Photo ID: 108691 Date Shot Photo By Thursday, June 10, 2021 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Moffat Tunnel Gilpin County, CO 749 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific The east end of the Moffat Tunnel is a rather fascinating complex. The tracks enter a man-made structure about 500 feet before they actually enter the mountain. This structure at East Portal is where the equipment to ventilate the tunnel is located. Gigantic fans are turned on and suck fresh air in from the west portal and blow out exhaust here at the east portal. At one point in the past, the fans blew fresh air in from the east portal, blowing the exhaust out the west portal. However, the town of Winter Park was not thrilled with the exhaust being blow out and around the ski resort and town, so the fans were reversed. If you are ever near East Portal when the fans activate, you will definitely hear them. Also visible in this shot is the Moffat Water Tunnel. A tunnel built parallel to the tracks, which brings water from the west slope to the front range, ultimately winding up in Gross Reservoir. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 108690 Date Shot Photo By Thursday, June 10, 2021 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed East Portal (5,750 ft) Gilpin County, CO 702 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak The westbound Zephyr comes around the final curve before the Moffat Tunnel alongside the siding and wye at East Portal. The Moffat Tunnel, as you can see, is dead ahead! The 6.2-long tunnel will take the train under the Continental Divide at the highest elevation of any remaining mainline in the United States, roughly 9,200 feet above sea level. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 108689 Date Shot Photo By Thursday, June 10, 2021 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed East of East Portal Gilpin County, CO 775 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak Just east of East Portal, the westbound Zephyr follows along South Boulder Creek and East Portal Road as it continues west toward the Moffat Tunnel. From the days before the Moffat Tunnel, the grade for Rollins Pass is visible on the left side of the frame. The old grade is now a dirt road that people enjoy driving, cycling, ATV-ing, and dirt biking on these days. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 108688 Date Shot Photo By Thursday, June 10, 2021 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed East of East Portal Gilpin County, CO 771 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak The westbound Zephyr crosses over East Portal Road just east of the siding of East Portal, about 1 1/2 miles east of the Moffat Tunnel. The Zephyr has a clear signal at the east end of East Portal, and will pick up a little speed as it will head in to the tunnel. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 108687 Date Shot Photo By Thursday, June 10, 2021 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed West of Tolland Gilpin County, CO 739 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak The landscape opens up a bit at (and just west of) Tolland. The westbound Zephyr passes underneath the "shifted load" detector - also sometimes referred to as a "high/wide" detector - just west of Tolland at MP 48. The Zephyr is currently under one of many slow orders, keeping its speed down to about 15 MPH. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 108574 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, February 27, 2021 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed CP DS047 (East Tolland) Gilpin County, CO 1295 (1 Comment Posted) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Ferromex A pair of Ferromex SD70ACes are on the front end of a westbound coal empty at Tolland. The green and red units are likely not use to this high altitude and snowy weather as the train is just a few miles east of the Moffat Tunnel. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 108573 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, February 27, 2021 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed CP DS047 (East Tolland) Gilpin County, CO 1016 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) BNSF A westbound BNSF coal empty knocks down a clear signal at the east end of Tolland as it charges west in the snow, a few miles east of the Moffat Tunnel. This would end up being the one and only train that ran on the Moffat during daylight hours on this chilly Saturday! Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 108432 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, August 2, 2020 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Tunnel 29 (MP 36.4, 75 ft) Gilpin County, CO 1210 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak The engineers in the lead P42DC cross over South Boulder Creek and now have a clear view of the green signal at the east end of Cliff. Passengers on the seven car (well, seven Superliner car) Zephyr have a brief flash of dark as they quickly move in and out of Tunnel 29. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 108431 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, August 2, 2020 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Tunnel 29 (MP 36.4, 75 ft) Gilpin County, CO 975 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak The shortest tunnel on the east slope of the divide is Tunnel 29. It is only 78 feet long, an the Zephyr is just about to quickly pop in to and out of the tunnel. Toward the left side of the frame, you can see rock that is quite a bit more red than the rest. this was once the location of Tunnel 28, which was daylighted (blown up, essentially) many, many decades ago due to frequent cave-ins. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 108430 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, August 2, 2020 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Tunnel 27 (MP 36.4, 650 ft) Gilpin County, CO 993 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak Just outside the west portal of Tunnel 27, the tracks and South Boulder Creek are just about at the same level. Looking straight down on the westbound Zephyr, it is cool to watch the train snake along the tracks alongside the river amidst the pine trees. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 108429 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, August 2, 2020 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Tunnel 27 (MP 36.4, 650 ft) Gilpin County, CO 982 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak On the approach to Tunnel 27, the westbound Zephyr is nearing the end of the Tunnel District. Here toward the west end, South Boulder Creek is coming up to the level of the tracks. On the other side of Tunnel 27, which is about 650 feet long, the river will near the same level as the tracks. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 108428 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, August 2, 2020 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Tunnel 26 (MP 35.2, 320 ft) Gilpin County, CO 976 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak The westbound Zephyr emerges from Tunnel 26 still quite a bit above South Boulder Creek. The west portal of Tunnel 26 was the location of a terrible disaster on September 30, 1991. A large rock fell and landed on the tracks by the west portal. An eastbound manifest struck the boulder and the lead two units rolled down the embankment to South Boulder Creek! Sadly, two crewman - Ed West (60, engineer) and John Beaird (47, brakeman) - were both killed. Two others - John Sacco (54) and Roy Alexander (47) were both injured, but survived. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 108317 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, July 7, 2020 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Cliff (6,900 ft) Gilpin County, CO 875 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) BNSF About halfway through Cliff on the main track, this BNSF Provo-Denver is rolling on clear signals alongside South Boulder Creek amidst a rapidly setting July sun. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 108315 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, July 7, 2020 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed East of Tolland Gilpin County, CO 898 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak The sun is getting low and is getting somewhat obscured by clouds, casting some crazy shadows as the Zephyr rolls east across South Boulder Creek just east of Tolland. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 108314 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, July 7, 2020 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed East Portal (5,750 ft) Gilpin County, CO 848 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak The westbound Zephyr rolls slowly through the siding at East Portal (to the left) as the eastbound Zephyr sits waiting on the main (to the right). The westbound Zephyr will stop very briefly to hand something off to the conductor on the eastbound Zephyr. Meanwhile, DS-78 is working on getting a clear signal for the Zephyr east. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture.

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