When this manifest departed Grand Junction, it had four units (three on the point, one DPU) and 84 cars. When it departed Bond, three more units had been added to the head end, and 57 cars had also been added to the train! The 57 cars were from industries located on the Craig Branch in the Steamboat and Craig area. The train is making its way through the curves below Tunnel 1 and at Blue Mountain Drive.
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The grade crossing at Blue Mountain Drive is a staple in the Denver railfan community. It is a very popular spot for some great shots of both westbounds and eastbounds. This morning, a Zephyr with a standard consist (for 2024) crosses the grade crossing on its way west.
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Traction motors issues on the Rocky Mountain GP40-3s have them out of service at the moment. The leaser unit the RM got this past spring is not yet ready as PTC is being installed. So, for the time being, a pair of SD70Ms (Phase 2) are on loan from UP.
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The Zephyr is running about four hours late on this July day. Three hours were lost in the mid-west due to severe thunderstorms and flood warnings. In Denver, BNSF 4762 was added to the point as AMTK 174 was suffering from some mechanical issues. Here, the very colorful consist is approaching the grade crossing at Blue Mountain Road.
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The morning Zephyr is rolling west through the S-Curves at Blue Mountain Drive, running right on time. There are two private cars on the end of the train that were added during the station stop in Denver. Picking up or dropping off private cars can often lead to a delay in departure, but not this morning!
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A Phase 7 P42DC (AMTK 69, the most recent repaint) leads AMTK 151 and a standard consist for the westbound Zephyr through the curves at Blue Mountain Drive.
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As the westbound Rocky Mountaineer approaches Blue Mountain Drive, the engineer throttles up and both GP40-3s kick up a little extra exhaust. It is a very rainy morning out today. In fact, there was some light hail falling as the train rolls west.
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Growing up in the 1980s, going out train chasing with my dad, I was raised on Rio Grande. Consequently, spartan cab EMDs are by far my favorite locomotives. That makes seeing a pair of GP40-3s on the point of the Rocky Mountaineer really great every time I see them. Here, they are leading the Rocky Mountaineer as it approaches the grade crossing at Blue Mountain Drive.
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It is a beautiful morning to start off May as the westbound Rocky Mountaineer crosses Blue Mountain Drive and passes by the hotbox detector at MP 22.6.
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Two Federal Railroad Administration employees look out the picture window on the back of this FRA inspection car, checking out the track as the car, led by a UP AC4400CW, pulls west through the S-Curve on the approach to Blue Mountain Drive. This particular car is designated as the T-16, and is one of several cars the FRA has for track inspection.
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A quick roster shot of AMTK 161, sporting the Phase 1 Heritage scheme, second out on the eastbound Zephyr. The train got here literally seconds before the sun dipped behind the mountain to the west. Indeed, I lost a bit of light even between the previous shot with the train a few hundred feet west, and here.
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The Rocky Mountaineer GP40-3s (rebuilt from GP40-2s) are fit and ready to go for the 2024 season! The matched paint scheme with the rolling stock looks really fantastic as the train rolls east through a semi-snowy scene at Blue Mountain Drive.
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It's always great to get a bit deeper into Spring, it is always great to have late running later in the day, allowing for some daylight shots of the eastbound Zephyr as it descends toward Denver. Here, running almost exactly on time, the eastbound Zephyr rolls through the grade crossing at Blue Mountain Drive.
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AMTK 198 and AMTK 157 lead the westbound Zephyr in some nice afternoon light. Great for photography, but not great for the passengers as the train is running right around 6 1/2 hours late.
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The newest and the oldest Amtrak paint schemes are represented on the two P42DCs on the point of the eastbound California Zephyr, wrapping through the S-Curves at Blue Mountain Road. This Zephyr is running 21 hours late! Indeed today's eastbound Zephyr is only three hours behind.
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