At the start of Golden Hour, you couldn't ask for better light as a westbound BNSF oil empty charges west out of Leyden. BNSF pretty consistently runs their eastbound oil loads in a 3x(0)x3 configuration. Consequently, it makes sense that this westbound empty has six units on the head end. Three of the unit move to the east end of the train for journey back east.
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West of Leyden, the morning Winter Park Express is about 30 minutes late as it kicks up fresh snow. The train encountered an issue with a switch in Denver, causing the delay of getting out of town.
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A single ES44AC brings up the tail end of this eastbound BNSF coal empty. Prior to the start of this Valmy coal train a few years ago, I never thought I would see a coal load running west on the Moffat or, as in this shot, an empty coal train running east.
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The sun is just a few degrees above the eastern horizon as the Winter Park Express heads the opposite direction, away from the rising sun and toward the Rocky Mountains and the Winter Park Ski Resort.
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Shortly past sunrise, the sun glints off the Superliners of the westbound Winter Park Express, just west of Leyden. Clear skies and the early morning create a perfect gold hour.
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A trio of SD70ACes leads this eastbound Provo-Denver as it approaches the west end of Leyden. While much of the mid-west is buried under multiple inches of snow, the Denver area has seen hardly any snowfall so far this winter season.
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The westbound Zephyr came to town with an extra coach this morning. The extra coach was dropped off in Denver because one of the coaches on the Winter Park Express has defective bathrooms. The coaches will be swapped out tonight, and the defective coach will likely head to Chicago tomorrow evening. Here, the Zephyr is just west of Leyden.
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The Winter Park Express is hustling along at track speed west of Leyden as some snow is falling. This is the first day of expanded service. Two coaches were added to the Winter Park Express this week. This is the longest the train has been under Amtrak in the last few years.
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Even though the sun has technically risen, it stills looks to be blue hour out as the Winter Park Express heads west at MP 14. There is a small winter storm blowing through this morning. Snow is lightly falling, but the wind is blowing hard. It is 30°F (-1°C) out, but with the wind, it feels like it is about 10°F (-12°C).
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Just west of Leyden, the Winter Park Express Ski Train is making its way west. Two additional coaches have been added to the train since last weekend. Amtrak worked with Winter Park and the State of Colorado to expand service. The train will have seven cars (six coaches plus the lounge car) for the rest of the season, and it will run Thursdays through Mondays!
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Mechanical issues before departing Chicago, and then severe weather in the mid-west has resulted in a more than five hour delay for the westbound Zephyr when it departed Denver today. Just west of Leyden, the train is making track speed, attempting to make up time.
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Mostly overcast skies are reducing light, resulting in a slight blur of the lead units on the morning Winter Park Express Ski Train here. At some point in the next few weeks, two more coaches are slated to show up to extend the length of the train. For now, five Superliners (four coaches and a lounge car) house the skiers.
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There is a temperature inversion east of Denver, creating a low layer of clouds over the ground. As the sun is rising, it is creating a bright blast of light to the east as the westbound Winter Park Express heads west out of Leyden.
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The first P40DC that I've seen on the Zephyr in awhile, AMTK 824, showed up on the westbound Zephyr this morning. Now, in reality, AMTK 824 is now a P42DC after having been rebuilt. But it still retains its P40DC number on the roster. The two units are leading the train at track speed as it hustles west. The body of water in the distance is Standley Lake, a source of drinking water for the Denver suburb of Westminster.
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Just west of the west switch of Leyden, the Zephyr is headed west at track speed. Note the cars in the siding at Leyden in the background. This is not actually a train (per se), which is to say it does not have power. These open gondolas have been sitting, tied down in long term storage for a little over two months now, removing Leyden as a siding the dispatcher can use for meets.
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