A P42DC and a P40DC (which has been rebuilt and is now essentially a P42DC) lead a baggage car and seven Superliners up the 2% grade toward the east portal of Tunnel 1.
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Moment earlier, the Zephyr passed over the rails in the foreground. It has now wrapped around the base of Coal Creek Canyon and has climbed the 2% grade up to Tunnel 1.
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Just west of Tunnel 1, the Zephyr heads west through a chilly and rather gloomy scene on an overcast December 1.
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A pair of SD70ACes leads an eastbound coal train out of Tunnel 1. However, you might notice something a little bit different about this train. It is an empty! The first UP coal empty I think I've ever seen run eastbound on the Moffat. The cars were pulled out of storage somewhere west on the Rio Grande.
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Not a lot to be said about this shot. Headlights from an eastbound train light up as the train approaches the east portal.
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On a beautiful morning at the end of November, a westbound UP coal empty headed for the West Elk mine on the North Fork branch is climbing up to Tunnel 1. The three units on the head end are all there is on the 98-car train.
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In and out of Tunnel 1. The head end of the Zephyr has exiting the west portal while the last few Superliners have yet to enter it. The tunnel is 366 feet long, so not nearly long enough for the entire Zephyr to be inside the tunnel at once.
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The westbound Zephyr climbs toward Tunnel 1, which is clearly visible center frame. In the distance, you can see the freshly paved road that is part of the new Canyon Pines neighborhood. No houses have been built...yet...
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Seven units leads UP's eastbound MGJNY (Manifest, Grand Junction to North Yard) on the approach to the west portal of Tunnel 1. Interestingly, the train itself is only 29 cars in length, so no doubt most of the units are not powered and are just being moved to Denver.
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Amidst a powered scene, the westbound Zephyr has just emerged from Tunnel 1 on its journey west in to the Colorado Rockies.
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UP's MGJNY rolls east out of Plain after meeting an oil train. The head end of the train is now approaching Tunnel 1. You can see the freshly paved road for the soon-to-be-constructed Canyon Pines neighborhood.
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The westbound Zephyr emerges from Tunnel 1 on the journey west as low layer fog is rapidly burning off to the east. You can see the skyline of Denver emerging from the fog.
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After meeting the westbound Zephyr at Crescent, this eastbound coal load is approaching the west portal of Tunnel 1. The coal train is shorter than the typical coal train (if there is such a thing on the Moffat in 2023), at only 79 cars.
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With P42DCs potentially reaching the end of their lives on Amtrak, I was happy I had the opportunity to catch a westbound Zephyr with four P42s on the point. The last two units are not online as they were added to the train in Denver and are just catching a ride to Oakland. Still makes for a great shot though!
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Some of the foliage along the right-of-way is sporting a strong red in its fall colors as UP 6888 passes by. We are peaking through some trees atop Tunnel 1 for this particular perspective.
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