Photo ID: 106059 Date Shot Photo By Wednesday, June 8, 2016 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Chemical (MP 14.5) Arvada, CO 1364 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) BNSF Prior to the start of 2016, BNSF's Denver to Provo manifest departed Denver fairly consistently in the mid-to-late afternoon. Now that these trains use crews based in Grand Junction, their departure time fluctuates. I suspect this is because the yard tries to get the train out as soon as possible after a Grand Junction crew is rested so they don't hang around the hotel too long. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106060 Date Shot Photo By Wednesday, June 8, 2016 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Chemical (MP 14.5) Arvada, CO 1359 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) BNSF A trio of GEVOs, including an early-production GEVO that was originally painted in Heritage 2, lead up an early morning westbound west of Leyden. Plentiful rain (and snow) in April has led to some green pastures in June. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106061 Date Shot Photo By Wednesday, June 8, 2016 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed CP DS016 (East Rocky) Arvada, CO 1639 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific The West Local departs Rocky on a clear signal to head back to North Yard. The train had a couple of cars for the aggregate plant on the Rocky Spur which they dropped off earlier. With that work complete and no other work along the line, the trio of units head back light. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106062 Date Shot Photo By Wednesday, June 8, 2016 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Plain (6,530 ft) Arvada, CO 1410 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific An eastbound appears from behind the trees at Plain on the approach to the grade crossing. The two cars in the house track actually derailed on the MNYRO nearly two months ago. There is apparently no urgency to get them fixed and on their way! Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106063 Date Shot Photo By Wednesday, June 8, 2016 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Plain (6,530 ft) Arvada, CO 1754 (2 Comments Posted) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific What's this? A coal train!? Funny how ten years ago, the Moffat was busting at the seams (no pun intended) with coal trains. Now, the Moffat regularly goes days between coal trains. In fact, there are only two mines left in Colorado (as of this photo) that are loading on trains*. The West Elk Mine on the North Fork Branch and the Energy Mine on the Craig Branch. This particularly train loaded at Energy. * Axial Mine on the Craig Branch does still loads trains, but they are "captive trains"...they run between the mine and the Hayden and Ute Power Plants in the Steamboat and Craig area. The trains never leaves the Craig Branch. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106064 Date Shot Photo By Wednesday, June 8, 2016 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Plain (6,530 ft) Arvada, CO 1220 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific I was trapped on the uphill side of this coal train (meaning I could not drive away until it passed), so I decided to wander around the area and came up with a bit of an artsy shot between a pair of trees not far away from the tracks. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106065 Date Shot Photo By Wednesday, June 8, 2016 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Plain (6,530 ft) Arvada, CO 1219 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific A single SD70ACe leads an eastbound coal load down the main at Plain. The train held the main at Crescent in order to meet a very late (six hours) California Zephyr. After clouds build, threatening the possibility of a thunderstorm. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106066 Date Shot Photo By Wednesday, June 8, 2016 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Barbara's Gulch (MP 15.9 to MP 17.2) Arvada, CO 1246 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific I always enjoy trying to find new locations to shoot...and this particular spot is a great one save for one thing. Barbara's Gulch has a large number of power lines running in and around it and, as you can see, one set runs right through the middle of this perspective. Regardless, I still thought shot was worth posting. An eastbound coal load rolls east out of Rocky with Tunnel 1 and east end of Plain visible in the distance. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106067 Date Shot Photo By Wednesday, June 8, 2016 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Barbara's Gulch (MP 15.9 to MP 17.2) Arvada, CO 1275 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific An afternoon thunderstorm builds north toward Boulder and over the Flat Irons as an eastbound coal load rolls towards the intermediate signal at MP 16.1 in Barbara's Gulch. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106068 Date Shot Photo By Wednesday, June 8, 2016 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed CP DS012 (East Leyden) Arvada, CO 1412 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific Union Pacific installed new signals (to replace the old Rio Grande signals) at East Leyden eight months ago, yet the new signals have not yet been activated. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining about the opportunity to continue shooting the old signal, I just find it interesting that the new signals have sat there, inactive, for that length of time. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106069 Date Shot Photo By Wednesday, June 8, 2016 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Chemical (MP 14.5) Arvada, CO 1330 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific Two coal trains on the Moffat in one afternoon! Something of a rare sight in the middle of 2016. Even less common, both coal trains were Energy Mine coal trains. They met at Arvada and I didn't want to go that far into the city to shoot the meet, but this westbound empty is the "Public Service" train. It supplies coal for Xcel Energy's Cherokee Power Plant in northeast Denver. This train likely has about six months of life left, as Cherokee's conversion to natural gas is nearly complete. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106070 Date Shot Photo By Wednesday, June 8, 2016 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Chemical (MP 14.5) Arvada, CO 1420 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific Three GEs and an SD70ACe lead the CPSEY (Coal, Public Service to Energy Mine) empty west of Leyden. Light rain falls as a thunderstorm to the northwest continues to build. The Denver Skyline stands tall off to the right of the frame. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106071 Date Shot Photo By Wednesday, June 8, 2016 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Chemical (MP 14.5) Arvada, CO 1380 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific Here is one thing the overcast, stormy skies of Summer are good for! Slower shutter speeds. The two DPUs on the tail end of this Energy-bound coal empty roll past the camera on their journey west. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106072 Date Shot Photo By Wednesday, June 8, 2016 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Leyden (7,020ft) Arvada, CO 1348 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific A pair of engines pulls UP's "EC-4" track geometry inspection car. This car cost $8.5 million when it was built in 2005. It has multiple computers onboard, as well as GPS, so any track defects can be precisely recorded. The car does have self-propulsion. However, it seems that the propulsion must be out of service on this particular day! Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106073 Date Shot Photo By Wednesday, June 8, 2016 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Leyden (7,020ft) Arvada, CO 1528 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific The EC-4 test car rolls by on the main at Leyden, headed for North Yard for the night. The test car, which checks for defects in track geometry, is typically operated by a crew of three. Among other amenities, the car has a full kitchen to allow the crew to eat on the go. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture.