Two SD70ACes do their best Alco impressions as the units throttle up on the climb up Big Ten Loop. The units will like be redistributed in a 3x3 configuration for the trip back east over the Moffat after loading in Utah.
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UP 5804 leads an 86 car oil empty west on the Moffat, on the climb toward Big Ten out of Rocky. You can see the buffer car on the tail end of the train in the distance on the right side of the frame.
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The head end of BNSF's Provo-Denver passes by the graffiti-covered hoppers that serve as a wind break on the inside of Big Ten Curve. The matched paint schemes and elephant style arrangement look really fantastic.
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The south edge of Big Ten Curve is not actually a curve at all! There is a straight stretch of track that is about 1,500 feet long between the east edge of Big Ten (by the wind break hoppers) and the curve that heads in to Eisele (Clay).
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As the westbound Zephyr heads along the straight south edge of Big Ten Curve, we observe the private car Bella Vista, catching a ride on the back of Amtrak this morning.
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The sun is shining and it is a beautiful morning as the Zephyr makes its way around Big Ten Curve. The train is passing by the open hoppers serving as a wind break on the inside the curve. Those hoppers have endured a lot of graffiti over the last few decades.
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AMTK 18 and AMKT 157 are the power on the westbound Zephyr this morning. The train is running on time, although losing a little bit of time as UP has a 10 MPH slow order out and around Big Ten. So the train is slowly making its way up and around.
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The westbound California Zephyr wraps around the outside of Big Ten Curve. You can see the the open hoppers behind the train to the left, sitting on the inside of the curve. The hoppers have now been there for over half a century!
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Union Pacific has a daily slow order around Big Ten Curve between 10am and 6pm due to high heat and the concern of sun kinks. Since that 10 MPH slow order went in to effect 20 minutes earlier, the Zephyr is slow climbing up the north leg of Big Ten Curve.
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Just minutes after existing Eisele (Clay) heading geographically south above, this oil train has made the long 180° turn around Big Ten Loop and is now headed geographically north on the approach to the west switch of Rocky.
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A mixed match set of P42DCs (one Phase 5, one Phase 7) leading the westbound Zephyr on the climb to Big Ten Loop on a beautiful Thursday morning in May.
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The newest P42DC to be repainted in Amtrak's newest (Phase 7) paint scheme leads the westbound Zephyr on a beautiful Memorial Day morning, climbing up the north side of Big Ten Curve.
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The westbound Rocky Mountaineer makes its way around Big Ten Curve, rolling slow due to a 10 MPH slow order. In the background, you can see an eastbound BNSF manifest (with a KCSM unit third out) tied down in the siding in the distance.
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The hoppers on the inside of Big Ten Curve, that serve as a wind break, have definitely become the victim of graffiti in recent years. Passengers on the westbound Zephyr will be able to look out to the hoppers on the right side, or over to the great plains out the left side. You can see the west end of Eisele (Clay), as well as Tunnel 1, in the distance.
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Partly cloudy skies have shadows floating across the landscape as the westbound Zephyr climbs up toward Big Ten Curve. It has been a bit of a chilly spring, but things are warming up. It is a very pleasant 55°F this mid-May morning.
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