Photo ID: 106398 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, February 5, 2017 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Leyden (7,020ft) Arvada, CO 1350 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) BNSF On Super Bowl Sunday, a Grand Junction based crew takes BNSF's Denver-Provo west on the main at Leyden in wonderful late afternoon light. The lead unit is an ES44C4, but in an odd number range. Nearly every unit in the 4000s currently on BNSF's roster is a C44-9W. There are 100 units (BNSF 4200-4299) that are ES44C4s. They are Tier 4 "credit" units. BNSF saved up some emissions credits to be able to order these Tier 3 units after the Tier 4 deadline. Some of note is the quality of the camera in the iPhone 7 Plus. I just happened to notice this train as I was driving and stopped for a few shots. I didn't have my Canon with me, so I use the old iPhone instead. Not bad quality at all! Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106396 Date Shot Photo By Friday, January 27, 2017 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Leyden (7,020ft) Arvada, CO 1313 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) BNSF A single ES44C4 brings up the tail end of an eastbound Provo-Lincoln manifest on the main at Leyden. Many of the businesses BNSF (and Utah Railway) handle in the Salt Lake area use tank cars, so it is quite common to find large number of tank cars on BNSF manifests on the Moffat. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106395 Date Shot Photo By Friday, January 27, 2017 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Leyden (7,020ft) Arvada, CO 1477 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) BNSF A quartet of BNSF GEs lead the Provo-Denver trackage rights train east down the main at Leyden. The lighting was absolutely perfect for this train, although it was a chilly morning. Only 9°F on the thermometer at this point! I believe BNSF tends to call its eastbound trains out of Grand Junction at a fairly consistent time as it is not uncommon to find an eastbound BNSF east of the Moffat Tunnel at or shortly after sunrise. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106394 Date Shot Photo By Friday, January 27, 2017 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Leyden (7,020ft) Arvada, CO 1250 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) BNSF After an overnight run from Grand Junction, BNSF's Provo-Lincoln manifest glides east down the main at Leyden. As you can see from the plow of BNSF 6759, there is still plenty of snow in the Colorado high country! Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106386 Date Shot Photo By Wednesday, January 25, 2017 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Leyden (7,020ft) Arvada, CO 1408 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak I was hoping that this 14-hour-late Zephyr might actually be late enough to be held at Rocky or Leyden in order to meet the morning Zephyr. Turns out that wasn't the case...dispatch got the train as close to Denver as possible. #6 had to hold at the Pecos Crossover to wait for #5, causing it to lose even more time. The station in Denver can now only support two non-commuter trains. Most of the year, that would allow both #5 and #6 to be in the station at the same time if necessary. But right now, in January, the Winter Park Express Ski Train is taking up one of the tracks, requiring the very late #6 to wait at Pecos. Here, the train is headed toward a clear signal at east Leyden. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106385 Date Shot Photo By Wednesday, January 25, 2017 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Leyden (7,020ft) Arvada, CO 1464 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak One of the challenges of shooting the Zephyr in the Denver area is the time of day the train comes through. Both Zephyrs are typically backlit as the westbound Zephyr leaves in the morning and the eastbound Zephyr arrives in the evening. Once in awhile, though, one of the Zephyr will run late...so late that the tables are turned. Such a turning of the tables happened on this frigid January morning when the eastbound Zephyr (from the day before) was 14 hours late! That allowed for a run in to Denver in the early morning light. Here, the train is moving at track speed on the main at Leyden. A fresh dusting of snow on the mountains in the distance. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106384 Date Shot Photo By Wednesday, January 25, 2017 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Leyden (7,020ft) Arvada, CO 1465 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak The eastbound Zephyr heads down the main at Leyden in...morning light? Yep! Due to problems on Donner Pass, yesterday's Zephyr got delayed 14 hours!!! While I certainly feel bad for the passengers and crew, it was great shooting the Zephyr in Denver in morning sunlight. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106383 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, January 24, 2017 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Leyden (7,020ft) Arvada, CO 1464 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific While the MRONY had an all-EMD consist on the head end, it is not an all-EMD consist for the entire train! The sole DPU on the tail end is an ES44AC. This train must have topped 6,000 feet in length. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106382 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, January 24, 2017 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Leyden (7,020ft) Arvada, CO 1472 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific This GP40-2 (of Espee heritage) is catching a lift on the MRONY from Grand Junction to Denver. It is likely due for a 90 day inspection that will be done at North Yard. Hopefully no major issues are found. With Burnham closing nearly a year ago now, if there are any major issues, the unit will need to be shipped to North Little Rock, AR for repairs. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106381 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, January 24, 2017 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Leyden (7,020ft) Arvada, CO 1520 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific One particularly nice thing about overcast days like this one is it allows for some good shots from the north side of the rails! On a sunny day, regardless of the time of year, most of this eastbound manifest would be cast in shadows here at Leyden. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106368 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, January 21, 2017 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Leyden (7,020ft) Arvada, CO 1289 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) BNSF BNSF 4700-4719 were the last units delivered to BNSF in the Warbonnet scheme before orange completely took over. One of the units from this range (as well as one of the older ones from the 3-digit range) showed up on the Denver-Provo on this Saturday morning. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106367 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, January 21, 2017 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Leyden (7,020ft) Arvada, CO 1365 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) BNSF I got a heads up Saturday morning that BNSF's westbound Denver-Provo manifest would likely have two Warbonnets in the consist. Based on the way it appeared in the computer, it looked as though the Warbonnets were going to be the DPUs on the end of the train. Alas, the computer was playing games. Turned out they were second and third. But still, a pair of Warbonnets, regardless of where in the consist, is something I'll take any day! Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106366 Date Shot Photo By Wednesday, January 18, 2017 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Leyden (7,020ft) Arvada, CO 1321 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific The power on the head end of this eastbound has a pretty good variety of "through the years GE engines"! The first and fifth units are good old AC4400CWs. The second and third units are much newer ES44ACs. The fourth unit is a C44/60AC. This was once an AC6000CW with a 6000 HP prime mover. But after the relative failure of the 6000 HP experiment of the late 1990s and early 2000s, UP has converted it back to a 4400 HP prime mover. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106365 Date Shot Photo By Wednesday, January 18, 2017 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Leyden (7,020ft) Arvada, CO 1322 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific These days, it is fairly typical for UP to run trains over the Moffat (including manifests) with 3-4 units on the point and 1-2 DPUs on the tail end. A little unusual to find five units all on the point. No complaints here though! The five GEs look good leading a unit covered-hopper train east toward North Yard. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106364 Date Shot Photo By Wednesday, January 18, 2017 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Leyden (7,020ft) Arvada, CO 1324 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific An unusual eastbound UP manifest heads down the main at Leyden. Five units on the point and then a train of covered hoppers. Other than the MNYRO/MRONY, this is the only other manifest that runs semi-regularly on the Moffat. This is the MPHNYX. It came from Phippsburg on the Craig Branch and most of these covered hoppers came from customers in the Craig, CO area. I say this train (and its counterpart, the MNYPHX) is semi-regular because it only runs once a month or so! It only runs as necessitated by demand. That is why the "X" is on the end of the symbol. That indicates "Extra", or unscheduled. Catching it at Leyden on this day was pure luck! Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture.

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