Photo ID: 104994 Date Shot Photo By Monday, February 2, 2015 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed CP DS012 (East Leyden) Arvada, CO 1562 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific Just east of Leyden and the grade crossing at 80th Avenue, this westbound has come to a complete stop. While looking back on their train, the crew noticed a tank car five cars back and that did not match their train manifest. They stopped the train here so the conductor could walk back and verify the car. Meanwhile, DS-86 has knocked down the clear signal and will align the train in to the siding. The signal is currently timing out. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 104995 Date Shot Photo By Monday, February 2, 2015 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Leyden (7,020ft) Arvada, CO 1662 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific An MNYRO with an abundance of power pulls in to the siding at Leyden. The first three units will continue with the train to Roper, UT. The SD60 and SD40-2 are headed for Grand Junction. The last three units will be set out in Glenwood Springs to be used as mid-train swing helpers on an eastbound coal load. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 104996 Date Shot Photo By Monday, February 2, 2015 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Leyden (7,020ft) Arvada 1412 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific A power-heavy MNYRO (Manifest, North Yard, CO to Roper, UT) is pulling in to the clear in the siding at Leyden. The crew noticed that there is a tank car out of position in the train and, as a result, they will need to stop at Leyden and rearrange the cars so it is in the correct position. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 104997 Date Shot Photo By Monday, February 2, 2015 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Leyden (7,020ft) Arvada, CO 1729 (1 Comment Posted) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific While most patch jobs involve just slapping on a new number on the cab and number boards (and a shield on the nose), some patch jobs are a bit more unique. UP 6361 is one such example. Note that "Union Pacific" (in red) has completely replaced the fly-lettered "Southern Pacific" on the long hood. On a side note, you may have wondered why UP bothered replacing the white frame stripe on Espee units with a yellow one. In 2005, the Federal Railroad Administration concluded that yellow "retroreflectorive sheeting" is the easiest to see. Consequently, the FRA ruled that all locomotives had to have yellow striping (or, in some cases, white) applied by May 31, 2010. This was done for safety reasons. That is why UP frame stripes changed from red to yellow, as well. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 104998 Date Shot Photo By Monday, February 2, 2015 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Leyden (7,020ft) Arvada, CO 1415 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific A pair of good looking second generation EMDs are headed to Grand Junction on the MNYRO. UP 2187 is an SD60, reactivated from storage due to power shortages. UP 1653 is designated as an SD40N on UP's roster. UP rebuilt several hundred SD40-2s to extend their life. The rebuilding was done in North Little Rock and, after the rebuild, the units got the new SD40N designation. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 104999 Date Shot Photo By Monday, February 2, 2015 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Leyden (7,020ft) Arvada, CO 1484 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific A very attentive crew on this MNYRO noticed a tank car five cars back from the head end. This did not match their train manifest so they asked DS-86 to align them in to the siding at Leyden to investigate. Turns out the tank car was too close to the head end and needed to be moved further back. The crew was going to do the switch at the house track at Leyden, but discovered the frog was missing from the house track! I learned that this is done because, if the frog is missing, UP does not have to pay taxes on the house track. Who knew? In any case, after a very late westbound Zephyr passes by, the crew will perform the switching out of the west end of Leyden. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 105000 Date Shot Photo By Monday, February 2, 2015 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Chemical (MP 14.5) Arvada, CO 1559 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak A major snow storm hit the Illinois area the previous day, wreaking havoc on trains. Unfortunately, the Zephyr fell victim to the bad conditions and lost six hours between Chicago, IL and Omaha, NE. While not great for the passengers, it is nice for photography! When on time, both Zephyrs (eastbound and westbound) are always back lit around Denver. So it is nice to get some afternoon light here as the Zephyr heads west of Leyden on clear signals, trying to make up for some lost time. