Photo ID: 109272 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, June 4, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Big Ten Curve (MP 19.5 to MP 20.2) Arvada, CO 291 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific An ES44AC and an AC4400CW lead UP's MGJNY (Manifest, Grand Junction, CO to Denver, CO) out of Eisele (Clay) and around Big Ten. Interestingly, this particular MGJNY is comprised entirely of loaded coal hoppers and covered hoppers! Not sure if the covered hoppers are loaded or empty (or vary). Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109266 Date Shot Photo By Friday, June 2, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Big Ten Curve (MP 19.5 to MP 20.2) Arvada, CO 667 (2 Comments Posted) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak A rare morning thunderstorm, currently over the City of Boulder, creates some amazing contrast in the sky as partly cloudy skies dominate to the east over the plains. Under the unusual skies, we find the westbound Zephyr making its way west along the south leg of Big Ten Curve, just east of Eisele (Clay). Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109265 Date Shot Photo By Friday, June 2, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Big Ten Curve (MP 19.5 to MP 20.2) Arvada, CO 463 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak A somewhat rare morning thunderstorm heads northeast, currently pouring rain on the city of Boulder as the westbound Zephyr wraps around the east side of Big Ten Curve. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109264 Date Shot Photo By Friday, June 2, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Big Ten Curve (MP 19.5 to MP 20.2) Arvada, CO 355 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak The westbound Zephyr is climbing up through the S-Curve between the west switch of Rocky and the open hoppers that serve as a wind break on Big Ten Curve. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109205 Date Shot Photo By Friday, May 26, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Big Ten Curve (MP 19.5 to MP 20.2) Arvada, CO 330 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak A bit of sunshine breaks through the mostly cloudy skies to the west as the eastbound Zephyr approaches a clear (green) signal at the west end of Rocky. The dome car, now the Charter Club, was originally UP 7003. The open ended car bringing up the rear is the St James Place. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109204 Date Shot Photo By Friday, May 26, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Big Ten Curve (MP 19.5 to MP 20.2) Arvada, CO 345 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak The eastbound Zephyr has just passed by the open hoppers that have been on Big Ten Loop for around 52 years. The train slowly descends down the 1.7% grade, taking the tracks down the final bit of elevation to the relatively flat plains. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109203 Date Shot Photo By Friday, May 26, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Big Ten Curve (MP 19.5 to MP 20.2) Arvada, CO 298 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak Heading in to Big Ten Loop, passengers riding in these two privately owned "Charter" cars enjoy some of their final elevated views of the plains. In a matter of minutes, the Zephyr will be leaving the curves of the Rockies behind, and head out on to the plains. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109179 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, May 23, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Big Ten Curve (MP 19.5 to MP 20.2) Arvada, CO 328 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) BNSF Weather-wise, it is a perfect day in the Denver-Metro area. The apparently haze is not weather related (per se), but rather smoke from numerous wildfires burning far to the north in Canada. The jet stream is currently bringing the smoke down to Colorado as this BNSF Denver-Provo makes its way up and around Big Ten Loop. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109166 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, May 23, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Big Ten Curve (MP 19.5 to MP 20.2) Arvada, CO 239 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak Three privately owned cars bring up the tail end of the westbound Zephyr. The cars are passing by the open hoppers that have been on the inside of this curve for over 50 years, serving as a wind break. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109165 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, May 23, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Big Ten Curve (MP 19.5 to MP 20.2) Arvada, CO 310 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak It is becoming less and less common to find "private varnish"...privately owned passenger cars...on the tail end of Amtrak. Amtrak has raised the rates and limited the cities they'll pick up or drop off. However, on this afternoon, a nearly four hour late #5 has three as the train climbs toward Big Ten Loop. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109079 Date Shot Photo By Monday, May 8, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Big Ten Curve (MP 19.5 to MP 20.2) Arvada, CO 362 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak May and June are my two favorite months in the Denver area. They tend to be the two greenest months of the year. The fields here are greening up in the temperate weather after some good snow and a few rains earlier. The Zephyr is climbing toward Big Ten Loop and, in just a few minutes, will be knocking down a clear (green) signal at the east end of Eisele (Clay) near the top of the shot in the background. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109061 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, April 30, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Big Ten Curve (MP 19.5 to MP 20.2) Arvada, CO 339 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific It is a beautiful afternoon on the final day of April for 2023 as a unit UP oil train descends from Big Ten Loop, through the S-Curve, toward the west switch of Rocky. The terrain is starting to green up a bit after a fairly wet winter. Most of the tress in the area are still largely naked as a colder-than-average March and April have delayed the appearance of leaves. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 108977 Date Shot Photo By Thursday, February 16, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Big Ten Curve (MP 19.5 to MP 20.2) Arvada, CO 382 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak The best winter mornings in Colorado are the ones that have a crystal clear blue sky the the day after several inches of fresh snow fell. Such was the case on this February morning as the westbound Zephyr, running about 30 minutes late, rounds Big Ten Curve. You can clearly see the hoppers filled with concrete and dirt on the inside of the curve, now having served as a wind break for over 50 years. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 108976 Date Shot Photo By Thursday, February 16, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Big Ten Curve (MP 19.5 to MP 20.2) Arvada, CO 412 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak You could not ask for a better morning to be riding the westbound Zephyr out of Denver! A blizzard the day before left about 6 inches of fresh snow across the Front Range. It is only 14°F (-10°C) outside as the Zephyr climbs up to Big Ten Curve. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 108954 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, January 24, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Big Ten Curve (MP 19.5 to MP 20.2) Arvada, CO 302 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak, BNSF The westbound Zephyr typically leaves Denver during the morning hours and is generally backlit from the morning sun. So when the Zephyr is running late, there is a chance the sun will be far enough to the west for some front lighting. Ironically, on this day, the Zephyr was so late (at over seven hours), the train was already in the shadows of the mountains by the time it reached Big Ten Loop! A BNSF ES44C4 leads the train west. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture.

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