Photo ID: 111064 Date Shot Photo By Friday, September 13, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Crescent to Cliff (MP 31.8 to MP 36.7) Boulder County, CO 35 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) BNSF Just west of the siding of Crescent, deep in the middle of the Tunnel District, a westbound oil train curves toward the east portal of Tunnel 19, just out of view to the left. The train crosses one of dozens of fills in place to accommodate the rails here in the Colorado Rockies. Off in the distance, you can see the dam the creates Gross Reservoir. Indeed, the dam is currently undergoing a project to raise its height by 131 feet. If you look closely, you can see some climbing cranes on the scene, being used in the construction. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 110993 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, September 1, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Cliff (6,900 ft) Boulder County, CO 35 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak A pair of P42DCs in Phase 5 paint lead the evening Zephyr across the grade crossing in Cliff. The train is 45 minutes late as it rolls through the small town of Cliff. Rumor has it the State of Colorado hopes to expand rail service, potentially reinstituting some depots in small mountain towns such as Pinecliff. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 110992 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, September 1, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Cliff (6,900 ft) Boulder County, CO 32 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific A westbound oil train...the third overall of the afternoon...is sitting in the siding at Cliff waiting for the afternoon Zephyr. The Zephyr is running about an hour late and is not too far west of Cliff as of this shot. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 110991 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, September 1, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Cliff (6,900 ft) Boulder County, CO 23 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific A single C44ACM, sporting UP's newest paint scheme, brings up the rear of this westbound unit oil train. The train is going into the siding at Cliff to meet the eastbound Zephyr. A multitude of power lines crisscross, supplying electricity to the handful of residents that live in Pinecliff. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 110990 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, September 1, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Tunnel 27 (MP 36.4, 650 ft) Boulder County, CO 30 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific Nearing the west end of the Tunnel District, a westbound unit oil train has emerged from Tunnel 27. Tunnel 27 is one of the longer tunnels in the district, and it has (roughly) 90° curve in the middle of it, so you cannot see one portal from the other. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 110989 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, September 1, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Crescent to Cliff (MP 31.8 to MP 36.7) Boulder County, CO 44 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific An SD70ACe leads a westbound oil train west out of Crescent toward Tunnel 19. The wires you see to the right and above the train is a slide fence. It held keep rocks off the rails. If a large enough rock breaks through one or more of the wires, it automatically changes the signals protecting the block red and alerts the dispatcher. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 110988 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, September 1, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Crescent (5,550 ft) Boulder County, CO 31 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific You can peek out onto the plains at the area around Interlocken near the Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport as a westbound oil train comes around the curve west of the grade crossing at Crescent. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 110987 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, September 1, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Crescent (5,550 ft) Boulder County, CO 38 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) None Construction continues on the Gross Dam project. The project will ultimately raise the dam by 131 feet, tripling the capacity of the water in the reservoir. As you can see, the dam is being reinforced by thickening the front of the dam. Once the reinforcements has risen to the height of the existing dam, it will continue to build upward. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 110986 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, September 1, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Crescent (5,550 ft) Boulder County, CO 35 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific While there is no train in this shot, I thought it was a pretty cool overview of Crescent. It is kind of difficult to tell from the ground that the siding is really built on a (near) 180° curve. In the top-left quadrant of the shot, you can see the west portal of Tunnel 18. Where the tracks disappear on the right side of the shot is Tunnel 19. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 110980 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, September 1, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed CP DS032 (West Crescent) Boulder County, CO 38 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific Would not mind having the views the owner of the house has near the top of this shot! Among other things, they look down on trains like this oil train, which just knocked down a clear (green) signal at the west end of Crescent. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 110977 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, September 1, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Cliff (6,900 ft) Boulder County, CO 47 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific An eastbound oil train approaches the grade crossing at Cliff. This time of year, snowpack throughout the Rockies is essentially at its lowest. Save for just a few small patches, the Continental Divide is completely free of snow off in the distance. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 110920 Date Shot Photo By Friday, August 16, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Boulder County, CO 42 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) None Although there are no trains in the shot, Gross Reservoir is a landmark that few people on the California Zephyr miss when rolling through Crescent. A massive, roughly five year project is underway right now to raise the dam by 131 feet. That increase will increase the capacity of reservoir by nearly 200%! The reservoir currently has a capacity of 13.6 billion gallons. That will increase to 38.7 billion gallons once the project is finished. As you can see, reinforcements to the front of the dam have started and is slowly climbing the dam. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 110919 Date Shot Photo By Friday, August 16, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Tunnel 22 (MP 33.0, 164 ft) Boulder County, CO 37 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak In the middle of the upper Tunnel District, the westbound Zephyr passes in and out of Tunnel 22, one of the shorter tunnels in the district at 164 feet in length. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 110918 Date Shot Photo By Friday, August 16, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Crescent to Cliff (MP 31.8 to MP 36.7) Boulder County, CO 37 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak The westbound Zephyr is running right on time as it leaves Crescent behind and approaches the east portal of Tunnel 19. Off in the distance, you can see the dam that has created Gross Reservoir. This is one of the main water sources for the City of Denver. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 110917 Date Shot Photo By Friday, August 16, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed CP DS032 (West Crescent) Boulder County, CO 36 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak The westbound Zephyr rounds the bend at the west end of Crescent. The train will pass through a cut before reaching Tunnel 19. The cut is protected along the sides and even over the top by a slide fence. If rocks fall, the wires will help deflect them from the track. If the rocks are large enough to break through the fence, signals will automatically drop to red, the dispatcher is informed, and an automated message is broadcast over the radio on the road channel. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture.

Next Page