A few minutes after coming around Big Ten Curve, the westbound Zephyr is out of Eisele and is now rounding the curve toward the Blue Mountain Grade crossing.
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The wind was blowing pretty hard as the snow came down at Blue Mountain. A single SD70ACe brings up the tail end of an eastbound coal load as it clears the grade crossing.
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January 21, 2018 marked the first real, substantial snow that the Denver Metro area (and the Front Range of the Rockies) have seen in the 2017-2018 winter season. A great morning to catch a few trains playing in the snow on the Moffat! This eastbound loaded at Energy Mine and will soon be headed east on the Colorado plains.
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This eastbound coal load met a westbound at Plain and is now making its way through the S-Curves at Coal Creek and Blue Mountain. The train in the siding at Plain will end up being stuck there for about 90 minutes as the snow has jammed up the west switch and the dispatcher cannot get it to throw.
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After the Zephyr ran around the train at Rocky, a westbound coal empty is coming up to the grade crossing at Blue Mountain Road. The train will take the siding at Plain to meet an eastbound coal load that is currently meeting the Zephyr at Crescent.
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A great January blizzard blows through the Front Range of the Rockies as the California Zephyr, running right on time, approaches the grade crossing at Blue Mountain. It's a good day to be riding, checking out the winter landscape from the warmth of the Lounge car!
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A single C44AC-CTE brings up the tail end of this westbound coal empty on a very warm January afternoon. The warmth will soon go, however, as measurable snow (3-6") is in the forecast for Sunday, a high of only 31°F.
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The Blue Mountain grade crossing is a fantastic spot to capture a train working up a mountainous grade while also capture the Great Plains in the background! Such is the case here as a westbound coal empty approaches the crossing on an unseasonably warm day. It was 62°F out when I snapped this shot.
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While out getting shots of the Zephyr and this coal empty, I happened to run across a dad out with his two sons. It's always great to see future generations of railfans trackside, getting their shots. And kuddos to their dad for taking them out to enjoy the hobby!
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After letting the westbound Zephyr run around it at Leyden, this coal empty quickly got signals as well to continue west toward the mine. The train is headed for the West Elk Mine on the North Fork Branch south (and east) of Grand Junction.
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The westbound Zephyr passes by the Coal Creek fire station as a car waits at the grade crossing on Blue Mountain Road.
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Unfortunately, the California Zephyr has a bit of a rough start to the New Year. The train lost 3 1/2 hours between Lincoln, NE and Hastings, NE. It was five hours late when it reached Fort Morgan, CO. Fortunately, it made up a little bit of that time, but was still 4 1/2 hours late when it departed west out of Denver.
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AMTK 69 leads the westbound Zephyr through the S-Curve on the approach to the Blue Mountain grade crossing. While it is a little chilly (about 25°F), it is mostly clear and overall a nice New Years Day. Interesting tidbit...if you look closely, you will see a blue-ish building in between the Zephyr and the poles. Until March 2017, that was my office building!
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A GP40M-2 of Espee heritage (SP 7129) catches a ride on the MRONY. My guess is that the units was in Grand Junction and is due for a 92-day inspection. With the closure of Burnham, that likely means this guy will be continuing on to North Platte, NE.
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An eastbound Roper to North Yard manifest approaches the grade crossing at Blue Mountain. The unit has an interesting (quick hack?) number board on the conductor's side! It also has a GP40-2 and SD40-2 coming along for the ride.
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