The morning Zephyr is running right on time as it climbs the north side of Big Ten Loop. Roughly two inches of snow fell over the Denver area, marking the first snow fall of the 2024-2025 winter season. Fortunately, temperatures have not fallen too far yet, and it is currently right around 32°F (0°C) out as snow continues to lightly fall.
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On the morning of the first snow of the 2024-2025 winter season, AMTK 144 and AMTK 180 lead the westbound Zephyr out of Rocky and on the climb up toward the top of Big Ten Loop.
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The shadows down around the bottom of Big Ten Curve are in the shadows now as we are getting late in the year! The westbound Zephyr climbs toward the top of Big Ten with AMTK 144 and 180 for power.
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As we creep closer and closer to winter, the days continue to grow shorter and shorter! Here at 5:07pm, the head of the eastbound Zephyr is just about to head into shadows as it descends from Big Ten Curve. Another month, with the loss of Daylight Savings Time, and the eastbound Zephyr will be running in darkness in to Denver.
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In general, most trains on the Moffat do not exceed about 6,000 feet in length. However, there are sometimes exceptions. Such in the case today as a long string of military equipment stretches back nearly 8,000 feet from the head end here at Big Ten Curve, back to well over halfway west through Eisele (Clay). The equipment is headed for Fort Riley in Kansas.
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Both the Evelyn A. Henry and Warren R. Henry are on the back of the California Zephyr this morning after having been picked up at Denver Union Station. The cars just came through on the westbound Zephyr a three months ago in June, but after a bit of additional traveling around, they are here once again!
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AMTK 187 and AMTK 13 lead the westbound Zephyr around the eastern edge of Big Ten Curve. On the back of the train, both the Evelyn A. Henry and Warren R. Henry are catching a ride. The Zephyr is running a bit late this morning. The Rocky Mountaineer actually departed Denver first, but held up at Arvada to let the Zephyr by first.
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Five GEs and a single SD70ACe climb the north edge of Big Ten Curve on the point of a westbound oil train. As always, a single buffer car is located between the power and the tank cars. On this day, the buffer car is a Santa Fe open hopper.
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The skies are crystal clear and you could not ask for better lighting as the the westbound Zephyr climbs the north edge of Big Ten Curve. AMTK 187 (Phase 7) and AMTK 13 (Phase 5b) lead the train, elephant style, on the journey west.
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The transition sleeper is typically the first car on long distance Amtrak trains. In addition to some paying passengers, crew members that right the train generally sleep in this car. The car also connects to the baggage car on the lower level, so crew members on the train can access the car if necessary.
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Climbing out of Rocky, the morning Zephyr climbs along the north edge of Big Ten Curve on its journey west.
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With a westbound oil train in the clear in the siding at Rocky, the Zephyr is looking at a clear (green) signal at the west end of Rocky. When Daylight Savings time ends in November, the sun will have set here by the time the eastbound Zephyr arrives, even when it is running right on time.
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The Zephyr is creeping along at 10 MPH due to a slow order around Big Ten Curve. The slow order is in place due to the risk of sun kinks in the rails as a result of hot summer temperatures. Granted, at this point, it is only about 80°F (27°C) out. You can just barely see the east end of Rocky and the start of Barbara's Gulch in the top left portion of the image.
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As the Zephyr rounds Big Ten Curve, you can clearly see the roughly 2% grade of the tracks as they descend down from the mountains. Off in the distance, the buildings consisting of the skyline of downtown Denver stand tall. In an hour, give or take, the Zephyr will be amongst those iron giants for its station stop at Denver Union Station.
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The morning Zephyr makes its way up the north edge of Big Ten Curve under overcast skies. The cloud cover is resulting in cooler temperatures, and it is a comfortable 72°F (22°C). The train departed Chicago yesterday with a trio of P42DCs, including AMTK 203, which sports the Operation Lifesaver scheme.
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