Photo ID: 106209 Date Shot Photo By Friday, September 23, 2016 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Chemical (MP 14.5) Arvada, CO 1200 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific This shot might just have you scratching your head, yes? In October 2015, an artist created a sculpture of a horse wearing a gas mask and hazmat suit. It was created and dedicated to those that work at Rocky Flats which, of course, built nuclear triggers using plutonium. The horse stands in between CO-72 and the tracks, which currently have an eastbound coal load (with four mid-train swing helpers) rolling toward Leyden. Denver skyline has not yet be covered in clouds by the storm rolling in from the west. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106208 Date Shot Photo By Friday, September 23, 2016 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Chemical (MP 14.5) Arvada, CO 1300 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific It can be crazy just how quickly the weather can change! Less than an hour earlier, this scene would have been bathed in bright sunlight with few clouds visible. Now, dark clouds have moved in as a loaded coal train (which loaded at the West Elk Mine on the North Fork Branch) approaches a clear signal at Leyden. The lead unit was once SP 246 until getting patched in June 2004 and a full repainted a few years later. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106202 Date Shot Photo By Friday, September 23, 2016 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Chemical (MP 14.5) Arvada, CO 1425 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) CREX With the downturn in rail traffic throughout most of 2016, the need for leased power definitely decreased. As a result, it has been quite awhile since seeing one of these CREX leasers around. But this one just happened to make an appearance as a DPU on the back of the daily Denver-Provo. I particularly like the happy face behind the cab! Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106201 Date Shot Photo By Friday, September 23, 2016 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Chemical (MP 14.5) Arvada, CO 1245 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) BNSF The sun came out to light up the scene for the DPUs on the this westbound Denver to Provo manifest. Fall foliage helps to decorate the scene. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106200 Date Shot Photo By Friday, September 23, 2016 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Chemical (MP 14.5) Arvada, CO 1286 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) BNSF Perhaps you've heard of a "sucker hole" as it relates to outdoor photography. When conditions tend to be overcast, a "sucker hole" refers to a break in the clouds that lights up the tracks, offering great light on the subject. On this afternoon, I managed to catch a great "sucker cloud"! Lighting at this spot was perfect until about 30 seconds before this Denver to Provo showed up. Ah well...there's always next time. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106199 Date Shot Photo By Friday, September 23, 2016 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Chemical (MP 14.5) Arvada, CO 1238 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) BNSF BNSF's westbound Denver to Provo is grinding away west of Leyden. An ET44C4 leads the train which, among other things, includes several steel coil cars and a quintet of single-stacked well cars. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106198 Date Shot Photo By Friday, September 23, 2016 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Chemical (MP 14.5) Arvada, CO 1310 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) CSX A visitor from the east! A CSX AC4400CW, delivered in early 1995, was spending a little time on UP. In order to easily distinguish units with AC traction motors (instead of DC), CSX paints a lighting bolt on the cab. A helpful spotting feature! Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106197 Date Shot Photo By Friday, September 23, 2016 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Chemical (MP 14.5) Arvada, CO 1345 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific In the shot before this, I commented on the fact that it is amazing that there are still patched Espee units around, 20 years after the UP/SP merger. Here is one example of a former Espee unit that has received a full repaint! This was once SP 270 until December 2003. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106196 Date Shot Photo By Friday, September 23, 2016 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Chemical (MP 14.5) Arvada, CO 1315 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific, Southern Pacific Considering the fact that it has now been 20 years and 10 days since the UP/SP merger became official, it is rather amazing that there are still patched Espee units running around on the system! Yet here is one such as example on an eastbound manifest. This unit, previously SP 310, was patched over 10 years ago, in June 2004. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106195 Date Shot Photo By Friday, September 23, 2016 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Chemical (MP 14.5) Arvada, CO 1369 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific An eastbound manifest heads toward a clear signal at the intermediate west of Leyden. This particular manifest is one that has become quite rare these days. It originated from Phippsburg on the Craig Branch and is referred to as the "P-Burg Local". There are some industries on the Craig Branch, other than coal mines, that do ship goods by rail. So this train shows up every 1-4 weeks (yes, that's it!), depending on demand on the branch. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106192 Date Shot Photo By Monday, September 19, 2016 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Chemical (MP 14.5) Arvada, CO 1129 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak A privately-owned passenger car of New York Central heritage gets a ride on the tail of the westbound California Zephyr. The car is headed for the AAPRCO (American Association of Private Rail Car Owners) conference in Spokane, WA. Several gentlemen offer up some friendly waves as they spot the photographer trackside. Now that is one excellent way to spend a Monday in Colorado in September! Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106191 Date Shot Photo By Monday, September 19, 2016 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Chemical (MP 14.5) Arvada, CO 1232 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak There is still a little early morning mist gripping the ground in the Denver-Metro area. The Denver skyline pokes up out of the top of some of the mist as the westbound Zephyr approaches a clear intermediate signal at Chemical, just west of Leyden. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106190 Date Shot Photo By Monday, September 19, 2016 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Chemical (MP 14.5) Arvada, CO 1306 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak Running about 20 minutes behind schedule, the westbound California Zephyr is gaining altitude just west of Leyden. The long lens shot shows some of the subtle hills in Arvada, the suburb northwest of Denver. Sunflowers are in full bloom here in mid-September. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106159 Date Shot Photo By Friday, September 9, 2016 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Chemical (MP 14.5) Arvada, CO 1410 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific, Southern Pacific A roster shot of this patched Espee AC4400CW seemed appropriate as this picture was taken just two days before the 20th anniversary of the UP/SP merger! So hard to believe it has been so long since SP was no more. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106158 Date Shot Photo By Friday, September 9, 2016 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Chemical (MP 14.5) Arvada, CO 1309 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific After drastically slowing down at the start of 2016, coal has actually picked up a bit on the Moffat in the second half of 2016. A few new coal contracts were picked up by mines on both the North Fork Branch and the Craig Branch. One such example is this Friday afternoon westbound empty, led by an SD70ACe. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture.

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