Photo ID: 114195 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, August 11, 2026 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Plain (6,530 ft) Arvada, CO 42 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) CSX, BNSF CSX 7106 and train have slowed to a stop on the main at the east end of Plain. The westbound Zephyr is climbing toward Tunnel 1 right now and will run through the siding. DS-378 had considered holding the oil train at Crescent, but ended up bringing it down to Plain for a really great meet. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 114194 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, August 11, 2026 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Plain (6,530 ft) Arvada, CO 61 (1 Comment Posted) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) CSX, BNSF Always nice to find a "Dark Future" unit make its way into Colorado. A CSX CM44AC (rebuilt from an AC4400CW) leads an eastbound BNSF unit oil train on the main at Plain. The train is slowing to a stop as it will be meeting the westbound Zephyr here. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 114193 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, August 11, 2026 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Plain (6,530 ft) Jefferson County, CO 44 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) CSX, BNSF It was a nice surprise to find an eastbound oil train led by a CSX CM44AC. The unit was originally delivered as an AC4400CW as CSX 51. It has since gone through a rebuild program, something all Class 1 railroads are doing these days. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 114177 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, August 4, 2026 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Plain (6,530 ft) Arvada, CO 63 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Rocky Mountaineer UP is putting together a maintenance team that is preparing to head west out the west end of Plain behind a BNSF Denver-Provo and the Canyon Spirit, which is passing by right now. As soon as the train clears the west end of Plain, DS-378 will issue track and time to the crew. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 114176 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, August 4, 2026 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Plain (6,530 ft) Arvada, CO 55 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Rocky Mountaineer The Canyon Spirit GP40-3s are still out of service after striking an oil truck (semi) in Rifle back in May. I am not sure when they will be returning to the train. In the meantime, a pair of UP SD70Ms continue to fill in as the power. The train is headed west at Plain, ready to make another round trip between Denver and Salt Lake City. It'll return east here next Sunday. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 114172 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, August 4, 2026 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Plain (6,530 ft) Jefferson County, CO 53 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) BNSF BNSF 2549 is a GP39-3 that was rebuilt from a GP30. When the unit was rebuilt, the classic GP30 cab was replaced with a "spartan cab", and the center (smaller) radiator fan was completely removed. The unit is likely being taken to Grand Junction or Provo (or possibly Parachute) to serve as a switch engine. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 114171 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, August 4, 2026 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Plain (6,530 ft) Jefferson County, CO 68 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) BNSF A westbound BNSF Denver-Provo has the standard three units on the head end, plus a GP39-3 (former GP30). The train is still moving fairly slowly due to multiple slow orders that are out on the Moffat at the moment. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 113729 Date Shot Photo By Wednesday, April 22, 2026 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Plain (6,530 ft) Arvada, CO 107 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific About 30 minutes after sunrise, UP's MGJNY rolls east on the mainline at Plain. Nine units are on the head end of the 74-car train, though most of the units are simply being transported from Grand Junction. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 113574 Date Shot Photo By Wednesday, March 18, 2026 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Plain (6,530 ft) Arvada, CO 112 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific A former Southern Pacific GP40-2 is due for its 92-day inspection. It has been serving in Grand Junction, in the yard and/or on locals. With the closure of engine facilities in Denver, the unit will have to be forwarded on to North Platte for its inspection. This morning, it is deadheading on the head end of the MGJNY. The unit was originally delivered to Espee in February 1978. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 113573 Date Shot Photo By Wednesday, March 18, 2026 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Plain (6,530 ft) Arvada, CO 137 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific UP's MGJNY descended the first half of the east slope of the Moffat quite early this morning. However, the train has a relatively low "blow over" speed, meaning it is highly susceptible to high winds. It has been a morning of high winds, in excess of 55 MPH, on Big Ten. So, DS-378 held the manifest here in the siding at Plain. The wind speeds have died down, and it is time to slowly continue in to Denver. The train is around 7,000 feet long, and has a lot of power on the head end. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 113493 Date Shot Photo By Friday, January 23, 2026 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Plain (6,530 ft) Jefferson County, CO 186 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific Some snow is coming down here at Plain as a westbound coal empty passes by a few pieces of maintenance equipment in the house track. The elevation here at Plain is right around 6,800 feet (around 2,075 meters) above sea level. 1,000 feet of elevation makes a pretty big different in snowfall here. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 113485 Date Shot Photo By Thursday, January 8, 2026 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Plain (6,530 ft) Jefferson County, CO 184 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak Amtrak's Phase 4 paint scheme is my personal least favorite of all of Amtrak's schemes. Ironically enough, the Phase 4 heritage unit, seen here on the main at Plain, is the heritage unit that has probably spent the most time on the Zephyr since the heritage units were introduced 15 years ago in 2011. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 113484 Date Shot Photo By Thursday, January 8, 2026 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Plain (6,530 ft) Jefferson County, CO 171 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak, BNSF The westbound Zephyr has a very colorful consist this morning, with a BNSF ES44C4 on the point, and AMTK 164, the Phase 4 heritage unit, second out. The BNSF unit was added to the train in Lincoln, NE overnight due to a mechanical issue with one of the P42s. I am not sure which one or what the issue was. The train is on the main at Plain, passing by the house track on the approach to Rainbow Cut. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 113483 Date Shot Photo By Thursday, January 8, 2026 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Plain (6,530 ft) Arvada, CO 164 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak, BNSF One of the two P42DCs on the westbound Zephyr developed a mechanical issue on the overnight trip across Iowa. When the train stopped in Lincoln for its scheduled station stop, the issue could not be resolved, so a BNSF ES44C4 was added to the point of the train. The snow has largely stopped falling here at Plain as the train heads west into the Rockies. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 113437 Date Shot Photo By Thursday, December 4, 2025 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Plain (6,530 ft) Arvada, CO 168 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak Looking west at Plain, the flatirons look pretty great covered in powdered snow as an on-time Zephyr rolls west on the main. This will be the last train for the next several hours (at least) as maintenance of way gets to own the railroad for a maintenance window today. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture.

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