Photo ID: 107794 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, December 8, 2018 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Cliff (6,900 ft) Gilpin County, CO 1342 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific It is a bit of a sad morning as this eastbound manifest may mark the end of an era. This is the MRONY. Manifest, Roper, UT to North Yard, CO. Since the UP/SP merger in 1996, a manifest has run between Denver and Salt Lake City over the former Rio Grande, just as many such freights ran on Espee and the Grande before. Now, however, thanks to Precision Scheduled Railroading (PSR), UP is eliminating the train (and its westbound counterpart, the MNYRO). PSR aims to reduce car dwell times and focus on moving cars rather than trains. UP believes that Roper Yard in Salt Lake City is redundant to the other SLC Yard and its Ogden Yard. As such, Roper's usage will be reduced and traffic between Denver and Salt Lake City will move via Ogden (and the Overland Route) moving forward. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 107793 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, December 8, 2018 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Cliff (6,900 ft) Gilpin County, CO 1374 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific An SD70ACe-T4, an SD70M, and an SD70ACe lead an eastbound MRONY past some MOW equipment that is tied down on the siding at Cliff. UP recently replaced the bridge over South Boulder Creek located about halfway through the siding of Cliff. The old wood bridge was replaced with a new steel and concrete bridge. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 107792 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, December 8, 2018 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed West of Cliff Gilpin County, CO 1193 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak Not far west of Cliff, the tracks cross South Beaver Creek Road and South Boulder Creek (the actual creek!). On a sunny Saturday morning, an on-time Zephyr crosses the bridge over a largely frozen South Boulder Creek. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 107388 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, March 17, 2018 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed East of Tolland Gilpin County, CO 1214 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) BNSF Somebody grab a rag and a bottle of soap! Most engines these days don't generally get super dirty, largely thanks to cleaner emissions. However, that certainly doesn't mean they never get dirty. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 107387 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, March 17, 2018 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed East of Tolland Gilpin County, CO 1196 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) BNSF An SD70ACe that has seen a bit of exhaust is second out on this westbound BNSF unit sand train just east of Tolland. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 107386 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, March 17, 2018 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed East of Tolland Gilpin County, CO 1235 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) BNSF The skies to the west were mostly cloud-covered (over the divide), but a few pockets of blue sky were floating around. I was lucky enough to have one hit just as this westbound BNSF sand train came rolling by on the approach to a Diverging Approach (red over yellow) signal at East Tolland. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 107385 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, March 17, 2018 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed East of Tolland Gilpin County, CO 1221 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) BNSF Three SD70ACes lead this westbound loaded sand train through the canyon between Rollins and Tolland. The second and third units are so dirty, they are great 21st century representatives of Grande and Espee units from 40 years ago! That'll happen when you are only making 7-10 MPH through the tunnels in the Tunnel District! For those interested, note that I recorded some sound of these guys pulling...you can listen to them from this page. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 107051 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, January 27, 2018 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Tolland (9,356 ft) Gilpin County, CO 1186 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific A single DPU of Espee heritage brings up this westbound coal empty at Tolland. Between 1995 and 2005, this unit was actually SP 267. It was renumbered to UP 6263 on January 12, 2005. More recently, it received a full repaint to include the flag and the wings on the nose. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 107050 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, January 27, 2018 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Tolland (9,356 ft) Gilpin County, CO 1169 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific A bit of snow is kicked up by the blowing wind as a westbound coal empty continues west on the main at Tolland. The train will be coming to a stop at East Portal, however, as the Zephyr is currently in the Moffat Tunnel ahead. And, even after the Zephyr clears, the tunnel will have to be vented of exhaust fumes. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 107049 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, January 27, 2018 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Tolland (9,356 ft) Gilpin County, CO 1152 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific Lately, rather than stationing power in the yard at Glenwood Springs, UP has been running West Elk coal empties with the power they'll need already on the train. Here, five units lead the coal empty, and a single DPU is bringing up the rear. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 107048 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, January 27, 2018 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed East Portal (5,750 ft) Gilpin County, CO 1044 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak Passengers on board the California Zephyr have made a 4,000-foot elevation gain in the last 50 miles, going from (roughly) 5,200-feet above sea level in Denver to (roughly) 9,200-feet above sea level here at East Portal. In the distance, one of the peaks of the Continental Divide (in between James Peak and Mt Epworth) stands tall. Soon, the Zephyr will be underneath the divide! Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 107047 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, January 27, 2018 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed East Portal (5,750 ft) Gilpin County, CO 1218 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak As the westbound Zephyr crosses the grade crossing at East Portal, a bit of snow is kicked up! Cars crossing the tracks combined with blowing snow has resulted in a bit of a build up on the crossing. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 107046 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, January 27, 2018 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed CP DS049 (East East Portal) Gilpin County, CO 1185 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak Welcome to the highest point on any mainline still active in the United States! We are just over 9,100 feet above sea level at the east switch of East Portal, just over a mile away from the east portal of the Moffat Tunnel. Technically, the train does still have a little elevation to gain, as it will top out at 9,236 feet above sea level. Today's Zephyr, running a little tardy, glides through blowing snow and a chilly 5°F. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 107044 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, January 27, 2018 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Cliff (6,900 ft) Gilpin County, CO 1129 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific Even though UP is likely the single biggest customer of EMD engines, it is still more common to catch a GE leading a coal train on the Moffat. So, when an SD70ACe does happen to find itself on the point, it's always nice to get a few shots. Such is the case here as an SD70ACe heads toward the bridge that crosses over South Boulder Creek. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 107043 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, January 27, 2018 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Cliff (6,900 ft) Gilpin County, CO 1209 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific A westbound coal empty, led by a SD70ACe and four GEs, kicks up a bit of exhaust as it charges up the main at Cliff. Note the huge piles of old wooden ties toward the right side of the frame. Also not the code line on the right side of the image. This is used for PTC. This code line will not be found everywhere...only in places where reception is less than great. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture.

Previous Page     Next Page