UP's has maintenance ongoing on the Moffat until 12:30-1:00pm at the moment. That has meant that, once that time hits, there tends to be a flood of westbound released out of Denver. BNSF's Denver to Provo manifest is approaching the grade crossing at Blue Mountain.
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I actually took this specific photo as a public service. Some people in the neighborhood in which I live were wondering what to do in the event that crossing gates are ever stuck down. So, I figured I'd get a shot of the signal control box with the Railroad/DOT sign for reference.
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The westbound Zephyr is running about 45 minutes late as it approaches the grade crossing at Blue Mountain. Normally, the train would be over five hours late if it were getting to Blue Mountain at this time. However, the Zephyr is currently scheduled to depart Denver at 12:35pm to allow UP to perform maintenance in the morning and (further west) early afternoon.
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As the westbound Zephyr approaches the grade crossing at Blue Mountain, a small herd of deer have decided they've had enough of the noise and they are making a rapid exit to the east. Nice that the deer are elephant-style!
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They are a little hard to spot, but if you look closely you can see several deer trying to make a rapid retreat from the loud rumble of the trio of CSX units running on the point of this westbound coal empty. The train is headed for the West Elk Mine on the North Fork Branch, southeast of Grand Junction.
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Man, if this was not such a well-known scene, you'd almost think this could be somewhere in West Virginia! A trio of CSX GE's lead a coal empty west on the Moffat on the approach to the Blue Mountain road crossing. Frequently, when foreign power like this comes in to Denver from the east, it is swapped out for UP power. So it is pretty great to see a solid consist of CSX units on this overcast afternoon.
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Most eastbound coal loads on the Moffat only have a single DPU unit on the tail end. The "Public Service" coal train, however, has two. This is because this train is actually a little longer than most of the coal trains on the Moffat and the power from the extra units is definitely justified.
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A trio of elephant-style GEs (all facing backward) serve as mid-trains swing helpers on this eastbound coal load. Already the snow is starting to let up a little bit as this winter storm starts to blow on out of Denver.
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As of this photo, UP has 170 ET44AHs on their roster. UP 2573 is one such example, leading this Public Service coal load at Blue Mountain. This particular unit was one of the very first Tier-4 units delivered to UP in late 2015.
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A February blizzard reduces visibility as an eastbound coal load makes its way through the S-Curves at Coal Creek and toward the grade crossing at Blue Mountain. A Tier-4 ET44AC leads the train east.
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Here is something you don't see everyday! A Lounge car on the end of the Zephyr. The consist of the Zephyr isn't scrabbled per se...there are actually two Lounge cars on the Zephyr on this morning. The entire train was booked by someone on this day and Amtrak added a second Lounge car for the party.
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I love getting shots of train in blizzard conditions! You'd think there'd be more opportunities for such shots in the Denver area...and some winters you'd be correct. This has not been one of those winters though. It has been very warm and dry. This is the first really snowy morning of February as the westbound Zephyr approaches the crossing at Blue Mountain Road.
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Denver seems to be a good hangout for Warbonnets lately. They have come through on several trains, including on the Moffat. No complaints here! Glad to see some of them still looking so great after so many years.
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I was hoping the DPU on the tail end of this eastbound BNSF manifest would have been in view on the descent from Tunnel 1. Alas, the train was not quite long enough for that to happen. Regardless, the train looks mighty fine as it heads east past the Blue Mountain Road grade crossing.
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An eastbound BNSF Provo-Denver manifest winds through the S-Curves at the base of Coal Creek Canyon with a highly colorful consist! The train sports 8 units on the point, including a Warbonnet, a CSX, and a Norfolk Southern.
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