Mid-August is the time of year when sunflowers typically bloom in Colorado, and this August is no exception. The mainline is lined with lots of sunflowers as a BNSF coal load passes by a clear (green) intermediate signal at MP 14.5, just west of Leyden.
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Three units on the head end of this coal load (yes...a load...) work hard to keep the train moving just west of Leyden. The coal was sourced in the Powder River Basin in Wyoming, and is headed for the Valmy power plant in Nevada.
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The first of two BNSF SD70ACes on the tail end of a westbound manifest crosses over Indiana Street. The bridge, amazingly, is still lettered for Rio Grande, 36 years after the end of Rio Grande. There is a second SD70ACe, but it was facing into the train. I figured I'd cut it out of the frame as the unit facing away from the train looks a bit better.
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After meeting the Zephyr at Eisele and meeting a UP oil train at Rocky, the train will meet a BNSF manifest at Leyden, just ahead. UP 9576 looks pretty sharp in the new UP paint scheme. 15 years ago, most of the buildings (and houses) visible in this shot did not exist. This western most part of Arvada has grown a lot.
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This season has seen the power on the Rocky Mountaineer consistently inconsistent! Seemingly on a weekly basis, the power has switched from Rocky Mountaineer GP40-3s to UP SD70Ms and back again. On this Wednesday, UP power is on the point again as the train blasts west of Leyden, the Denver skyline in the distance.
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The "48" has almost entirely worn off the side of the P42DC, the last unit on the Zephyr this morning. The paint scheme overall is looking a bit shoddy, and it seems like AMTK 48 would be a good candidate for a repaint in to the new Phase 7 scheme sooner rather than later.
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A UP C44AC-CTE, now rebuilt as a C44ACM, is leading the westbound Zephyr on an afternoon that brought some much needed moisture and cooler temperatures to the area. There has been no significant rain in weeks, and temperatures have been well into the 90°Fs (32°Cs). Today, the temperature is very pleasant 60°F (15°C).
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The westbound Zephyr arrived in Denver a little over two hours late, and ended up getting delayed another hour in town when it stopped to pick up a UP unit as a new leader, likely due to a mechanical issue with one of the P42DCs.
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There is a break in the afternoon storms and, indeed, a break in the clouds downtown is allowing some direct sunlight on the skyline as a BNSF manifest heads west out of Leyden, starting the journey to Provo, UT.
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After meeting an loaded UP oil train at Arvada, this BNSF empty is starting its journey west of Denver for the loadout at Wash in Utah, just east of Price. Six units are on the head end of the train, but it will likely be configured 3x3 for the return journey east.
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An eastbound oil train, which loaded at the transload facility at Wash, UT, just east of Price, UT. The train is rolling east and will ultimately wind up at an oil refinery down toward the gulf coast.
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A trio of GEs, an ES44AC, an AC4400CW, and a ET44AC, lead an eastbound loaded oil train away from the steep grades of the Rockies and towards a clear (green) signal at the west switch of Leyden.
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As we move closer to July, the green in the landscape along the Front Range is starting to fade back toward the brownish color that it is most of the year. The Zephyr, with Phase 5 AMTK 76 and Phase 7 AMTK 174 has a baggage car and the standard seven Superliners in tow just west of Leyden.
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The westbound Zephyr lost about an hour between Lincoln, NE and Hastings, NE. The train made up a bit of that time east of Denver, but was still about 50 minutes late departing west out of Denver. Here, the Denver skyline stands in the haze on this summer morning as the train departs west out of Leyden.
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As of this picture, Amtrak had repainted three P42DCs in the new Phase 7 paint scheme. Two of them are leading the westbound Zephyr on a cold, somewhat snowy spring morning. The train is rolling a few minutes late, just west of Leyden.
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