Photo ID: 108808 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, September 26, 2021 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Tunnel 1 (MP 23.4, 366 ft) Arvada, CO 550 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak A pair of P42s leads a baggage car and seven Superliners in what is essentially a normal configuration for the Zephyr as everyone slowly tries to return to a post-COVID normal. The Zephyr is about to disappear in to Tunnel 1, heading in to the Tunnel District. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 108809 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, September 26, 2021 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Tunnel 1 (MP 23.4, 366 ft) Arvada, CO 507 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific After meeting the westbound Zephyr at Plain, this eastbound coal load is on the roll, approaching the west portal of Tunnel 1. This coal train is a bit odd as it is only about half the length of a typical coal load. In addition, the third unit on the head end is an SD70M. DC units are pretty rare on coal loads these days. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 108810 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, September 26, 2021 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Blue Mountain Drive (MP 22.43) Arvada, CO 520 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific A UP coal load, composed of older hoppers representing a variety of old railroads, passes by the hotbox detector at MP 22.6 at Blue Mountain. The train can be seen to the right, snaking its way around the bottom of Coal Creek Canyon. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 108811 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, September 26, 2021 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Tunnel 3 (MP 25.8, 369 ft) Jefferson County, CO 543 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific UP 1982 leads a loaded unit oil train east through Tunnel 3 at the east end of the Tunnel District. The head end is passing the fill that washed out in 2013 after a "500 year flood" hit the Denver-Metro area. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 108812 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, September 26, 2021 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed CP DS025 (West Plain) Arvada, CO 807 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific It is a beautiful fall day with a few fall colors showing up at the west switch of Plain as UP 1982 leads a loaded oil train out of Tunnel 2. The train is looking at a clear signal (green over red) at the west end and will continue down to Leyden where it will meet the westbound Rocky Mountaineer. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 108813 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, September 26, 2021 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Rainbow Cut Arvada, CO 540 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific UP 1982 and a pair of GEs lead their loaded oil train through Rainbow Cut on the main at Plain. The train has made rather slow progress on the journey east. At one point, it only moved 45 miles over the course of five days! Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 108814 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, September 26, 2021 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed CP DS013 (West Leyden) Arvada, CO 562 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific Two-thirds of the marriage that many railfans wished had happened, but never did. There was once hope that Missouri Pacific, Rio Grande, and Western Pacific would merge to create a single railroad that would have stretched from the gulf coast and Kansas City to the Pacific. Alas, that never happened...although all three would ultimately become part of Union Pacific! Here, UP 1982, the MP Heritage Unit, crosses over Indiana Street and the bridge that still sports "Rio Grande" in fly letters. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 108815 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, September 26, 2021 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed CP DS013 (West Leyden) Arvada, CO 539 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific A pair of GEs slowly creep in to the siding at Leyden on the tail end of a long unit oil train. Once in the clear, DS-78 will align the west switch at Leyden to the main and the Rocky Mountaineer, whose headlight is visible in the distance, will get a clear (green) signal and head west. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 108816 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, September 26, 2021 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Leyden (7,020ft) Arvada, CO 583 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific, Rocky Mountaineer Fall colors are slowly starting to appear in the Arvada neighborhood of Five Parks, the backdrop for a meet between the Rocky Mountaineer on the main and a unit oil train stopped on the siding. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 108817 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, September 26, 2021 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed West of Leyden Arvada, CO 571 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific, Rocky Mountaineer After meeting a unit oil train at Leyden, UP 5107 - wearing a "wrap" to represent the Rocky Mountaineer - throttles up as it works to accelerate the train up to track speed. UP 5105, another SD70M wearing a wrap, is down for mechanical issues at the moment. So a non-wrapped UP SD70M is filling in at the moment. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 108818 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, September 26, 2021 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Coal Creek Canyon (MP 22.8 to MP 23.4) Arvada, CO 579 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific, Rocky Mountaineer After many years of losing trains from the Moffat (The American Orient Express, the Anschutz Ski Train, the Circus Train, nearly Amtrak due to COVID, etc), it is really great to see a passenger train added to the Moffat this year! The Rocky Mountaineer's Rockies to the Red Rocks is a deluxe train that makes two weekly round trips between Denver, CO and Moab, UT. Here, the train is climbing up the grade from Coal Creek toward Tunnel 1. Rumor has it that two of the Mountaineer GP40-2L units will receive PTC prior to the start of the train running in April 2022. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture.