AMTK 75 and AMTK 146 are power for the Winter Park Express Ski Train this morning. If you look close, you might notice a Rio Grande herald sticker has been applied to the side of the nose of AMTK 75! A nice little homage to the history of the train.
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As the morning Zephyr makes its way west on the main at Eisele (Clay), a herd of elk wander around in Jefferson County Open Space north of Rocky. Passengers often enjoy views of wild life on the Zephyr, particularly in the area around Big Ten.
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The westbound Zephyr passes through the first winter scene of the season on the main track at Eisele (Clay). In the background, it almost looks as though there are two tracks climbing up Big Ten Curve. However, what might appear to be tracks on the right is in fact tire tracks in the snow created by MOW vehicles.
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Fall colors are still apparent in certain parts of the Front Range area here in late October, this tree near the west end of Eisele (Clay) being no exception! The Zephyr is rolling west on the main.
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Near the west end of Eisele (Clay), a westbound BNSF empty oil train has a green signal to continue heading west. After being loaded with oil at Wash, UT, the train will likely return east in a 3x3 configuration. Alas, it looks like it is likely that the KCS Belles will be against the train for the returning journey.
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The westbound Zephyr makes its way on the main at Eisele (Clay), a few hundred feet above a westbound UP oil train in the siding at Rocky. Just minutes earlier, the Zephyr was passing by the oil train, heading right-to-left through the frame.
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As summer winds down in mid-September, the leaves on the trees are just starting to show signs of their annual fall transition, some hints of yellow starting to show as the westbound Zephyr rolls by on the main near west Eisele (Clay).
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Most of Eisele (Clay) is cast in the shadows of the mountains at 5:45pm this time of year. However, there are a few sections toward the east end that are still lit, and the head end of the Zephyr enters one such section here. Not the westbound UP oil train in the distance at Little Ten Curve.
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Overcast skies extinguish the morning shadows, allowing for some angles on the Zephyr that would otherwise be cast in shade. The Zephyr has an extra P42DC today...most likely to be used on the Coast Starlight or another west coast train that does not travel to Chicago.
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AMTK 192 and AMTK 140 lead a baggage car and seven Superliners on the main at Eisele (Clay), just above Rocky and Little Ten Curve. This consist for the Zephyr has become that standard in the post-COVID era.
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Looking for different perspectives from the Rocky / Big Ten / Eisele (Clay) area, I set up for this shot of the (on-time) westbound Zephyr on the west side of the rails at Eisele (Clay). The train just went by a clear (green) signal at the east end of Eisele (Clay).
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The westbound Zephyr is approaching a red signal at the west end of Eisele (Clay) on the siding. The oil train on the main is too long to fit between switches, and is waiting for the a clear signal at the east end to proceed east. Once the train clears the west switch, DS-380 will get the Zephyr a light to continue west.
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While UP has been focused on rebuilding some older unit, they still have 170 Tier-4 GE units (ET44ACs) on the roster. UP 2583 is an example of one of these units, as noted by the extra large radiator intakes and interesting bulge directly ahead the radiator intake.
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UP 9576 is a C44ACM, recently rebuilt from SP 8112, a C44-9W. One of the largest parts of the rebuild included changing the units from DC traction motors to AC traction motors. Several Class 1 railroads are pursuing rebuilds instead of buying new Tier-4 units from either GE or EMD.
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Two GEs lead up this westbound empty oil train on the main at Eisele (Clay). The train has just made the climb up and around Big Ten Curve, with the tail end still on the south edge. You can see the tracks leading west out of Rocky toward Big Ten Curve to the left.
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