A pair of ES44ACs, the first of which is a "Tier-3 credit unit", in the same number range as ET44ACs, lead an eastbound loaded oil train about seven miles east of the Moffat Tunnel. A dirt road, called Tolland Road and/or East Portal Road, follows the tracks on the opposite side of South Boulder Creek.
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The Continental Divide still sports quite a bit of snow on the top of it and it lies dead ahead for the westbound Zephyr. Just east of the east switch of Tolland, the Zephyr is clear (green) signals all the way up to and through the Moffat Tunnel.
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About 46 miles west of Denver, the westbound Zephyr is right on time as it crosses over South Boulder Creek. You could not ask for a more beautiful Memorial Day morning.
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This right here is what inspired "Aspen Gold" as the main color for the Denver and Rio Grande Western so many decades ago. A grove of Aspen trees is right at the peak of their fall color transition as the westbound California Zephyr glides by on the main track west of Rollins.
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Tis the season! Deciduous trees in Colorado are blasting through beautiful fall colors and will be losing their leaves soon. A great way to observe the fall colors is onboard the California Zephyr, charging west out of Rollins in the background.
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An eastbound coal load heads eastbound down the main at Rollins. Several trees have lost their leaves in the distance, indicating this weekend may well be the best for falls colors. Next weekend, far more trees may be leafless!
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Something is peeking! An eastbound coal load comes around the corner toward Rollins as there is a smattering of fall colors in the surrounding area.
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If this was any day but Sunday, we'd probably be seeing the MNYRO here. However, the Roper manifest gets a break on Sunday's. Instead, this is the MNYGJ making a run to Grand Junction.
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The conductor on the MNYRO gives a friendly wave as the manifest charges west out of Rollins. The train had stopped for about 20 minutes on the main to wait for maintenance to clear up ahead of them.
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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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After a good run up the hill from Denver, it is time to sit for awhile! This westbound coal empty is in the hole at Rollins and will have to wait not only for the Ski Train, but for the eastbound Zephyr as well.
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The westbound California Zephyrs picks up a little speeds as it leaves Rollins behind on an Advanced Approach signal. Three private cars bring up the rear of the train on this day. That last car was once owned and operated by Frisco.
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Don't attempt to adjust your monitor! At the time of this shot, only 37 unpatched Espee units remained, and I was lucky enough to come across this SD40M-2, the fourth unit on the MNYRO-27. The rebuilt SD45 along with the SD40T-2 behind it are on their way to Ogden, UT where they will be placed in "long term storage".
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A very heavy, slow-moving westbound MNYRO climbs its way into Rollins. This train got my attention for the day (and I let several other cool train go as a result) due to the fourth unit. It is one of the only unpatched Espee units left, an SD40M-2 (SP 8613).
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Running a couple of hours late, the westbound California Zephyr comes around the corner and into beautiful downtown Rollins! With slightly cooler temperatures and slightly higher precipitation levels, there is a lot of green to be found up at altitude.
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