Photo ID: 104960 Date Shot Photo By Friday, January 23, 2015 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Barbara's Gulch (MP 15.9 to MP 17.2) Arvada, CO 1319 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) BNSF An eastbound BNSF train makes its way east through Barbara's Gulch. If you look just above the train (on the left side of the photo), you can make out the tracks as they cut across the mountain at Eisele (formerly Clay). Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 104961 Date Shot Photo By Friday, January 23, 2015 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Chemical (MP 14.5) Arvada, CO 1362 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) BNSF Most shots between Leyden and Rocky are taken from the north side of the tracks. However, with the continuing construction of Leyden Rock (a new neighborhood in Arvada) on the south side of the tracks, it is a bit easier to find new angles from the south side. Such is the case here as a BNSF manifest makes its way east toward Leyden where it will take the siding. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 104962 Date Shot Photo By Friday, January 23, 2015 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Chemical (MP 14.5) Arvada, CO 1423 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) BNSF An eastbound BNSF manifest sports a mighty fine (and diverse) consist of power just west of Leyden. A BNSF ES44DC in the New Image scheme is on the point. A (borrowed) UP ES44AC is second out. The Warbonnet SD75M and (Original) Heritage C44-9W are looking pretty good. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 104963 Date Shot Photo By Friday, January 23, 2015 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Chemical (MP 14.5) Arvada, CO 1379 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) BNSF Over the course of the last decade, BNSF's SD75Ms and SD75Is have bounced between active service and storage. With the recent boom in oil-by-rail, they have been reactivated. I am personally grateful for this as I never complain about seeing a Warbonnet through the view finder! Note the one (out of place) door on the long hood. You may also notice that the first number on the cab seems to be covered. That is because, in order to fit the (re)activated SD75s in to the roster, they were renumber from the 8200-series to the 200-series (their original numbers when delivered to Santa Fe). Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 104964 Date Shot Photo By Friday, January 23, 2015 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Chemical (MP 14.5) Arvada, CO 1327 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) BNSF Always nice to get a shot of a "goat boat" from time-to-time. The original Heritage scheme (seen here) is very close to the Great Northern railroad (ancestor of Burlington Northern), which had a goat in its herald, hence the "goat" part of the nickname. Second generation GE diesels (U25B, U30C, etc) were referred to as "U-boats". While a C44-9W is not necessary a "U-boat" in that sense, "boat" rhymes with "goat", so there ya go! Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 104965 Date Shot Photo By Friday, January 23, 2015 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Barbara's Gulch (MP 15.9 to MP 17.2) Arvada, CO 1478 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak The westbound Zephyr is running right on time as it enters the east end of Barbara's Gulch. Note the Lounge Car located directly behind the baggage car. This is a fairly recent change for the Zephyr. The theory that has been floated is that the change was made to reduce the exhaust fumes in the coach cars (where more passengers are theoretically located) caused by the train going through tunnels. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 104966 Date Shot Photo By Friday, January 23, 2015 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Barbara's Gulch (MP 15.9 to MP 17.2) Arvada, CO 1268 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak A shortened westbound California Zephyr (only six Superliners instead of the typical seven) heads west through Barbara's Gulch. In peak passenger seasons, the Zephyr will run with nine Superliners. Eight tends to be the average. During the slow passenger season (typically winter), you'll usually find seven Superliners on the train. It has been said that Amtrak is taking advantage of the slow season to repair and/or refurbish some of the Superliners, hence only six on the train right now. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 104967 Date Shot Photo By Friday, January 23, 2015 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed CP DS013 (West Leyden) Arvada, CO 1524 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific A new take and perspective looking east toward the west switch of Leyden. UP's westbound MNYRO (Manifest, North Yard, CO to Roper, UT) is headed west on a clear signal. If you look just to the left of the nose of the lead unit, you can see the bridge over Indiana Street as well as the signal at the west end of Leyden. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 104968 Date Shot Photo By Friday, January 23, 2015 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Chemical (MP 14.5) Arvada, CO 1464 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific A westbound manifest (with a patched Espee leader) is about to pass by "Leyden Rock", a new neighborhood under development in between Leyden and Rocky. You can see some of the moved earth and marker sticks in the foreground. A year from now and this shot will be obscured by new houses that will soon be built here. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 104969 Date Shot Photo By Friday, January 23, 2015 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Chemical (MP 14.5) Arvada, CO 1818 (2 Comments Posted) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific The power on this westbound manifest seems to reflect the current builder preference by railroads. GE is definitely the preferred builder over EMD and has been since the mid-to-late 1980s. The third unit is somewhat noteworthy. It is one of only C40-8Ws on UP's roster. The third unit, for that matter, is also somewhat rare. It is one of only 278 C44-9Ws that UP has. I say "rare" in the context of over 7,000 units on UP's roster as over 1,500 C44-9Ws on BNSF's roster. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 104970 Date Shot Photo By Friday, January 23, 2015 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Chemical (MP 14.5) Arvada, CO 1509 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific On a rather brisk morning (about 25°F), an eastbound coal load glides east past the intermediate signal at MP 14.5. The train has a clear signal and will proceed to Bypass Track 2 in Denver. Ultimately, the train is headed for the Cherokee power plant in northeast Denver. Which, by the end of 2017, will burn natural gas exclusively. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 104971 Date Shot Photo By Friday, January 23, 2015 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Chemical (MP 14.5) Arvada, CO 1493 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific It seems strange, but this is the first coal train I've shot on the Moffat in several weeks (if not months). Whereas the Moffat used to be running near capacity due to all the coal traffic, it almost seems to be a novelty to catch a coal train anymore. Here, this eastbound is running parallel to CO-72 west of Leyden. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 104972 Date Shot Photo By Friday, January 23, 2015 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Chemical (MP 14.5) Arvada, CO 1579 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific An eastbound coal load approaches West Leyden. The coal is headed for Xcel Energy's Cherokee Power Plant in northeast Denver. That power plant receives around three coal loads per week. Including empties, that is about six trains. Once the power plant is burning all natural gas (delivered via pipeline) by the end of 2017, it'll be that many fewer trains on the Moffat each week. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 104973 Date Shot Photo By Friday, January 23, 2015 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed CP DS013 (West Leyden) Arvada, CO 1549 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific The field here adjacent to the tracks (just west of Leyden) is currently for sale. It falls in unincorporated Jefferson County and my guess would be that it is currently zoned for residential use. Anybody want to build a house right next to the tracks? Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 104974 Date Shot Photo By Friday, January 23, 2015 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Chemical (MP 14.5) Arvada, CO 1395 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific Now this is a bit odd. Four mid-train swing helpers! While I think I may have seen this once or twice in the past, I do not specifically recall when or where. Regardless, on this particular day, an ES44AC, an AC4400CW, a C44AC-CTE, and an SD70ACe all work together to control the coal loads speed as it heads in to Leyden. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture.

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