. One truck on BNSF's Provo-Denver derailed. Since then, UP has started a broader construction project to shore up the rails.
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Lately, there have been quite a few Norfolk Southern units showing up on the Moffat, leased from NS for BNSF. Not sure why that is the case, but here is a (rebuilt) AC44C6M in the middle of two BNSF units, leading an oil train eastbound.
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An eastbound BNSF oil train has two BNSF units with a Norfolk Southern cut in between the two of them. The train is slowing for a 10 MPH slow order through a work zone just ahead on the other side of Big Ten Curve.
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An eastbound UP manifest is tied down on the main, short of the grade crossing, at Plain. The manifest is waiting for a crew to untie the train and take it east to North Yard. Meanwhile, the Rocky Mountaineer rolls west through the siding.
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The Rocky Mountaineer throttles down a bit as it enters into the siding at Plain. An eastbound UP manifest, the MGJNY, actually died on the main here at Plain (meaning the crew hit their max hours of service). Until a new crew can come out from Denver, all trains will have to run through the siding.
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The westbound Rocky Mountaineer is using the SD40M-2 and SD18M, in addition to one of the GP40-3s, for power this morning. The SD18M and GP40-3 kick up quite a bit of exhaust as the train accelerates.
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This westbound rail train is sitting on the siding at Rocky, and has come to a stop. The train is waiting on MOW to clear up west of Rocky. Once they get the green, the train will head west to drop off some strips of rail at various locations between Plain and Cliff.
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A track tamper, which has been working on Big Ten Curve, and a hyrailer are both rolling east down the grade back toward the main track at Rocky. They are clearing up for a westbound rail train.
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The second of two units on this westbound rail train is UP 3055. This is one of roughly 100 Tier-4 EMD units that UP has on their roster. The complexity and expense of the units has resulted in minimal sales in the United States. Class 1 railroads are instead choosing to rebuild older units on the roster to give them an extended life. It is cheaper than investing in the Tier-4 units.
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After meeting two eastbound trains at Arvada, it was finally this rail trains turn to head west. The train only has a handful of strips of welded rail, which are to be dropped off in various locations between Plain and Cliff. As the summer draws closer, maintenance projects are beginning to pick up!
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A long string of tank cars loaded with waxy oil rolls east through the heart of Arvada, led by an SD70ACe. BNSF and UP both run oil trains on the Moffat that load at the Wash transload facility near Wellington, UT. UP seems to run a few more trains than BNSF, but catching either is not uncommon.
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