Rolling through the cut between Tunnels 2 and 3, the westbound Zephyr is right on time as it approaches the east portal of Tunnel 3. There was a light dusting of snow overnight, some of which is still slightly clinging to the trees.
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The west end of Plain is surprisingly cluttered with some poles and a few power lines. But it is also incredibly beautiful as the siding collapses back into the main, the westbound Zephyr rounding the curve toward Tunnel 2.
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At the west switch of Plain, the crew on the head end of the Zephyr just called in "checkpoint Plain", which the conductor on the train acknowledged. Just around the bend in the foreground, the train will disappear into the east portal of Tunnel 2.
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Emerging from Tunnel 2, the last run of the Winter Park Express for the season faces a clear (green) signal at the west end of Plain. The train is having a great run back to Denver. It will end up arriving back in Denver about 25 minutes early.
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The final run of the Winter Park Express Ski Train for the 2024-2025 winter season is rolling east, emerging from the east portal of Tunnel 7 in the lower part of the Tunnel District.
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There was a temperature inversion along the Front Range this morning, and the City of Boulder is currently buried in clouds. Passengers aboard the Zephyr, heading into Tunnel 4, have a somewhat unique view of the plains.
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A BNSF eastbound oil train wraps through the S-Curve at Rainbow Cut on the main at Plain. A KCS unit and an MRL unit are part of the head end consist today.
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In the cafe on the sightseer/lounge car, you can see the self-serve snacks that you can grab, as well as the menu showing everything available to passengers. Most folks that order in the morning get coffee, hot chocolate, or tea. Quite a few bar selections are served for the return trip to Denver.
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There is a sightseer/lounge car on the Winter Park Express Ski Train. The cafe is open for the trip up and the trip back, allowing passengers to buy a variety of food and drink. The cafe car attendant is based in Chicago, and spends 2-3 weeks in Denver, away from home, to work and serve customers on the journey.
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Just west of the west portal of Tunnel 7, the westbound Zephyr passes through a cut as the head end rounds the bend toward the east portal of Tunnel 8.
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Hard to beat the view of powdered pine trees out the window of the Zephyr as the train approaches the east portal of Tunnel 6 in the lower half of the Tunnel District.
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It is nothing short of amazing that in an era when a computer would have been something of a Sci-Fi novel, surveyors scouted along what is now the grade of the Moffat Tunnel on the edge of the Colorado Rockies and said "sure, we can build a railroad there"! Like tens of thousands of trains before it, the westbound Zephyr passes over fills and through a cut on the approach to Tunnel 3.
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At the west switch of Plain, the westbound Zephyr enters the narrow single track territory of the Tunnel District. The head end is just about to enter into Tunnel 2, and there will be another 15 closely spaced tunnels after Tunnel 2 before the train reaches the next siding of Crescent, and the end of the lower half of the Tunnel District.
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This has come to be one of my favorite views on the Moffat along the Front Range. "Sister" units AMTK 180 and AMTK 179 lead an on-time Zephyr through a powdery white scene about halfway through the siding of Plain.
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In between Tunnel 3 and Tunnel 4, the westbound Zephyr is creeping along at restricted speed. Right around 10 MPH (16 KPH). The train received a restricting signal at the west end of Plain and will continue at this speed until (at least) the east portal of Tunnel 10, the location of the next signal. The head end of AMTK 159 is just about to duck into Tunnel 4.
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