Photo ID: 105699 Date Shot Photo By Friday, January 8, 2016 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Leyden (7,020ft) Arvada, CO 1973 (2 Comments Posted) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak Everyone in the Denver-Metro area woke up to a fresh blanket of snow and chilly temperatures on this Friday morning! The westbound Zephyr cruises west on the main at Leyden, kicking up some of the fresh power. If you look closely, you might note that the frog has been removed from the house track switch. By doing this, UP does not have to pay taxes on the house track! (Don't ask me...I'm no tax expert!) Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 105700 Date Shot Photo By Friday, January 8, 2016 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Leyden (7,020ft) Arvada, CO 1508 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak It is nice to know that, for the time being, Amtrak is one of the staples helping to keep the Moffat alive. Not that I am worried about UP actually abandoning (or idling) the Moffat, but with as few trains as there are running on the Moffat as there are, it is good to have at least a few trains that you can rely on each day. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 105701 Date Shot Photo By Friday, January 8, 2016 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Chemical (MP 14.5) Arvada, CO 1597 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific This picture should cool you off if you are a bit hot! A good 3 inches of fresh snow (with more still coming down) fell in Denver overnight. This westbound coal empty is kicking up quite a bit of it as it charges west out of Leyden. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 105702 Date Shot Photo By Friday, January 8, 2016 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Chemical (MP 14.5) Arvada, CO 1574 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific This train was a real treat on this snowy January morning. Not only is the train a coal train (and yes, that is becoming more and more a big deal these days!), but it has an all-EMD consist! A trio of SD70ACes are in charge of the train as it approaches a clear signal at Chemical (MP 14.5). Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 105703 Date Shot Photo By Friday, January 8, 2016 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Chemical (MP 14.5) Arvada, CO 1880 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific At the time I took this picture, I was unable to recall the last time I saw a coal (or any train, for that matter) that had an all-EMD consist! The trio of SD70s was a welcome sight for this EMD fan. While all three are technically SD70ACes, the first and third units are both classified as an SD70AH. This means that these units weight 427,000 pounds instead of 420,000 pounds. While you may not think that extra 7,000 pounds can make much of a difference to a unit already weighing 210 tons, it actually does increase the tractive effort of the units, giving them better "pull", particularly when starting. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 105704 Date Shot Photo By Friday, January 8, 2016 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Chemical (MP 14.5) Arvada, CO 1614 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific If you look at one of the captions that shows the head end of this train, you may notice that I mentioned the lead units were EMD. This SD70AH on the tail end means there isn't a GE unit to be found on this coal empty! A rare occurrence these days...almost as rare as finding a coal train running on the Moffat. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture.