Waiting for the Ski Train in the siding at Cliff, UP's Roper to North Yard (MRONY) manifest sports two new ES44ACs. Colorado doesn't get much of the newer power (on UP), so it was a nice change of pace!
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At the west end of Rollins, the MNYPH-06 has an approach signal. Westbounds are stacked up between Tolland and East Portal, slowing down additional westbounds. A coal load sits waiting for a fresh crew in the siding to the right.
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A short MNYPH-06 - about 40 cars - heads west on the main at Rollins with a relatively new (less that two years old) ES44AC on the point for power. To the right, the CBRNKH-03 is tied down in the siding. The bosses in Omaha decided westbounds should rule the day and were fleeting west, causing eastbounds to get tied down at Rollins and Cliff.
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At the new east switch of Tolland, a loaded coal train - the CSMVL-28 - has a clear signal. The old east switch of Tolland used to be roughly 4,000 feet to the west! The siding was extended to the longest trains could fit securely east of the grade crossing near the west end.
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Tolland was recently extended to the east and it is now well over 9,000 feet long! It is now the longest siding on the Moffat east of the Moffat Tunnel. Here, the CSMVL-28 - a loaded coal train headed for the Valmont power plant in Boulder, CO - approaches the east end on a clear signal.
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At the west end of East Portal - milepost 50 - the MNYRO-01 comes to a stop on the siding. It is waiting to meet an eastbound coal load that is about to enter the tunnel in Winter Park.
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Not far west of Rollins, Amtrak 5 heads west along South Boulder Creek. It's not hard to see from this view why the California Zephyr is so popular between Denver and Glenwood Springs!
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Amtrak 5 is running about 30 minutes late as it passes the west end of Rollins. This is (and has been) a pretty typical consist for Amtrak for the past several years: Two P42s, a baggage car, three sleepers, a diner, a sightseer and three coaches.
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This westbound coal empty heads west out of Rollins. The train consists mainly of DEGX and NUCX cars. The train (symbol CMSSM-27) is headed for the North Fork branch for loading. The train will take the siding ahead at Tolland to allow Amtrak 5 to pass.
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Early morning clouds are keeping keeping direct sunlight from hitting Tolland where the westbound Ski Train is running on-time on its journey west. Note the yellow schoolhouse, once used to teach kids in Tolland.
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It's been nearly two years now since the bridge just east of Tolland was rebuilt, and this is still and fantastic shot. A few clouds enter the sky; a sign of the oncoming afternoon storms.
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After a two hour delay due to a broken coal train (which the crew did a fine job getting back into working order as quickly as they could), Amtrak 5 hustles west through the canyon between Rollins and Tolland. Fall colors are nearing their peak at this altitude.
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The (not-quite-metropolis) town of Rollinsville enjoys a quiet Saturday morning, save for the MNYPV rumbling west on the mainline led by a Phase-III SD70M. Rollins has been confused with Rawlins, WY in the past. A Renzenberger driver from Cheyenne was supposed to take a relief crew to Rollins late one night. When the crew woke up, they were approaching Rawlins, WY on I-80!
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UP's E-Units run east on the Moffat for only the second time ever on triple seven day (07-07-07). The valley of the Moffat Tunnel (and the Continental Divide) can be seen in the distance from this vantage point at Rollins.
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After a few Operation Lifesaver Specials in the Colorado High Country and on the Western Slope, UP's E-Units head back east on the Moffat on a sunny summer morning. The train is the hole at Rollins to meet Maintenance of Way.
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