UP's MGJNY has cleared the west switch of Eisele (Clay) and the Winter Park Express has an Advanced Approach (flashing yellow) signal as it departs west. You can see the manifest wrapping around Big Ten Curve in the distance, the tail end still within the block on the main at Eisele (Clay).
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The coaches at the head end of the Winter Park Express (Ski Train) offer a fantastic glint in the early morning sunshine at the west end of Eisele (Clay).
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The Zephyr is just west of the west switch of Eisele (Clay) as it heads west. It is a few minutes away from the rail in the foreground, which are just west of the west portal of Tunnel 1. By rail, the Zephyr is nearly 1 1/2 miles away from the rails in the foreground. Over the course of that distance, the train will also gain about 135 feet in elevation.
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The final westbound Zephyr out of Denver in 2023 has navigated through the S-curve at Eisele (Clay) and it is headed out the west end.
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The Zephyr is just over an hour late as it passes the west switch of Eisele (Clay). The Zephyr overtook a westbound UP coal empty at Rocky.
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UP 6889 and train roll through the west switch of Eisele (Clay) on the journey east toward Denver. UP 6889 was originally built to have a 6,000 horsepower prime mover as an AC6000CW. However, the 6,000 horsepower experiment was relatively short-lived, and the unit has been rebuilt by UP and is now designated as a C44ACM.
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In 2018, it was common to find eight Superliners on the Zephyr through the winter months. Post-COVID, an a coach and a sleeper have both been dropped from the train, making six Superliners the current winter standard. P42DCs still reign on the Zephyr, despite Amtrak taking receipt on 18 ALC-42s.
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A quartet of P42DCs on the point of the westbound Zephyr passes by the eastbound signal at west Eisele (Clay) on its journey west. The 3rd and 4th P42DCs were just picked up today in Denver. If you look closely, you can see one door on the baggage car currently open.
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A pair of GEs lead a westbound empty oil train through the OS at the west end of Eisele (Clay). Some trees are definitely sporting some strong yellows here at the lower elevations, even more than halfway through October.
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There are some great colors in the shrubs at the west end of Eisele (Clay). Hopefully, passenger on board the morning westbound Zephyr are taking in the fantastic sights the train has to offer.
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Coal has certainly dwindled in recent years on the Moffat, but reports are that the West Elk Mine on the North Fork Branch has received an uptick in orders and hopes to load close to a train a day! Not all trains will run east on the Moffat. Some will run west as export coal. Here, a westbound empty departs the west end of Eisele (Clay) after the westbound Zephyr ran around it at Rocky.
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It is exceptionally rare to catch the eastbound Zephyr with glorious morning light on the east slope of the Moffat. One of those exceptional morning came this morning though as the eastbound Zephyr is almost 16 hours late! It got stuck in the Nevada desert as the tracks were blocked due to torrential rains.
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At the west switch of Eisele (Clay), a very late eastbound Zephyr knocks down a Diverging Approach (red over yellow) signal and gets read to take the siding. The almost 16-hour late Zephyr is meeting its westbound counterpart.
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A standard pair of P42DCs lead a typical consist of a baggage car and seven Superliners west over the switch and out of the siding of Eisele (Clay).
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An eastbound oil train approaches the east end of Eisele (Clay) in the distance as a single DPU clear the west switch. Momentarily, the switch will throw and the westbound Zephyr will get a clear (green) signal to continue its trip west.
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