I have only caught AMTK 203 (in the Operation Lifesaver Scheme) one time prior to this morning. It led the Zephyr in January 2023, and I was able to get a few shots. Today, however, it is the third unit on the point of the Zephyr as the train wraps around the curve, headed for Blue Mountain Drive under over skies.
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It isn't too often that you find sequential units on any train, so it rather cool to catch AMTK 171 and AMTK 170 together on the head end of the westbound Zephyr this morning. In this shot, the train is just west of Tunnel 1, on the approach to Plain.
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On the climb up the roughly 2% grade toward Tunnel 1, a pair of UP SD70Ms lead ten cars on the Rocky Mountaineer. As we get closer to fall (and fall colors), passenger volumes on the Rocky Mountaineer will continue to increase to enjoy the colorful trip from Denver to Moab (or back).
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The two GEs on the point of this westbound oil empty, a C44ACM and an ES44AC, are indifferent to summer heat radiating off the ground as the train carries a long string of tank cars. The cars will be loaded at the transload facility in Wash, UT, just a few miles east of the town of Price.
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Running 3 1/2 hours late out of Denver, the Zephyr is climbing toward Tunnel 1 in 92°F (33°C) temperatures on its journey westbound.
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An Amtrak California Superliner is hitching a ride on the tail end of the westbound Zephyr this morning. The car is headed back to California to be put back in service, likely after receiving repairs at Amtrak's maintenance shop in Beech Grove, IN.
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Running just about an hour late, the evening Zephyr descends the roughly 2% grade from Tunnel 1 down toward the base of Coal Creek Canyon. You can see the tracks to the right on the other side of CO-72, where the Zephyr will be momentarily.
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At the base of Coal Creek Canyon, a UP manifest rolls east with six units on the head end. This is, indeed, the only regularly scheduled manifest that UP still runs on the Moffat. It runs three times a week (each direction) between North Yard in Denver and Grand Junction.
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The morning Zephyr snakes its way west through the S-Curves just west of Tunnel 1. Around the bed ahead, the train will face an approach (yellow) as a long UP manifest...too long to fit between switches, waits in the siding.
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I am hoping to get pictures of all the P42DCs (that haven't been scrapped) on Amtrak's roster before they are eventually retired. I was happy to find AMTK 37 leading the westbound Zephyr just west of Eisele (Clay) as it is one of the ones that I had not yet seen/shot!
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The westbound Zephyr makes its way around the curve from the west end of Eisele (Clay), approaching the grade crossing at Blue Mountain Drive. Off in the hazy distance, you can see the Denver skyline. Humidity this morning is around 50%, which is quite a bit higher than what is normal for the Denver-Metro area.
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Just west of Eisele (Clay), a BNSF manifest (the Provo-Denver) heads east. The "X" on the sign to the right of the train is a reminder for westbounds that they are approaching the grade crossing at Blue Mountain Drive. The train is crossing the road, just out of the frame to the left, behind the trees.
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As the sun casts a pleasant ray of light from behind the clouds as it sets to the west, UP 1943 rolls slowly east on the head end of an eastbound unit oil train. If you look closely, you can see a pair of DPUs on the grade below Tunnel 1 to the right side of the picture.
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UP 1943 leads a pair of GEs eastbound on an oil train just west of Tunnel 1. It took about 90 minutes to get from East Portal to this spot, rolling slow as UP oil trains typically do. Alas, that meant the direct sunlight was gone, but there was still enough ambient light to capture the scene.
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Patrick Henry Creative Production cars Evelyn A. Henry and Warren R. Henry bring up the tail end of the westbound Zephyr just east of the east end of Plain.
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