The terrain around Big Ten is really starting to green up here at the halfway point through April as we get a bit deeper in to Spring. The evening eastbound Zephyr descends down the grade from Big Ten Loop toward a clear (green) signal at the west end of Rocky.
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AMTK 54 and AMTK 147 lead the eastbound Zephyr along the south edge of Big Ten Loop. The open hoppers that serve as a wind break are just out of the frame to the left.
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A pair of bright blue leaser units will be helping out the Rocky Mountaineer this season. Last year, the Mountaineer frequently borrowed power from UP when there were problems with the GP40-3s. The two leasers are both six axle units, making for an interesting look, spliced between the RM GP40-3s on the point of the train as it climbs Big Ten Curve.
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A test run of the Rockies to the Red Rocks is heading west out of Rocky on the climb up Big Ten Curve. Note the tracks up the hillside at Eisele (Clay), where the train will be in just a few minutes.
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This has got to be one of the most colorful consists of Amtrak power since the first days of Amtrak when they used units from various freight roads! In addition to three Phase 5 P42DCs, AMTK 174 (Phase 7) and AMTK 161 (Phase 1) are both in the consist as well.
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A quintet of P42DCs, including Phase 7 AMTK 174 and Phase 1 AMTK 161, are on the point of what looks like an extra long California Zephyr. In fact, the last five cars of the train are the Superliners that were used on the Winter Park Express Ski Train this winter season.
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AMTK 160 leads the westbound Zephyr around Big Ten Curve. AMTK 160 is sporting a heritage paint scheme traditionally referred to as the "Pepsi Can" paint scheme. The 20 P32-8s that Amtrak purchased in 1991 were painted in this scheme as a bit of a variation on the Phase 3 scheme.
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The headend of a westbound oil train passes by the the open hoppers on the inside of Big Ten Curve. The hoppers were placed here over a half century ago. They have been repainted a couple of times over the decades, but it has been quite awhile since their last repaint. Every car along the curve has been covered in graffiti.
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UP's MGJNY has slowed to a stop on the main track at Eisele (Clay). The Winter Park Express is climbing out of Rocky and will wrap around Big Ten, entering the siding at Eisele (Clay) to meet the manifest. The manifest has 101 cars and will not fit between switches, so the Winter Park Express will briefly have to stop to wait for it to clear the west switch.
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Three BNSF SD70ACes pull the Denver-Provo up the grade from Rocky, through the S-Curve, and around toward the east face of Big Ten Curve and the covered hopper wind break.
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A single UP SD70ACe comes around the east side of Big Ten Curve, the Denver skyline visible in the distance. This unit went west earlier in the day to assist an oil train that stalled out between Fraser and Winter Park. After helping drag the train through the Moffat Tunnel, the unit cut away and is now headed back to Denver.
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UP's MNYGJ is actually stopped on the 2% grade just west of Rocky. It will ultimately have to back down the main all the way to between Arvada and C&S Jct due to power issues. However, if it were to continue westbound, it would soon reach the east switch of Eisele (Clay) at the top of the frame.
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A look at the 2% climb out of Rocky, up and toward Big Ten Curve. A trio of units are attempting to lead the MNYGJ westbound. "Attempting" is the key word as the 2nd and 3rd units both have mechanical issues and the train has come to a stop.
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UP 8843 and UP 7801 are both having issues this afternoon as neither one is loading on the climb out of Rocky. UP 8843 is overheating when throttling up, and then shuts down. UP's mechanical desk would help the crew troubleshoot UP 7801 so it would start loading again. However, nothing could be done about UP 8843. It would be isolated and the crew is waiting for the Corridor Manager to decide what the train will do.
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AMTK 51 and 61 lead the westbound Zephyr up the north side of Big Ten Curve. The Zephyr had an extra lounge car on the end when it departed Chicago yesterday. It was dropped off in Denver this morning, although the reason is not clear.
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