Photo ID: 107805 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, December 8, 2018 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Cliff (6,900 ft) Gilpin County, CO 1178 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific A coal train that will soon load at the West Elk Mine will need three mid-train swing helpers for the journey back east to Denver. Three such units on are their way as the cruise west on the main at Cliff. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 107795 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, December 8, 2018 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Cliff (6,900 ft) Gilpin County, CO 1215 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific An all-EMD lash up leads the final MRONY eastbound on the main at Cliff. For what may be the final UP manifest train to run over the former Grande between Salt Lake City and Denver, it somehow seems fitting that it should have all-EMD power on the head end. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 107794 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, December 8, 2018 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Cliff (6,900 ft) Gilpin County, CO 1293 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific It is a bit of a sad morning as this eastbound manifest may mark the end of an era. This is the MRONY. Manifest, Roper, UT to North Yard, CO. Since the UP/SP merger in 1996, a manifest has run between Denver and Salt Lake City over the former Rio Grande, just as many such freights ran on Espee and the Grande before. Now, however, thanks to Precision Scheduled Railroading (PSR), UP is eliminating the train (and its westbound counterpart, the MNYRO). PSR aims to reduce car dwell times and focus on moving cars rather than trains. UP believes that Roper Yard in Salt Lake City is redundant to the other SLC Yard and its Ogden Yard. As such, Roper's usage will be reduced and traffic between Denver and Salt Lake City will move via Ogden (and the Overland Route) moving forward. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 107793 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, December 8, 2018 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Cliff (6,900 ft) Gilpin County, CO 1324 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific An SD70ACe-T4, an SD70M, and an SD70ACe lead an eastbound MRONY past some MOW equipment that is tied down on the siding at Cliff. UP recently replaced the bridge over South Boulder Creek located about halfway through the siding of Cliff. The old wood bridge was replaced with a new steel and concrete bridge. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 107384 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, March 17, 2018 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Cliff (6,900 ft) Pinecliff, CO 1146 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) BNSF Upon seeing this covered hopper on this BNSF sand train, I started wondering if I might win a prize if I send the picture to BNSF. "Find the pink car, win a prize"! In all seriousness, this was the only car on the train painted in this gumball color. A very interesting car indeed. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 107044 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, January 27, 2018 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Cliff (6,900 ft) Gilpin County, CO 1092 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific Even though UP is likely the single biggest customer of EMD engines, it is still more common to catch a GE leading a coal train on the Moffat. So, when an SD70ACe does happen to find itself on the point, it's always nice to get a few shots. Such is the case here as an SD70ACe heads toward the bridge that crosses over South Boulder Creek. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 107043 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, January 27, 2018 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Cliff (6,900 ft) Gilpin County, CO 1171 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific A westbound coal empty, led by a SD70ACe and four GEs, kicks up a bit of exhaust as it charges up the main at Cliff. Note the huge piles of old wooden ties toward the right side of the frame. Also not the code line on the right side of the image. This is used for PTC. This code line will not be found everywhere...only in places where reception is less than great. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106877 Date Shot Photo By Monday, December 18, 2017 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Cliff (6,900 ft) Pinecliff, CO 1162 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific Despite being very close in number, these two units are actually very different models. The leader is an ET44AH. The unit is compliant with the Tier-4 emissions requirements put out by the EPA. The second unit is an ES44AC, which is compliant with the Tier-3 emissions requirements in effective up until January 1, 2016. Together they lead an eastbound coal load on the main at Cliff past some "stick track" laying on the ground near the east end of the house track. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106876 Date Shot Photo By Monday, December 18, 2017 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Cliff (6,900 ft) Pinecliff, CO 1164 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific Right at milepost 37, an eastbound coal train rounds the curve on the main at Cliff. a (relatively) new ET44AH leads the train. I actually shot this exact same coal train a few days earlier when it was empty and on its way west to the mine in West Elk! Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106837 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, December 9, 2017 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Cliff (6,900 ft) Pinecliff, CO 1098 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific Even though it is only a quarter past two in the afternoon, the light here in Pinecliff actually is not going to hold out that much longer! A UP ES44AC brings up the tail end of a westbound coal empty. The train passes near the switch stand on the siding that leads to the house track. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106836 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, December 9, 2017 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Cliff (6,900 ft) Pinecliff, CO 1190 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Norfolk Southern, Union Pacific As a westbound coal empty heads west on the main at Cliff, take note of the pole on the right side of the image. You may also note that there are a few more such poles moving away from the camera. These poles, and the wire between them, are somehow related to PTC. Somewhat ironic that, after technology removed codeline poles, technology is now added some poles back in! These should not be required everywhere...they seem to be needed in mountainous areas. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106834 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, December 9, 2017 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Cliff (6,900 ft) Arvada, CO 945 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific For the sake of clarity, UP frequently labels their tracks so the can be easily identified by maintenance personnel (or anyone that needs to know). A good example is here at Cliff, where both the main and the siding are clearly labeled with yellow spray paint. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106218 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, September 25, 2016 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Cliff (6,900 ft) Pinecliff, CO 1439 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak Right at milepost 37, the eastbound Zephyr accelerates down the main. The train just came through a 10 MPH slow order, which is why the train is now accelerating. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 105715 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, January 9, 2016 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Cliff (6,900 ft) Pinecliff, CO 1501 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific I didn't try chasing this coal empty any further west than Cliff as I didn't like my chances for getting ahead of it again, particularly considering the weather conditions. The crew on the train would have a good run...they would meet (or see) another train until reaching Azure on the west side of Gore Canyon! There, they would meet Amtrak #6. A sign of just how slow the Moffat tends to be these days. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 105714 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, January 9, 2016 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Cliff (6,900 ft) Pinecliff, CO 1698 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific Whether you are a big fan of UP's Armour Yellow scheme or not, you certainly have to admit that it looks pretty sharp when you have a pair of (relatively) clean units amongst a fresh white, snowy setting! Here, these DPUs push on a coal empty on the main at Cliff. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture.

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