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.
Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster
or add a comment to the picture.
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.
Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster
or add a comment to the picture.
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.
Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster
or add a comment to the picture.
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.
Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster
or add a comment to the picture.
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!
Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster
or add a comment to the picture.
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.
Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster
or add a comment to the picture.
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.
Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster
or add a comment to the picture.
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.
Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster
or add a comment to the picture.
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.
Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster
or add a comment to the picture.
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.
Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster
or add a comment to the picture.
RMRX 8021 and RMRX 8020, leading the westbound Rocky Mountaineer "Rockies to the Red Rocks", throttle up on the climb up the roughly 2% grade from the base of Coal Creek Canyon to Tunnel 1.
Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster
or add a comment to the picture.
HZRX 187 is a rather unique engine. It was built as an SD18 in the early 1960s. There were only 114 such units produced by EMD. 60 of those were actually built as export units, meaning only 54 units were in the US. It has since been rebuilt and is now classified as an SD18M.
Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster
or add a comment to the picture.
HZRX is a leased SD40M-2 from Horizon Rail Leasing. It started life decades ago as an SD45 and has now found life after Class 1 railroads.
Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster
or add a comment to the picture.
The engineer of the westbound Zephyr gives a friendly wave out the window as the train moves at track speed up toward Tunnel 1.
Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster
or add a comment to the picture.
Just west of the west end of Eisele (Clay), the morning Zephyr is right on time as it continues its journey west. At this point, roughly 22 miles west of Denver Union Station, you can clearly see the downtown skyline in the distance as the Zephyr rounds the bend toward Blue Mountain Road crossing.
Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster
or add a comment to the picture.
