Photo ID: 111634 Date Shot Photo By Friday, January 3, 2025 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Blue Mountain Drive (MP 22.43) Arvada, CO 283 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) BNSF 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. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 111633 Date Shot Photo By Friday, January 3, 2025 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Eisele to Plain (MP 21.8 to MP 24.0) Arvada, CO 250 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) BNSF 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! Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 111632 Date Shot Photo By Friday, January 3, 2025 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Eisele to Plain (MP 21.8 to MP 24.0) Arvada, CO 267 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) BNSF 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! Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 111614 Date Shot Photo By Friday, January 3, 2025 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Eisele to Plain (MP 21.8 to MP 24.0) Arvada, CO 264 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak 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. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 111613 Date Shot Photo By Friday, January 3, 2025 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Eisele (Clay) (5,780 ft) Arvada, CO 295 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak 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. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 111612 Date Shot Photo By Friday, January 3, 2025 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Leyden to Rocky (MP 13.4 to MP 17.4) Arvada, CO 311 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak 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. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 111611 Date Shot Photo By Friday, January 3, 2025 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Leyden to Rocky (MP 13.4 to MP 17.4) Arvada, CO 256 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak 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. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 111610 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, December 31, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Arvada to Leyden (MP 7.5 to MP 11.9) Arvada, CO 279 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) BNSF 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. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 111609 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, December 31, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Arvada to Leyden (MP 7.5 to MP 11.9) Arvada, CO 279 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) BNSF 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. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 111608 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, December 31, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Arvada to Leyden (MP 7.5 to MP 11.9) Arvada, CO 203 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific 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. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 111607 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, December 31, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Arvada to Leyden (MP 7.5 to MP 11.9) Arvada, CO 199 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific 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. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 111606 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, December 31, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed CP DS013 (West Leyden) Arvada, CO 256 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak On the final day of 2024, I decided to try to replicate the first shot I took on New Year's Day to start the year. You can see the photo that I am referring to, taken at the west switch of Leyden. Getting the westbound Zephyr at this same spot today felt like a nice way to book end the year. It was a record-setting year for ColoradoRailfan. I added 1,627 photos to my site, obliterating the previous record of 1,060 that I set in 2023. I look forward to bringing more pictures to everyone in 2025! Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 111605 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, December 31, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed CP DS019 (West Rocky) Arvada, CO 285 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific At the west end of Rocky, an eastbound UP oil train takes the siding, meeting a westbound oil empty. These oil trains have truly given new life to the Moffat over the last 1-2 years. Granted they are not nearly as common as coal trains once were, but they have increased the average number of trains in a 24 hour period from 5-6 to 7-8. UP 5919 is taking the siding not only to meet the empty on the main, but also to meet the westbound Zephyr, currently around Utah Jct. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 111604 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, December 31, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed CP DS019 (West Rocky) Arvada, CO 179 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific The conductor for this westbound oil train is on the ground, ready to give a roll by to an eastbound oil load that will take the siding. As you can see, the switch is bent for the siding, and the signal is showing a red-over-yellow (Diverging Approach) aspect for the approaching train. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 111603 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, December 31, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Big Ten Curve (MP 19.5 to MP 20.2) Arvada, CO 288 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific On the final day of 2024, an eastbound UP unit oil train wraps around the east edge of Big Ten Curve, continuing its descent toward Rocky. A recently rebuilt (and repainted) C44ACM leads the train, with a ET44AC second. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture.

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