It can be a bit of a challenge getting shots in the area around West Cliff as it is on the north side of a mountain and, as such, almost always cast in shadows. However, this shot of an eastbound BNSF oil train turned out quite well.
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BNSF 5830 leads a unit oil train across the South Beaver Creek Road grade crossing about a half mile west of Cliff. This road leads from CO-72 to Pacolus, a private neighborhood along the tracks and South Boulder Creek between Cliff and Rollins.
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In the canyon between Tolland and Rollins, this BNSF oil train is quickly rolling east at track speed. The crew is running short on time, with only two hours left to work. For now, the train is following South Boulder Creek and Tolland Road, trying to get as close to Denver as possible with the time left.
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BNSF 5830 and two additional GEs lead an eastbound loaded oil train across South Boulder Creek about a mile east of the east switch of Tolland. You could not ask for a more perfect morning on the last day of August, with barely a cloud in the sky. The peaks in the distance are the Continental Divide, which the Moffat Tunnel runs beneath.
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The westbound Zephyr has taken the siding at Tolland to meet an eastbound BNSF oil train, which is holding the main. In the distance, peaks of the Continental Divide extend above 12,000 feet above sea level, taking the tops above timber line.
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The passengers on the Northern Sky are getting a first class view of the Colorado high country. You can see a handful of them hanging out in the vista dome in the private car.
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AMTK 207 leads an on-time westbound Zephyr across South Boulder Creek, just east of Tolland. The train will be taking the siding at Tolland to meet an eastbound BNSF oil train, which is already waiting on the main. The Zephyr will be taking the siding as DS-378 is trying to keep the oil train moving as it's crew is short on time.
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I found this perspective about a week earlier, and wanted to give it another try with the Zephyr. The train is right on time as it passes west on the main at Rollins. With a keen eye, you might note that there is a private car on the end of the train this morning.
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A look at the Rocky Mountaineer in the siding at Rollins from the north side of the rails, just before the train passes underneath the "Peak-to-Peak" highway, CO-119.
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RMRX 8020 and RMRX 8021 both spit out a blast of exhaust as the engineer increases the throttle by a notch. The train has cleared the east switch of Rollins, and is now running west through the 8,320-foot long siding. The sun glints off South Boulder Creek to the right.
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Exiting from the extremely narrow canyon just east of Rollins, the westbound Rocky Mountaineer enters into the siding at Rollins. UP had some track and time on the main track at Rollins, so the mornings trains were routed in and out of the siding.
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The westbound Rocky Mountaineer is approaching Tunnel 30, the final tunnel the train will pass through prior to reaching the Moffat Tunnel. There are not a lot of shots from the Tunnel 30 area, as it is remote and isolated from the other tunnels between Denver and the Moffat Tunnel.
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At Pactolus, in between Cliff and Rollins, the westbound Rocky Mountaineer passes by a small (private) lake and the Lincoln Hills Fly Fishing Club.
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UP 4533 crosses over South Boulder Creek just east of Tolland with 10 cars in tow. The Engineering special is checking out the tracks between Denver and Grand Junction today, and will continue west through the desert and over Soldier Summit tomorrow, in to Salt Lake City.
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Since entering the drone era, I have really enjoyed exploring parts of the canyon between Rollins and Tolland. In this shot, a UP engineering special, led by a single SD70M, heads west through the canyon under partly cloudy skies.
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