The eastbound Zephyr is on the main, rolling through the S-curve at Plain, coming up to Rainbow Cut. The sun is playing tag with clouds that are in a partly cloudy sky this afternoon.
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An eastbound BNSF oil train rolls through Rainbow Cut on the main at Plain. It is actually slowing and it will come to a stop as soon as the end of the train clears the west switch. It'll wait here for the westbound Zephyr.
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A trio of GEs, setup elephant-style, lead a loaded oil train east at Plain. The train is on the main as it comes through Rainbow Cut. I really like this perspective as you can see back to the west end of Plain, Tunnel 2, and Tunnel 3. The train is still making its way through both of those tunnels.
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The westbound Zephyr enters the short (and aptly named) Rainbow Cut, about halfway through Plain. You can see red, yellow, and blue hues very clearly in the rock. The train here is moving quite slowly as there is a red signal at the west end of the block.
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At Rainbow Cut at Plain, we see three GEs leading an eastbound MGJNY. From this angle you can see the back half of the train at the west switch of Plain, and even further out toward Tunnel 2.
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The eastbound Winter Park Express passes through the very appropriately named Rainbow Cut. From this picture, you can probably see how the cut got its name. The colors of the rock seams nearly cover the entire spectrum of the rainbow.
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AMTK 126 and AMTK 194 head west roughly halfway through Plain, rounding the curve to run through Rainbow Cut. Interestingly, the door on the long cab of AMTK 126 must not have been latched tight.
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For the first time in a couple of months, a Phase 7 P42DC makes an appearance on the Amtrak. The train is right on time as it approaches rainbow cut, roughly halfway through the siding of Plain. AMTK 167, sporting the Phase 7 scheme, is the first Phase 7 unit we've seen on the Zephyr in a couple of month.
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This is a shot that I've want to get for years. I finally had the chance to get the shot today with this eastbound UP coal load as the subject. The train is winding through the S-Curves in the middle of Plain at Rainbow Cut. UP only runs a handful coal trains on the Moffat these days, making it a bit of an added bonus.
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In 1987, a video was filmed featuring Rio Grande. As a kid, it was one of my favorite things to watch. I specifically recall one scene filmed right here, atop Rainbow Cut. Now, close to 40 years later, I got a shot of this eastbound UP manifest as it approaches Rainbow Cut on the main track.
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An pair of ES44ACs, with an SD70ACe spliced in between, lead a loaded eastbound oil train through Rainbow Cut and down the main at Plain. The nose door and some of the long hood doors on the lead unit appear to be brand new. Or, at a minimum, they are only in primer and not yes painted for BNSF.
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Three BNSF GEs lead an early morning loaded oil train east on the main at Plain. As the head end comes through Rainbow Cut, you can clearly see some of the train in the background passing by the west switch of Plain.
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The standard pair of P42DCs lead a baggage car and seven Superliners through the aptly-named Rainbow Cut. The Zephyr has been running with only six Superliners the past several weeks, but likely due to an increase in demand with the holidays coming, a seventh has been added again lately.
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The weather in the Denver-Metro area is weird this morning. Once or twice a year, the ground is warm enough and the air cools enough overnight to create a layer of fog that entirely encompasses the area. Such is the case this morning as the westbound Zephyr climbs out of the fog and into the clear at Rainbow Cut.
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AMTK 138 and AMTK 75 are pumping out the exhaust, keeping the westbound Zephyr running at track speed through Rainbow cut, about halfway through the siding of Plain. The train had a short delay getting out of Denver, and is trying to make up about 20 minutes.
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