A final closing shot for the day as a pair of BNSF's DPUs bring up the tail end of the Provo-Denver. You can see the control point name, "DS016 Rocky" clearly on the signal control box here at the east end of Rocky. The train is disappearing around the bend into Barbara's Gulch.
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With only (roughly) 17 miles to go until reaching the yard, this eastbound BNSF manifest leaves Rocky behind and starts into the narrow west end of Barbara's Gulch. Not far ahead, the top speed for freight trains will increase, and the train should make good time from here on in to Denver.
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This is a classic shot from the Moffat, but one that I never really get tired of! This eastbound BNSF manifest is on clear (green) signals on the main at Rocky. The DPUs at the end of the train are headed geographically north, but will soon wrap through Little Ten Curve, following the rest of the train eastbound.
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Just before 2pm, BNSF's Provo-Denver is making its way through the multiple curves between Tunnel 1 and the west end of Eisele (Clay). Although there are six units on the head end, only three of them are actually online. The trailing three are all catching a ride on the train this afternoon.
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BNSF 9037 is blowing its horn as it approaches the grade crossing at Blue Mountain Drive, rolling along at track speed. In the distance, you can clearly see the back half of the train, still descending from Tunnel 1 on the other side of CO-72.
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Six units lead BNSF's Provo-Denver manifest out of Tunnel 1 and down the hill toward the base of Coal Creek Canyon. The conductor has his window open on BNSF 9037 as it is actually unseasonably warm here. Temperatures are right around 50°F (10°C) this afternoon!
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East of Plain, this BNSF manifest snakes through the S-Curves leading it to the west portal of Tunnel 1. From this vantage point above Tunnel 1, we can look back in the distance and see most of the City of Boulder. BNSF's Front Range Subdivision runs through middle. You can also find the University of Colorado (Boulder) there!
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Just west of the west switch of Eisele (Clay), we get a nice look at the Winter Park Express as it continues west, right on time. Note the orange bag covering the coupler of AMTK 75. This is used to prevent snow from building up in the knuckle of the coupler. In Fraser, the power will be run around the train, and AMTK 75 will be coupled up to the train for the trip back east.
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AMTK 75 and AMTK 146 are power for the Winter Park Express Ski Train this morning. If you look close, you might notice a Rio Grande herald sticker has been applied to the side of the nose of AMTK 75! A nice little homage to the history of the train.
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Mostly overcast skies are reducing light, resulting in a slight blur of the lead units on the morning Winter Park Express Ski Train here. At some point in the next few weeks, two more coaches are slated to show up to extend the length of the train. For now, five Superliners (four coaches and a lounge car) house the skiers.
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There is a temperature inversion east of Denver, creating a low layer of clouds over the ground. As the sun is rising, it is creating a bright blast of light to the east as the westbound Winter Park Express heads west out of Leyden.
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The final shot of 2024 for me! Six BNSF units - all GE except for a single SD70ACe - lead a westbound oil empty through Arvada on the way west to Wellington, UT. From there, the power will be changed and the train will return east in a 3x3 configuration. That, of course, will happen in 2025.
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After waiting for about 15 minutes at Arvada (CP DS007), this BNSF oil empty gets its turn on the single track main of the Moffat to head west. As is pretty common on BNSF oil trains, six units are on the head end of the train, though only three of the units are actually online and loading. The trailing three are currently just catching a ride.
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After several hours of overcast skies this morning, the sun has largely broken through the clouds to light up the three units on the point of this eastbound loaded oil train, wrapping through the cut around MP 9 in the middle of Arvada.
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Between Arvada and Leyden, in the middle of Arvada, the tracks go through a cut that is surrounded by some trees and gives it a real rural look, despite being in the city. UP 5919 leads a loaded oil train through the cut, headed toward Bypass 2 in Denver for some power changing and a crew change.
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