Photo ID: 104658 Date Shot Photo By Wednesday, March 12, 2014 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Chemical (MP 14.5) Arvada, CO 1782 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific Five years ago, the West Local served three customers west of Leyden. Today, that number is down to just one! One of the two customers that is-no-more is Mesa Oil. You can actually see the old, rusted tanks from Mesa Oil above the local in this shot. The local now just zips past the spur switch toward Rocky. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 104657 Date Shot Photo By Wednesday, March 12, 2014 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Chemical (MP 14.5) Arvada, CO 2648 (3 Comments Posted) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific I decided to try for a different take on the steel tower between Leyden and Rocky. You'll commonly find this tower - which I believe has something to do with one of the coal mines once located in the area - in shots taken from the intermediate at Chemical near MP 14.5. Here, an eastbound (empty) rail train passes by the odd structure with a pair of SD70Ms. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 104656 Date Shot Photo By Wednesday, March 12, 2014 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Chemical (MP 14.5) Arvada, CO 1765 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific An eastbound (empty) rail train, led by a pair of SD70Ms, has rounded the curve at the east end of Barbara's Gulch. The train originated in Provo, UT and is on the way Pueblo, CO where it will likely be refilled. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 104655 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, March 11, 2014 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Chemical (MP 14.5) Arvada, CO 1748 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific A coal empty with an intriguing consist heads west toward Barbara's Gulch. Of the five units, two are online and loading (pulling). The lead unit (an AC4400CW) and the third unit (a C44-9W) are both pulling. The second unit died, won't start and has had its water drained so it doesn't freeze. The fourth unit is currently offline, but its computer will occasionally bring it online to keep it from freezing. The fifth unit is also online (to keep from freezing) but is isolated and thus not throttled up. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 104654 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, March 11, 2014 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Chemical (MP 14.5) Arvada, CO 2031 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) BNSF While this BNSF C44-9W obviously wasn't leading (note the steps on the tail end of the unit to the right of the frame), I felt it was worth getting this picture. Interesting enough is a BNSF unit on a UP coal train. But even more interesting is a unit with DC traction motors on any coal train! Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 104653 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, March 11, 2014 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Chemical (MP 14.5) Arvada, CO 1660 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific This ES44AC was causing the crew of this westbound a bit of a headache! For reasons I didn't catch, the unit was not only failing to load, it was failing to stay online! The crew ultimately drained the unit of water (so it didn't freeze) and cut in the BNSF unit behind it. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 104652 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, March 11, 2014 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Chemical (MP 14.5) Arvada, CO 1813 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific Do I wish that Espee or even Rio Grande were still around? Absolutely! That said, has UP's scheme grown on me over the years? Yes, it sure has. I think that this AC4400CW with the "Lightning" scheme and flags on the nose looks pretty darn good. Interestingly, ten years ago, this particular AC4400CW was scarlet and gray! It started life as SP 295. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 104651 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, March 11, 2014 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Chemical (MP 14.5) Arvada, CO 2312 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific A somewhat interesting consist was on the head end of this coal empty on a snowy March afternoon. Sandwiched smack in the middle of the five units is a BNSF C44-9W! Sure, railroads sometimes pool (share) power...but it was quite unusual to find a unit with DC traction motors on a coal train! Ever since AC traction rolled out in the 1990s, heavier trains (particularly on grades) use AC traction almost exclusively. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 104511 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, January 26, 2014 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Chemical (MP 14.5) Arvada, CO 1445 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific It is an unseasonably warm 55ºF out, although extremely windy, as the mid-train swing helpers on this eastbound approach. The focus of the shot is more to the left, on the new 1,000 acre neighborhood that is just getting started. The neighborhood, aptly named "Leyden Rock", will be built over the next few years in five phases. Houses in the first phase are visible to the left. Excavating has been done for future roads coming up close to the fence line. Oh how different this view will look in ten years! Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 104510 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, January 26, 2014 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Chemical (MP 14.5) 20140126 1571 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific When I was a kid, the siding of Leyden on Rio Grande's Moffat Tunnel Route west of Denver was kind of "out there". There were a few houses in the area and a lot of ranches, horses and open space. In the last fifteen years, the area immediately surrounding Leyden has exploding with the building of two new neighborhoods and a high school. However, west of Leyden has still had a very rural feel to it. All that is changing now! A sign went up on a fence in 2012 (left side of the picture) notifying anyone and everyone of a public meeting. The meeting was being held to discuss the city of Arvada annexing land from Jefferson County and rezoning it residential. The annexation went through and a new 1,000-acre neighborhood is in the first phases on the opposite side of the fence. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 104509 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, January 26, 2014 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Chemical (MP 14.5) Arvada, CO 1964 (1 Comment Posted) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific If you are at all familiar with the Moffat, then you probably recognized this location just from the thumbnail! This eastbound coal load, destined for Xcel Energy's Cherokee power plant northeast of downtown Denver, approaches the intermediate signal at MP 14.5. Unfortunately, this train will be disappearing from the Moffat by 2017 as Xcel is converting Cherokee to be power 100% by natural gas. Coal traffic out of Colorado has seen a steady decline lately, making one wonder just what the Moffat will look like in ten years. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 104409 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, September 7, 2013 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Chemical (MP 14.5) Arvada, CO 1366 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak This is a scene that has the potential to change drastically in the next decade. The city of Arvada is expanding in this area. Land in the area has been zoned for both residential and commercial and construction has started. CO-72 is in the process of being widened to four lanes from two. This is also the location where the Jefferson Parkway toll road, which would complete the "470 loop" around Denver, would run. That is, if funding can ever be found and the cities involved can agree upon its construction. Amtrak in this shot would be passing underneath the parkway! Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 104408 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, September 7, 2013 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Chemical (MP 14.5) Arvada, CO 1729 (1 Comment Posted) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak The Moonlight Dome, of Chessie and C&O heritage, was catching a ride on the back of the Zephyr on this day. The car is privately owned and lives in Salt Lake City. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 104407 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, September 7, 2013 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Chemical (MP 14.5) Arvada, CO 1715 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak It may just be a roster shot, but you gotta take advantage any time you are lucky enough to catch a unique unit! AMTK 184 is wearing a Phase IV heritage scheme, part of a program honoring Amtrak's 40th birthday. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 104406 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, September 7, 2013 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Chemical (MP 14.5) Arvada, CO 1390 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak After a couple months off from taking pictures (and getting married!), I finally made it track side again. I was surprised to find one of Amtrak's heritage units (AMTK 184, Phase IV) coincidentally on the train. Unfortunately, it was not leading the 4 1/2 hour late Zephyr. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture.

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