A red signal shows brightly at the intermediate at milepost 14.5 along very quiet rails. The Moffat is out of service and shutdown for daylight maintenance. All of UP's signals have been approach lit on the Moffat, meaning the signals are dark until a train is approaching. However, since this maintenance window started, the signal have all remained on. Why? I don't have an answer!
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The cow grazing in the grass alongside the mainline is indifferent to the maintenance equipment that has taken the place of trains. It is extremely great to see so much heavy maintenance going into the Moffat. Clearly UP recognizes the value of the Moffat and seeing maintenance like this ensures that the Moffat is not at risk of going the way of Tennessee Pass anytime in the near future.
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Additional maintenance equipment rolls west out of the siding at Leyden. This crew will likely be working through Barbara's Gulch today.
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Right at milepost 14, maintenance crews are gathering to prepare for a briefing regarding the day's work. These maintenance crews will work 12+ hour days for eight days straight. Then, they will get seven straight days off. I certainly admire them for working a job with those types of hours.
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Dozens of maintenance vehicles were stored in the siding at Leyden overnight. At the crack of dawn, crews were getting on board and firing up the vehicles, ready for the day's work ahead.
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A maintenance crew is gathering on the main west of Leyden. They are preparing for a job briefing as they will be starting the days work shortly.
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Talk about a true port-a-potty! When you are working on the rail, nature is still going to call. So multiple port-a-potty on wheels are hauled behind some of the equipment.
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It is incredible the number of pieces of maintenance equipment that railroads have these days! One such piece of equipment, hauling a cart of equipment, heads west on the main just west of Leyden.
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A pair of DPUs brings up the tail end of a coal load. The train will slow to stop at the east end of Leyden in order to pick up a crew on an eastbound light power move that is tying down in the siding.
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The final eastbound to roll over the Moffat prior to a week-long shutdown for maintenance. This coal train loaded at the Energy Mine on the Craig Branch. You may note a relatively new radio tower to the right of the intermediate signal. This tower is used as part of PTC (Positive Train Control).
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Partly cloudy skies cover the front range on the first day of October. This is the third-to-last eastbound that will run over the Moffat prior to a week of maintenance.
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An eastbound Roper, UT to North Yard, CO manifest rolls through Barbara's Gulch. This would be the last such manifest between the two yards over the Moffat for the next week.
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Union Pacific's Dynamometer "Mobile Laboratory" car is picking up a ride on the tail end of the westbound Zephyr. The car is used in testing locomotives. Specifically, things like tractive effort, performance, and efficiency.
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The westbound Zephyr, with a standard "fall" consist (mainly meaning eight Superliners) heads west on tracks that have fresh ties and fresh ballast. There is definitely something yellow hitching a ride on the end of the train!
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The westbound Zephyr is slowly heading west just east of Barbara's Gulch. There is a 25 MPH speed restriction between East Leyden and East Rocky. There's almost sun in this shot, too! The Denver area has been overcast for nearly a week.
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