Winter has arrived in Colorado! After having next to no precipitation between October and December, this storm brings some descent accumulation to the Front Range. This is UP's "Public Service" train that supplies coal to the Cherokee Power Plant in Commerce City. As it stands right now, this train will cease in 2017 as Xcel plans to stop burning coal at the Cherokee Plant.
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A westbound coal empty wraps around the curve at the base of Coal Creek Canyon. The train would continue west all the way to Winter Park before meeting an eastbound.
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A westbound coal empty takes the siding at Plainview. The dispatcher instructed the train to stop short of the grade crossing so as not to block cars. Unfortunately, this shot shows where the train actually stopped, which is much further east that normal.
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A classic view of an eastbound making its way through the S-Curves at the base of Coal Creek. You can see the third of three mid-train DPU's in the distance as the head end approaches the grade crossing at Blue Mountain.
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It is getting late in the day as this eastbound coal load moves along Highway 72 between Rocky and Leyden. Once in Denver, the train will stop to cut out its mid-train swing helpers and to receive a new crew before continuing east.
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The last shot of the day comes from the east switch of Leyden about 20 minutes prior to the complete loss of light! I set this shot up as a black and white shot. Snow continued falling, adding to the four inches already on the ground.
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