Photo ID: 110775 Date Shot Photo By Thursday, July 25, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Blue Mountain Drive (MP 22.43) Arvada, CO 63 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak It is a beautiful July afternoon as a 1-hour-late Zephyr makes its way through the curves just east of the grade crossing at Blue Mountain Drive. While other long distance trains...the Empire Builder in particular...have started to get a lot of ALC-42 "Chargers" on them, the Zephyr is still running with P42DCs. Rumors are floating around that perhaps the new Chargers will start showing up on the Zephyr in 2025. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 110774 Date Shot Photo By Thursday, July 25, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Detector (MP 22.6) Arvada, CO 69 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak I get the opportunity to get pictures of the eastbound Zephyr less often than the westbound Zephyr, so it is always nice when I can get out in the evening. Additionally, while the westbound Zephyr always departs Denver (when it is on time) in daylight, the eastbound Zephyr descends from the Moffat Tunnel in darkness several months through the winter. Here, the eastbound Zephyr is passing the detector at MP 22.6, approaching the grade crossing Blue Mountain Drive. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 110773 Date Shot Photo By Thursday, July 25, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Eisele to Plain (MP 21.8 to MP 24.0) Arvada, CO 77 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak Running just about an hour late, the evening Zephyr descends the roughly 2% grade from Tunnel 1 down toward the base of Coal Creek Canyon. You can see the tracks to the right on the other side of CO-72, where the Zephyr will be momentarily. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 110770 Date Shot Photo By Wednesday, July 24, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed CP DS020 (East Eisele (Clay)) Arvada, CO 71 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific UP's MGJNY is approaching the east end of Eisele (Clay). The crew just called up DS-380 to inform him that the hotbox detector at MP 22.6 gave an axle count that did not match the count in the crew's paperwork. The detector indicated five more cars than what the crew believes they have. Consequently, operating procedures indicate the train cannot exceed 30 MPH for the rest of the trip in to Denver. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 110769 Date Shot Photo By Wednesday, July 24, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Eisele (Clay) (5,780 ft) Arvada, CO 397 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific It is only 10 o'clock in the morning, yet it already 80°F (27°C) as UP's MGJNY rolls east on the main at Eisele (Clay). Several strings of covered hoppers were picked up at Bond after being dropped off by the Phippsburg Local. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 110768 Date Shot Photo By Wednesday, July 24, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Blue Mountain Drive (MP 22.43) Arvada, CO 60 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific When this manifest departed Grand Junction, it had four units (three on the point, one DPU) and 84 cars. When it departed Bond, three more units had been added to the head end, and 57 cars had also been added to the train! The 57 cars were from industries located on the Craig Branch in the Steamboat and Craig area. The train is making its way through the curves below Tunnel 1 and at Blue Mountain Drive. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 110767 Date Shot Photo By Wednesday, July 24, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Eisele to Plain (MP 21.8 to MP 24.0) Arvada, CO 57 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific At the base of Coal Creek Canyon, a UP manifest rolls east with six units on the head end. This is, indeed, the only regularly scheduled manifest that UP still runs on the Moffat. It runs three times a week (each direction) between North Yard in Denver and Grand Junction. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 110766 Date Shot Photo By Wednesday, July 24, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Plain (6,530 ft) Arvada, CO 40 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific A Phase 3 SD70M is second out on UP's MGJNY (Manifest, Grand Junction, CO to North Yard, CO). In general, locomotives are not tagged by graffiti...unless they've spent some time in the LA or Houston area! A small amount of tagging is behind the cab on this particular SD70M. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 110765 Date Shot Photo By Wednesday, July 24, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Plain (6,530 ft) Arvada, CO 44 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific UP 9811 is leading UP's MGJNY, currently stopped in the siding at Plain to allow the westbound Zephyr to pass by. UP 9811 was originally a C44-9W. However, the unit has been converted from DC traction motors to AC traction motors and it is now designated as a C44ACM. Rebuilding older units is the way Class 1 railroads are moving, rather than buying new Tier-4 compliant units. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 110764 Date Shot Photo By Wednesday, July 24, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Eisele to Plain (MP 21.8 to MP 24.0) Arvada, CO 48 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak The morning Zephyr snakes its way west through the S-Curves just west of Tunnel 1. Around the bed ahead, the train will face an approach (yellow) as a long UP manifest...too long to fit between switches, waits in the siding. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 110763 Date Shot Photo By Wednesday, July 24, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Eisele (Clay) (5,780 ft) Arvada, CO 38 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak With Amtrak's Phase 7 paint scheme being the new official scheme moving forward, the days of predominately silver long distance trains is, to an extent, coming to an end. The silver Zephyr rolls west through Eisele (Clay) on a July morning. The big question is what will happen to the Superliners? Will they continue to roam the rails in the Phase 4b scheme, or will Amtrak also turn them blue and red (with some white) in a type of Phase 7 scheme? Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 110762 Date Shot Photo By Wednesday, July 24, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Big Ten Curve (MP 19.5 to MP 20.2) Arvada, CO 42 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak This is something of a "go to" shot for me in the mornings as, during this part of the climb to Big Ten, westbound trains are technically headed geographically east, creating great light. AMTK 72 leads a standard Zephyr consist on this particular morning. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 110761 Date Shot Photo By Wednesday, July 24, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Rocky (7,330ft) Arvada, CO 46 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak On a very hazy July morning, the Zephyr makes its way west on the main at Rocky, approaching little Ten Curve. The haze in the area is due to (common-in-summer) forest fires currently burning in Oregon and North California. Unfortunately (as far as the smoke goes), the winds are calm and there is no rain in the forecast, so haze it is. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 110760 Date Shot Photo By Monday, July 22, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Chemical (MP 14.5) Arvada, CO 76 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) BNSF BNSF 704, sporting one of the most popular paint schemes in railroading (the Warbonnet Scheme) is the second unit on this eastbound BNSF Provo-Denver. The Warbonnet does have an order battery cover behind the cab. This component is compatible with all like models, and is frequently changed out. Also of note, half the nose has just be straight up repainted in red. Regardless, the unit still looks mighty good, nearly 30 years after the BNSF merger. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 110759 Date Shot Photo By Monday, July 22, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Chemical (MP 14.5) Arvada, CO 69 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) BNSF A pair of C44-9Ws, one in Heritage 2 paint and one in the Warbonnet scheme, lead two ES44ACs as this eastbound manifest approaches the switch to the old Chem Spur. The spur has now been out of service for about a decade. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture.

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