AMTK 11 and AMTK 167 lead the morning Zephyr, running about 1 hour and 15 minutes late, on the main at Eisele (Clay). A fresh bit of frost covers the trees and a bit of the grass.
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A different perspective on Big Ten from what you might be used to. The westbound Zephyr, sporting a Phase 7 P42DC in the second position, rolls west on the south edge of Big Ten, approaching a clear signal at the east end of Eisele (Clay).
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The Zephyr heads west along the south edge of Big Ten Curve as seen from a small retaining pond and several frost trees in the area.
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BNSF's Provo-Denver leaves Leyden and approaches the grade crossing at 80th Avenue on a very gloomy, overcast Friday morning. The train met the Ski Train at Rocky and now has a clear shot in to Denver.
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A 20 to 30 foot section of the Rocky Spur is missing just south (west) of the CO-72 grade crossing. This is likely due to the commercial construction taking place in the area. This means that the five covered hoppers you see in the distance are currently completely isolated as the track is also severed near the CO-93 grade crossing.
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The Winter Park Express (Ski Train) departed from Denver Union Station nearly two hours late this morning. It seems the reason might be due to a mechanical issue with one of the coach Superliners. The train, which had the standard six coaches yesterday, only has five this morning.
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Five covered hoppers sit on the Rocky Spur, east of a 50 foot gap in the rails. It appears that a ditch has been dug, perhaps to lay some plumbing. The covered hoppers have been sitting here for several months. Not sure what is going on with the aggregate plant at the north end of the spur.
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Interestingly, I noticed that a 50 foot section of the Rocky Spur (Rocky Flats Industrial Lead) has been removed just east of the CO-93 grade crossing. This appears to have something to do with the commercial construction happening in the area on either side of the spur.
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An SD70ACe leads BNSF's daily Provo-Denver east by the hotbox detector at MP 22.6. The train is approaching the grade crossing at Blue Mountain Drive. The train will take the siding at Rocky to meet nearly 2-hour-late Winter Park Express!
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The final DPU on an eastbound oil train shows evidence of the heavy snows the train faced in the Colorado high country on the journey east. Snow is on the front porch, and has actually built up in some of the air intakes along the long hood of the ES44AC.
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BNSF typically runs loaded oil trains on the Moffat in a 3x(0)x3 configuration. However, this particularly load has a somewhat interesting 3x(0)x4 configuration. There are indeed four DPUs on the back end of the train here, tied down in the siding at Rocky. Rime ice brings a muted, powdery effect to the area.
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It's hard to get a shot that feels much colder than this. Despite the relative lack of snow on the ground, the thick rime ice that has formed on the vegetation is bone-chilling. A BNSF oil train sits in the siding at Rocky, tied down and patiently waiting for a fresh crew.
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An eastbound BNSF oil train is tied down in the siding at Rocky, awaiting a crew to come out of Denver to take it the rest of the way in. Plenty of snow from the Colorado high country is built up on the plow of the lead unit.
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This scene has an almost other-worldly quality to it with rime ice stuck to the pine trees and a lot of the vegetation. The reddish dirt and rock stand in stark contrast as the 90 minute late westbound Zephyr approaches the east portal of Tunnel 1. The little bit of fog floating around adds to the curiousness of the morning.
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Rime ice is formed by fog (precipitation in the air) freezing onto vegetation. However, the rime ice typically does not form on rocks and dirt. The result is the ability to tell at a glance what is vegetation and what is not! The red rock face to the right creates a stark contrast to the winter white pine trees to the left as the Zephyr splits to two, climbing toward Tunnel 1.
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