As frequently happens, BNSF's Provo-Denver is currently tied down on the siding at Rocky, awaiting a recrew and a spot in the yard. Spring is refusing to fully kick in, as a bit of snow powders the area.
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The Rocky Mountaineer is conducting a test run ahead of the 2025 season, which starts it roughly a month. In addition to this being a good test run for the crew, it is also a test run for an expansion of service in 2026. The train is expected to run from Denver to Salt Lake City starting in 2026, and this is a test run for that service.
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One of my favorite times of year is the start of Daylight Savings Time. Once that starts up, it is easy to get shots of the eastbound Zephyr in daylight, providing it is not excessively late. Fortunately, it is on time this evening as it meets with a westbound UP oil train at Rocky.
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BNSF's Provo-Denver manifest arrived in the siding at Rocky yesterday right around 3pm, meaning it has now been tied down here for about 17 hours as of the time of this shot. The train is waiting for a BNSF crew to come out of Denver and take it into the yard.
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The final DPU on an eastbound oil train shows evidence of the heavy snows the train faced in the Colorado high country on the journey east. Snow is on the front porch, and has actually built up in some of the air intakes along the long hood of the ES44AC.
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BNSF typically runs loaded oil trains on the Moffat in a 3x(0)x3 configuration. However, this particularly load has a somewhat interesting 3x(0)x4 configuration. There are indeed four DPUs on the back end of the train here, tied down in the siding at Rocky. Rime ice brings a muted, powdery effect to the area.
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It's hard to get a shot that feels much colder than this. Despite the relative lack of snow on the ground, the thick rime ice that has formed on the vegetation is bone-chilling. A BNSF oil train sits in the siding at Rocky, tied down and patiently waiting for a fresh crew.
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An eastbound BNSF oil train is tied down in the siding at Rocky, awaiting a crew to come out of Denver to take it the rest of the way in. Plenty of snow from the Colorado high country is built up on the plow of the lead unit.
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An eastbound oil train meets a westbound at Rocky, the two trains nearly identical in length. The westbound in the siding has just untied the train and the crew is ready to depart west. UP 5919 has clear (green) signals for the remainder of the trip to town.
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This eastbound BNSF manifest has a pretty standard configuration with a trio of units on the head end and a pair of DPUs bringing up the rear. On this cold February morning, an SD70ACe and an ES44AC have the duty.
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UP 4363 is a Phase 1 SD70M. It was part of the largest single locomotive order at the time, one of 1,000 SD70Ms UP ordered from EMD. Many of those SD70Ms are now in long term storage, but many still roam the rails.
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Roster shot of UP 7052. Originally built as a C44/60AC, and designed to be upgraded to 6000 HP, it has now been rebuilt by UP and is designated as a C44ACM. After a brief push for 6000 HP in the 1990s, 4400 HP has pretty well become the standard horsepower for the last 25 years.
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From slightly below track level, we look up at UP's MNYGJ, Manifest from North Yard to Grand Junction. It just about to start continuing the journey west after the westbound Zephyr overtook it here in the siding.
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It would seem that BNSF has successfully captured a majority of the manifest traffic that runs over the Moffat. UP's MNYGJ and MGJNY are, more often than not, quite short these days. Such is the case this morning as the MNYGJ sits in the siding at Rocky with only 30 cars in tow.
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The only westbound manifest UP runs on the Moffat is the MNYGJ. Typically, it departs North Yard in the darkest hours of the night. However, for whatever reason, it apparently departed North Yard late today and took the siding at Rocky so that the Zephyr could overtake it.
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