Ten years ago, it would have been absurd to think of a coal train as something of a "special catch" on the Moffat. These days, however, coal trains sometimes come days apart. So, it is always rather nice catching one, such as this eastbound at Leyden.
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Two rather unusual UP trains meet here at Leyden. Coming toward the camera is an eastbound coal load with only 74 cars. Waiting to head west in the siding is a unit covered hopper train.
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This old crane has spent a lot of time on Moffat in its history. It was originally built to serve the Denver and Salt Lake railroad nearly 100 years ago. It is now being transported to Granby where it will be part of the (future) Moffat Museum.
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Two UP units take a classic Denver and Salt Lake (steam-powered) crane west from Denver to Granby. The train kept its speed at 20 MPH (or so) on the trip west. Several guys on the back of the crane ensure the move was safe.
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You may recall that back on February 17, 2018, UP pulled a GP30, a crane, and a caboose out of the storage yard at Burnham. The crane was destined for the (future) Moffat Museum in Granby. On this Saturday, the move was finally made! An SD70M and an SD70ACe take the crane west at Leyden.
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The westbound Zephyr has a typical consist as it charges west out of Leyden. The train includes a transition sleeper (crew car), two sleeping cars, a dining car, a lounge car, and two coaches.
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An old Santa Fe Warbonnet, that actually shows no signs of even having been patched, sits on the Denver-Provo in the siding at Leyden.
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This westbound Denver-Provo departed the yard in Denver around 11:30pm the night before! For some reason, it went in to the siding at Leyden and remained there overnight. Unsure when the train would depart, I got a quick shot of it on the "sunny side" this morning.
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A single ES444C brings up the tail end of this Denver-Provo manifest. This is one of 100 ES44C4s that have been delivered since Tier-4 units became required. It is a "Tier-4 Credit unit", which is why it is the 4200 number range.
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An ES44DC is sandwiched by two C44-9Ws as this westbound Denver-Provo has a fairly typical consist of three units on the point and one DPU on the tail end. BNSF runs their trains on the Moffat with this configuration of power more often than not lately.
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Now that the manifest is in the clear on the siding, this sand train received a clear signal from the dispatcher to start pulling west out of Leyden. The two DPUs are already in Run 8!
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While a loaded sand train sits on the main (you can see its two rear DPUs to the left), an eastbound manifest with a matched set of ES44s rolls slowly east on the main at Leyden. The train is facing a red signal at the east switch as another westbound (the BNSF Denver-Provo) is coming west out of town.
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A CREX ES44AC and an SD70ACe bring up the tail end of this loaded sand train at Leyden. Five units will be enough to get this guy up the hill, but not quickly! It'll take over three hours before it makes it to Winter Park.
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I have heard from several engineers that the ES44C4, which is an A1A-A1A unit, is not ideal for heavy trains. It is more designed for fast trains in relatively flat terrains. Looks like the power desk in Denver may have agreed today as two ES44ACs and an SD70ACe lead this loaded sand train west at Leyden.
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It looks as though oil is picking up in Utah again as BNSF oil-related traffic has certainly increased on the Moffat in 2018. Here, a loaded fracking sand train heads west at Leyden.
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