At the west switch of Plain, the ledge narrows and the Zephyr heads toward the east portal of Tunnel 2 as it starts its journey into the heart of the Tunnel District. The UP oil train on the siding will have to wait a bit longer as an eastbound is at Crescent, waiting on the Zephyr. This oil train will have to wait on that eastbound before it is its turn to head west.
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A UP oil train sits on the siding at Plain as a four hour late Zephyr overtakes the train on the main. Severe weather in the mid-west was responsible for delays to the Zephyr. The oil train just barely fit in the siding. Not how close to the signal the lead unit is.
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A pair of P42DCs lead the westbound Zephyr through CP DS025 at the west end of Plain. Here, the train will really enter in to the lower end of the Tunnel District, and will pass through 16 tunnels over the course of the next five miles or so.
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The westbound Zephyr has slowed down quite a bit as it knocks down a clear (green) signal at the west switch of Plain, ready to head into Tunnel 2 and the start of the Tunnel District. The west switch of Plain is also a check point for the Zephyr, and if you have your scanner with you, you can hear the crew call out "check point".
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The crew of RMRX 8021 is facing the east portal of Tunnel 2 and the official start of the Tunnel District, just west of the west switch of Plain. The weather is very pleasant for this first revenue run of the train, which is headed for Glenwood Springs, CO for the night before continuing on to Moab, UT tomorrow.
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The ground at the west end of Plain narrows pretty rapidly as the siding comes to an end and the single track main continues west in to the Tunnel District. The Rocky Mountaineer is just about to start the run west through the district, leaving Plain behind and approaching Tunnel 2.
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At the west switch of Plain, the westbound Ski Train is on a clear (green) signal and is about to start west in the Tunnel District after it enters in to Tunnel 2, just ahead.
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The westbound Zephyr just passed by a clear (green) signal at the west end of Plain, and the head end is just about enter in to the east end of Tunnel 2, marking the start of the Tunnel District.
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The westbound Zephyr departs from the west end of Plain, about 25 miles west of Denver Union Station, ready to make its way through the Tunnel District on its journey west.
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At the west end of Plain, just before ducking in to Tunnel 2, you can see just entirely enveloped the Denver-Metro area is this morning in a low hanging layer of fog. It is a truly beautiful sight to look out over the tops of the clouds.
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The westbound Rocky Mountaineer passes through the OS at the west end of Plain and the SD70Ms on the point are about to duck in to Tunnel 2, the true start of the east end of the Tunnel District.
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A westbound oil train, which has been patiently sitting in the siding at Plain for over 90 minutes, finally gets its turn to head west! It is departing the siding on a clear (green) signal, and the two units leading the train are about to disappear in to Tunnel 2.
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After sitting in the siding at Plain to let the westbound Zephyr run around it and have two eastbound meet it (a UP coal load and a BNSF manifest), it is finally this westbound oil train's turn to head west. With only two units on the train, they are both throttled up, kicking up some exhaust, as they work to pull the train toward the west end of Plain.
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A New Image SD70MAC makes a somewhat rare appears on the Moffat, together with the far-more-common SD70ACe that bring up the tail end of this eastbound Provo-Denver at the west switch of Plain.
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The westbound Zephyr creeps along at 10 MPH, passing by maintenance workers sitting in the siding at the west end of Plain. After the Zephyr is clear, the maintenance crew will get track and time on the main out of Plain heading west up the hill.
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