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 105001 Date Shot Photo By Monday, February 2, 2015 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Plastic (MP 16.1) Arvada, CO 1232 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak The westbound Zephyr is about to knock down a clear signal at MP 16.1 (nicknamed Plastic). In the distance, you can see some cars driving on CO-93. The train is about to enter Barbara's Gulch and slow down quite a bit. Near the base of shadows up on the mountain, you can also see the tracks running through Eisele (formerly Clay). Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 105002 Date Shot Photo By Monday, February 2, 2015 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Blue Mountain Drive (MP 22.43) Arvada, CO 1314 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak Due to bad weather in the midwest, the Zephyr is running six hours late west of Denver. Unfortunately, a little more time was lost when coming around Big Ten Loop. Due to high winds, there was a 10 MPH slow order around the curve, slowing down the Zephyr a bit more. Here, the train is rounding the curve from Eisele and approaching the grade crossing at Blue Mountain. You can see most of the Denver skyline near the right side of the image. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 105003 Date Shot Photo By Monday, February 2, 2015 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Blue Mountain Drive (MP 22.43) Arvada, CO 1522 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak The standard pair of P42DCs lead the westbound Zephyr through the curves at Blue Mountain and Coal Creek. Hard to believe that the P42s started showing up nearly 20 years ago (in November 1995) and replaced F40PHs as the primary locomotive about 17 years ago. How much life do they have left in them? And will Amtrak be able to secure funding to rebuild or replace them? Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 105004 Date Shot Photo By Monday, February 2, 2015 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Blue Mountain Drive (MP 22.43) Arvada, CO 1696 (2 Comments Posted) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak After just passing the detector at MP 22.6, the Zephyr is about to wrap around the horseshoe curve at the base of Coal Creek Canyon. As has been typical for about two months, the Zephyr is running with just six Superliners and the Lounge car is located directly behind the Baggage car. The two Horizon cars (located between the power and the Baggage car) are headed for California to run on the Reno Fun Train. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 105005 Date Shot Photo By Monday, February 2, 2015 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Coal Creek (MP 23) Arvada, CO 1236 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak A very late westbound Zephyr climbs up from Coal Creek Canyon toward Tunnel 1. CO-72 is visible near the bottom of the picture. Take a good look at the Baggage car as you won't be seeing these classic Baggage cars on Amtrak for much longer. Amtrak recently ordered new Baggage cars for all its long distance trains. The new cars are climate-controlled and feature bike racks in addition to luggage racks. Amtrak has also stated that, by 2016, long distance trains will have new Dining cars, Sleeping cars, and Dorm/Baggage cars. No word on replacement Coaches or Sightseer Lounge cars. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 105006 Date Shot Photo By Monday, February 2, 2015 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Broomfield (8,976ft) Broomfield, CO 1556 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Front Range (BNSF) BNSF The Buck Local just brought some cars off the Lafayette Branch and dropped them on the siding at Broomfield. The crew got a track warrant to come out on the main and run around the cars to hook on the north end in order to head back to Longmont. Here, the train heads north on the main with a GP39-2R and a B40-8W. This location is supposed to change a lot in the next few years as the city of Broomfield has plans to connection 120th Avenue underneath the tracks. Meaning this shot will eventually include a bridge for the tracks (with 120th Avenue running underneath). Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 105007 Date Shot Photo By Monday, February 2, 2015 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Broomfield (8,976ft) Broomfield, CO 1687 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Front Range (BNSF) BNSF A pair of four-axle units, sporting the two most recent BNSF paint schemes, heads north on the main at Broomfield. The train is approaching the 120th Avenue grade crossing. Perhaps "train" is a little generous here, as the crew is running the light power to the north end of Broomfield. Once there, they will back in to the siding to hook on to their train and head north to Longmont. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 105008 Date Shot Photo By Monday, February 2, 2015 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Broomfield (8,976ft) Broomfield, CO 1530 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Front Range (BNSF) BNSF A pair of light units head south on the siding at Broomfield back toward their train. There is an interesting grade separation between the main and siding at Broomfield. This is because, at one time, they were actually two separate lines for two separate railroads! Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture.

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