It is 9:30pm and the crossing gates at 80th Avenue are coming down in advance of a 3 1/2 hour late eastbound Zephyr. Alas, the shot of the Zephyr through the crossing did not turn out.
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Safe travels on the journey west, #5! The westbound California Zephyr hustles down the main at Plain toward the start of the Tunnel District and some spectacular scenery for passengers.
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The westbound Zephyr climbs the roughly 2% grade in a powdery, snow-covered scene the morning of January 8, 2024. The train has just snaked its way through the curves at the base of Coal Creek Canyon and is about to disappear in to Tunnel 1. The first of 28 tunnels the train will pass through before reaching the Moffat Tunnel.
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The rails on the siding at Eisele (Clay) are still covered with fresh snow after a January storm let about 4" of the white stuff fall overnight. The westbound Zephyr is about two hours late as it navigates the way through the curves on the main near the west end of Eisele (Clay).
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It is only around 20°F (-7°C) outside this morning and there is a blanket of fresh snow greeting passengers on the Zephyr this morning as the train climbs up toward Big Ten Curve.
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Overnight in the Denver-Metro, an average of around 4" of snow fell. The Zephyr is running about two hours late this morning, and a few westbound freight trains have already come through, cleaning the snow off the rails.
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As the westbound Been Run makes its way on the Golden Sub through Arvada, an RTD Gold Line commuter train overtakes the freight on its (dedicated) single track mainline.
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An SD70ACe and an SD70MAC lead two SD40-2s and train on the Beer Run, heading to Golden. The two SD40-2s will be used as power on the "Golden Switch", which runs six days a week out of the (upper) Golden Yard.
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BNSF's Beer Run is crossing underneath Ralston Road on the east side of Arvada. The trains is running parallel to RTD's Gold Line (commuter rail). The G-Line drops from two tracks to a single track when heading west here.
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Three units emerge from Tunnel 1 on the point of a westbound oil empty that is climbing through the terrain of the front range of the Rockies. The back of the train is visible at the top of the frame, and is in fact about 100 feet lower in elevation then the head end of the train.
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An oil train consisting of roughly 90 cars is making its way around Big Ten Curve. The three units on the head end are rounding the curve from Big Ten in to Eisele (Clay). The single DPU is several feet lower, climbing up toward Big Ten from Rocky.
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A westbound UP oil empty wraps around the east edge of Big Ten Curve along the wind break hoppers. The head end is now on the south edge of Big Ten, heading toward Eisele (Clay). The buffer car is a classic CP Rail "Pac-Man" covered hopper.
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The engineer of the westbound Zephyr gives a friendly wave out the window as the train moves at track speed up toward Tunnel 1.
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The overcast skies provide a nice opportunity to get a shot of the Zephyr wrapping through the curves at the base of Coal Creek Canyon. In the distance, you can see the steal tower that lies right along the rails between Leyden and Rocky.
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The westbound Zephyr is moving at track speed as it approaches a clear (green) signal at the west end of Leyden. The Zephyr is still sporting the typical seven Superliner consist that it has generally had throughout the winter.
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