There is a short section of Barbara's Gulch that is viewable from CO-72. A westbound Denver-Provo is making its way west through the gulch here, running on clear signals. All the houses on the other side of the tracks are part of the relatively new neighborhood of Leyden Rock.
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Things have slowed on the Moffat a bit lately. The westbound Zephyr, heading west through Barbara's Gulch, is the first westbound in 15 hours! After a nice burst in coal traffic, there are no coal empties on the lineup, so trains are a bit light at the moment.
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With the remaining snow on the ground and silver streak of Amtrak's Superliners, spotting Amtrak is this shot is a little bit like Where's Waldo! Once you spot it, you will not that the "Honor Our Veterans" unit (AMTK 42) is on the point on this morning.
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AMTK 42, Amtrak's "Honor Our Veterans" unit is paired with AMTK 77 to lead the westbound Zephyr through Barbara's Gulch.
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The westbound Zephyr is on the move in Barbara's Gulch, running right on time. The Veterans unit, AMTK 42, is on the point today.
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From high above the plains, we find the westbound Winter Park Express making its way through Barbara's Gulch on its journey west to Winter Park. Some clouds are clinging to the ground in the distance, creating an interesting look.
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I have to admit that I very much like CSX's Dark Future scheme (seen here). Perhaps it is because that for me, like many people I suppose, blue is my favorite color. In any case, these units still have a long haul ahead of them as this coal train will make its way to Florida!
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At the east end of Barbara's Gulch, a CSX ES44AC and a UP SD70ACe have this eastbound coal load well in hand. The train will continue to Bypass 1 in Denver where the mid-train swing helpers will be cut out and the train will wait for a fresh crew to take it east on the Limon Sub.
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The Zephyr has nine Superliners (including four coaches, a lounge, a diner, and three sleepers) on this day. Not bad, considering winter is typically the slow season for Amtrak. It's not uncommon for the Zephyr to only have 6 or 7 Superliners this time of year. The train is about to knock down a clear signal in Barbara's Gulch, east of Rocky.
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Interestingly, the three units on the point of this westbound are all older (relatively speaking...late 90s and early 2000s) power, yet the two DPUs on the tail end are quite a bit newer. Alas, they are both facing west, so "going away" shots wouldn't be the best.
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It is not uncommon for railfans to joke that BNSF and Norfolk Southern should merge...after all, "NS" already makes up the middle two letters of "BNSF". Then, of course, there are trains like this in which you have a nice mix of both BNSF and NS power! The Denver-Provo is pulling west through Barbara's Gulch.
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A BNSF H2 C44-9W and a pair of Norfolk Southern GEs have this westbound Denver-Provo rolling through a slightly snowy Barbara's Gulch.
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The westbound Zephyr makes its way through the narrowest part of Barbara's Gulch and toward Rocky. If you look in the distance, you'll notice an eastbound coal train coming around Big Ten Loop. The two trains will meet at Rocky, and because of the timing, neither will actually end up having to stop.
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The Zephyr looks to be ramped up for holiday travellers! This time of year, the Zephyr typically only has six to seven Superliners on it. Five days before Christmas, however, and the train has nine Superliners. This includes four coaches, a sightseer, a diner, an three sleepers.
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The westbound Zephyr rolls west through Barbara's Gulch on an advanced approach (flashing yellow) signal. The train will be meeting an eastbound coal train at Rocky. The coal train is already halfway in to the siding at this point.
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