Photo ID: 106823 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, December 9, 2017 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Leyden (7,020ft) Arvada, CO 1082 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak The Zephyr arrived in Denver about 45 minutes late, but departed close to 4 hours late! Apparently, the lead P42 was giving the crew some issues. They attempted to depart at 10:30am, only to stop near Fox Junction with the same problem. For awhile, they were going to back in to the station, but fortunately the Amtrak mechanical department was able to troubleshoot the issue with the crew and, just before noon, they started rolling west. Here, the train is moving on a clear signal at Leyden. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106824 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, December 9, 2017 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Leyden (7,020ft) Arvada, CO 1033 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak The Zephyr had a extra rider on the tail end on this particular day! Privately owned, Pullman-built coach "Pacific Sunset" was catching a ride west. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106825 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, December 9, 2017 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Coal Creek (MP 23) Arvada, CO 1048 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak Typically, the westbound Zephyr would be shot from the opposite side of the bridge at the base of Coal Creek Canyon in order to have favorable light. However, running nearly four hours late has resulted in the sun swinging far enough around to the west that this side of the bridge is better for lighting. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106826 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, December 9, 2017 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Coal Creek (MP 23) Arvada, CO 1008 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak Prior to ordering their 200+ P42DCs to replace their F40PH fleet at the end of the 1990s and early 2000s, Amtrak first ordered 44 P40DCs from GE in 1993. These ended up spending several years in storage before being upgraded to P42DCs. They do retain their original P40DC numbers, however, which is why this unit wears 817 instead of a number between 1 and 207 as its "true" P42DC cousins do. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106827 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, December 9, 2017 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Coal Creek (MP 23) Arvada, CO 958 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak It is not uncommon to see privately owned passenger cars catching a lift on the back of the Zephyr. Anyone that owns a private car can, for a fee, get pulled around virtually anywhere on Amtrak's system. This Pullman-built coach is named the "Pacific Sunset". Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106828 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, December 9, 2017 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Barbara's Gulch (MP 15.9 to MP 17.2) Arvada, CO 1090 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Norfolk Southern, Union Pacific A coal empty headed for the West Elk Mine on the North Fork branch has some pool power on the point! A Norfolk Southern ES44AC leads for UP units through Barbara's Gulch. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106829 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, December 9, 2017 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Barbara's Gulch (MP 15.9 to MP 17.2) Arvada, CO 1206 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Norfolk Southern, Union Pacific Since the start of December, I've managed to shoot power from each of the five US-based Class 1 railroads on the Moffat! That's Union Pacific, BNSF, CSX, Norfolk Southern, and Kansas City Southern. Here, a "catfish" leads a westbound coal empty through Barbara's Gulch. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106830 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, December 9, 2017 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Blue Mountain Drive (MP 22.43) Arvada, CO 1238 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Norfolk Southern, Union Pacific This is officially the most-shot Norfolk Southern unit for me personally. This just happens to be the same unit that led a coal load east on the KP line the previous Monday! It made its way back to Colorado on another coal train. Here, the train is approaching the grade crossing at Blue Mountain. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106831 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, December 9, 2017 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Coal Creek (MP 23) Arvada, CO 1075 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Norfolk Southern, Union Pacific An NS ES44AC leads four UP units on the climb from the base of Coal Creek Canyon up toward Tunnel One. When Union Pacific activates PTC (Positive Train Control) on the Moffat, there is a good chance it will mean the end of foreign power on the point of trains...at least for awhile. Until foreign power is equipped with PTC technology that is compatible with UP's, such units will not be able to lead on the Moffat. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106832 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, December 9, 2017 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Blue Mountain Drive (MP 22.43) Arvada, CO 1059 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific Five units on the point of this coal train (including an NS leader) are about to disappear into Tunnel One as the rest of the train snakes its way through the curves at Blue Mountain and Coal Creek. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106833 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, December 9, 2017 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Blue Mountain Drive (MP 22.43) Arvada, CO 1067 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific A single ES44AC brings up the tail end of a westbound coal empty headed for the North Fork Branch. The train has five units on the head end, and it is likely that three of them will be set out at Glenwood Springs. Those three units will then be cut back in as mid-train swing helpers for journey east. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106834 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, December 9, 2017 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Cliff (6,900 ft) Arvada, CO 945 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific For the sake of clarity, UP frequently labels their tracks so the can be easily identified by maintenance personnel (or anyone that needs to know). A good example is here at Cliff, where both the main and the siding are clearly labeled with yellow spray paint. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106835 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, December 9, 2017 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed CP DS036 (East Cliff) Pinecliff, CO 1238 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Norfolk Southern, Union Pacific A Norfolk Southern ES44AC leads a coal empty west at the east end of Cliff. You may have noticed that one ditch light is brighter than the other...this is because NS (and CSX) have chosen to have oscillating ditch lights when the horn is being blown. The theory being that it increases visibility at grade crossings for cars. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106836 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, December 9, 2017 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Cliff (6,900 ft) Pinecliff, CO 1190 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Norfolk Southern, Union Pacific As a westbound coal empty heads west on the main at Cliff, take note of the pole on the right side of the image. You may also note that there are a few more such poles moving away from the camera. These poles, and the wire between them, are somehow related to PTC. Somewhat ironic that, after technology removed codeline poles, technology is now added some poles back in! These should not be required everywhere...they seem to be needed in mountainous areas. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106837 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, December 9, 2017 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Cliff (6,900 ft) Pinecliff, CO 1098 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific Even though it is only a quarter past two in the afternoon, the light here in Pinecliff actually is not going to hold out that much longer! A UP ES44AC brings up the tail end of a westbound coal empty. The train passes near the switch stand on the siding that leads to the house track. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture.