Photo ID: 109245 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, May 30, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Simms Street Arvada, CO 144 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific For decades, coal was the "black commodity" that the Moffat was most know for. Recently, however, oil has replaced coal as the new "black commodity" that is now running far more frequently on the Moffat. Here, a loaded oil train is out of Leyden and is approaching the grade crossing at Simms street. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 108606 Date Shot Photo By Monday, May 10, 2021 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Simms Street Arvada, CO 538 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) BNSF An SD70ACe and an ES44AC bring up the tail end of an eastbound BNSF coal load. UP coal trains typically run in a 2x3x1 configuration on the Moffat. That is because the three mid-train swing helpers are then removed in Denver. BNSF, however, will not be removing any power from the train, which is configured 2x2x2. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 108605 Date Shot Photo By Monday, May 10, 2021 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Simms Street Arvada, CO 599 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) BNSF About five years ago, BNSF experimented with a rebuild program in association with Progress Rail. A total of 24 SD70MACs were give brand new electronics and traction motors. Their designation was changed from "SD70MAC" to "SD70MACe". Not sure the reasoning, but it appears those 24 units were the only ones to go through the program. BNSF 9730 is one of the two dozen units to receive the rebuild (and a fresh coat of paint, going from the Heritage 2 scheme to the New Image scheme). Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 108604 Date Shot Photo By Monday, May 10, 2021 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Simms Street Arvada, CO 540 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) BNSF It has been a particularly wet spring along the Front Range here in Colorado. No complaints from me as the moisture is really starting to green up the entire Denver-metro area! A pair of mid-train 70-series mid-train swing helpers roll by nose-to-nose in this BNSF coal train. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 108603 Date Shot Photo By Monday, May 10, 2021 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Simms Street Arvada, CO 576 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) BNSF BNSF continues to be the railroad that runs the most trains on UP's Moffat Tunnel Subdivision. Here, an eastbound BNSF coal load, which loaded in Utah, rolls east near the Simms Street grade crossing just east of Leyden. This is actually one of two BNSF coal loads on the Moffat at the time of this shot. The second was just out of Grand Junction. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 108602 Date Shot Photo By Monday, May 10, 2021 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Simms Street Arvada, CO 568 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) BNSF An eastbound BNSF coal load rolls east on the main just east of Leyden. Although not super common, BNSF does sometimes load coal trains in Utah and run them over the Moffat via their trackage rights. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 108541 Date Shot Photo By Thursday, November 5, 2020 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Simms Street Arvada, CO 689 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) BNSF This eastbound BNSF manifest is on the roll after a meet at Leyden, about a mile to the west. Here, the train is crossing Simms Street in Arvada. Simms Street, as with most of the grade crossing in Arvada, is now a quiet zone, meaning trains do not use their horns (unless someone is in the way). Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 108228 Date Shot Photo By Wednesday, June 24, 2020 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Simms Street Arvada, CO 723 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Ferromex, BNSF It's always fun to catch power that is foreign to the area. Along the Front Range, it is pretty much all BNSF and UP, all the time. So seeing a visitor from the south such as this Ferromex ES44ACs is particularly cool. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 108227 Date Shot Photo By Wednesday, June 24, 2020 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Simms Street Arvada, CO 813 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) BNSF It is a perfect, picturesque morning in Arvada a few days in to summer as BNSF's Provo-Denver rolls east towards the crossing at Simms Street. BNSF manifest are now the only manifests that use the former Grande between Denver and Salt Lake. UP's manifest traffic between the two cities now entirely goes via the Overland Route in Wyoming. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 108226 Date Shot Photo By Wednesday, June 24, 2020 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Simms Street Arvada, CO 727 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) BNSF The eastbound Provo-Denver passes by a "yellow board" east of Leyden on the approach to Simms Street. If you are unfamiliar with yellow boards like this one, they are an indication to trains that there is a speed restriction in place. Typically, these speed restrictions are expected to be in place for days or even weeks if MOW takes the time to put up the boards. In this case, this is a 40 MPH speed restriction. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 107812 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, December 8, 2018 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Simms Street Arvada, CO 1024 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific A pair of UP engines and four cars (including a crane) make up this work train as it crosses Simms Street in Arvada. The two units left North Yard earlier in the day to go up to Cliff and pick up the four cars. The train will tie down on Bypass 1 until the next crew is called at 15:30 to take the train east on the KP. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 107811 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, December 8, 2018 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Simms Street Arvada, CO 1060 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific For the past several weeks, this UP crane has been used to assist in the construction of a new bridge over South Boulder Creek for both the main and siding at Cliff. Construction has now completed and the crane is off to its next assignment. While I do not know what that assignment is, I do know that it will be in Trenton, MO. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 107810 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, December 8, 2018 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Simms Street Arvada, CO 1086 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific It is pretty incredible that UP's order for 1000 SD70Ms from EMD came nearly 20 years ago! With Tier-3 and Tier-4 units taking over mainline trains these days, coming across an SD70M on the mainline almost feels like a novelty. Such was the case on this Saturday when one led a four car work train east from Cliff to Bypass 1 at North Yard. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 107717 Date Shot Photo By Thursday, October 4, 2018 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Simms Street Arvada, CO 1006 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific An SD70ACe-T4 leads a short MPHNYX-04 (Manifest: Phippsburg, CO to North Yard, CO) just east of Leyden. UP does still have a number of customers on the Craig Branch (aside from the coal mines), so manifests will still run periodically between North Yard and Phippsburg (and vice versa). The train is not regularly scheduled, however, so it always runs as an extra these days, with an "X" on the end of the symbol denoting that it is an extra. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 107715 Date Shot Photo By Friday, September 21, 2018 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Simms Street Arvada, CO 1066 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific An SD70ACe and a pair of ES44ACs lead an eastbound on the final few miles of track before terminating at North Yard. As infrequent as Union Pacific trains seem to be on the Moffat, it was great catching this guy in fantastic morning light. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture.

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