After meeting the eastbound Winter Park Express Ski Train, this westbound coal empty (headed for the North Fork Branch) is throttling back up after DS-82 set up a clear signal at the west end of Rollins. If you look in the distance, you can see the red signals at the east end of Rollins.
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This classic shot at West Rollins is likely only going to be possible for another year or so (without any obstructions). A couple of pine trees are threatening to block the view of the tracks! But, that hasn't quite happened yet on this frigid day as the westbound Zephyr, running 4 1/2 hours late, approaches the west end of Rollins.
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For a couple of months during the "slow" season, the Zephyr was running with a mere six Superliners. Now that Spring is getting close, Amtrak has expanded the Zephyr back up to seven Superliners. Here, the westbound Zephyr has a clear signal as it heads out the west end of Rollins.
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It is a beautiful summer afternoon as UP's daily westbound manifest running from Denver to Salt Lake City (the MNYRO) heads down the main on a clear signal. The train is about to pass underneath CO-119 in the heart of Rollinsville. Rollinsville celebrated its 130th birthday in 2014 and no doubt most of its 181 residents (2010 census) attended the festivities.
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The westbound Zephyr passes by the west end of Rollins on the main, heading for some inclement weather. Notice the whitish-hue in front of the mountains on the far right side of the picture (above Amtrak)? That isn't fog, that is hail!
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As is rather common in the summer in Colorado, clear morning skies have given way to overcast and stormy afternoon conditions. There is a light rain at the west end of Rollins and a dime-sized hail storm between Rollins and Tolland. Neither of these facts slow down Amtrak, however, as it continues its journey west toward California.
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While UP is definitely becoming accustomed to using DPU's on their manifests on the Moffat, it is rather unusually to catch an EMD unit as the DPU. However, this SD70ACe was the sole DPU power on this Sunday morning!
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This manifest was waiting in the siding at Cliff to let the Zephyr run around it. As soon as the Zephyr was west of Cliff, this guy got the light to follow him. Unfortunately, the train only made it to Rollins before having to stop to wait for an eastbound on the other side of the divide. The coal train in the shot left Rollins as soon as the manifest cleared the east switch.
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The westbound Zephyr has two bonus cars on the tail end today. UP's Sunset and Stanford were added to the train in Omaha and are getting a ride to the west coast. The Zephyr is running about 90 minutes late this morning as it makes its way through the siding at Rollins.
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When the loaded coal train in this shot arrived at Rollins, maintenance on the siding meant the coal train had to hold the main line. With the maintenance now in the clear, the westbound Zephyr is coming through on the siding.
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An eastbound coal load has a clear signal down the mainline at Rollins. The coal train was loaded as the West Elk mine on the North Fork Branch.
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A few pockets of deciduous trees stand out against the evergreens as this eastbound coal load passes down the main at Rollins. Not the trio of mid-train swing helpers just passes the signals at the west end. The cows in the field are quite indifferent to the thousands of tons of black diamonds.
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The sun is in perfect position to light this westbound coal empty heading west on the main at Rollins. Some fresh ballast was recently laid down on the main.
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This is certainly a shot that you have probably seen a hundred times from the west end of Rollins. However, I included it mainly because of what you can see in the distance behind the train. A track inspector is on the rails, following the train west. Talk about train chasing!
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A new crew is getting ready to take the coal empty on the right west out of Rollins. However, they aren't quite ready yet and DS-82 is running this coal empty around the other one. For trains heading east, the speed limit here is 35 MPH for passenger trains and 30 MPH for freight trains.
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