An eastbound BNSF Provo-Denver is tied down in the siding at Rocky, awaiting a recrew to come out and take it in to Denver. The train tied down about an hour earlier and will actually sit here for next 26 hours when a crew is available to take it in to the yard.
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West of Rocky, the morning Zephyr is right on time as it climbs its way up toward Big Ten Loop. The train has shifted from seven Superliners (the post-COVID summer standard) to six Superliners (the post-COVID winter standard).
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There are some great colors in the shrubs at the west end of Eisele (Clay). Hopefully, passenger on board the morning westbound Zephyr are taking in the fantastic sights the train has to offer.
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Blue Mountain road crossing is one of the most popular photography spots anywhere on the east slope of the Moffat. Here is an overview of the road and crossing as the westbound Zephyr has just passed by on its trip west. The house located on the right side would be a pretty slick place to live for train watching!
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East of Tolland along South Boulder Creek, an eastbound UP oil train snakes along the river amidst a lot of coniferous pine trees and a handful of bright yellow deciduous trees, well on their way to shedding their leaves for winter.
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A pair of ES44ACs, the first of which is a "Tier-3 credit unit", in the same number range as ET44ACs, lead an eastbound loaded oil train about seven miles east of the Moffat Tunnel. A dirt road, called Tolland Road and/or East Portal Road, follows the tracks on the opposite side of South Boulder Creek.
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The fall scene at West Rollins is extremely colorful as a black snake (unit oil train) led by a pair of UP ES44ACs and a covered hopper buffer car make their way east at Rollins. Sitting in the siding at Rollins is the westbound Zephyr, which just came to a stop about two minutes earlier. The Zephyr did beat the oil train, but overall, it is a pretty good meet.
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A single SD70ACe brings up the tail end of a unit oil train rolling east by the signal at the west end of Rollins. Trees along Tolland Road create a nice fall tunnel here at the start of October.
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On a crisp, cloudy October morning, the westbound Rocky Mountaineer makes another trip west toward Moab, UT. The "Rockies to the Red Rocks" train will continue running twice a week through the end of October. It will then shut down until the 2024 season starts in April 2024.
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Fall colors are at their peek at the start of October, which is one of the largest draws for passengers on the "Rockies to the Red Rocks" Rocky Mountaineer. The train is rolling west on the main at East Portal, about a mile from the entrance to the Moffat Tunnel.
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In the valley leading to the base of James Peak, the westbound Rocky Mountaineer approaches the east portal of the 6.2-mile long Moffat Tunnel. East Portal is a very popular spot for hikers, and there is a near-full parking lot in the scene. Hikers used to cross the tracks at the entrance to the tunnel, but UP had the trail head moved to go up and over the tunnel so hikers do not walk across the tracks.
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A pair of SD70Ms serve as the power on a local that originated from La Salle earlier in the day. It is now stopped on the main at Brighton has the string of covered hoppers to the left need to be picked up by the local. The cars behind the power will be spotted in their place.
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A CP ES44AC and a KCS SD70ACe lead a northbound coal empty through the siding at Brighton, passing alongside a few yard tracks that currently lay empty. These hoppers were pulled from Jansen, CO on the Raton Sub near Trinidad.
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This coal empty was holding south of the siding of Brighton so as not to block grade crossing through town. When the southbound it was meeting showed up, the train pulled in to the siding. However, nobody informed the crew that the southbound is a local that is blocking the north end of the siding, preventing the coal empty from leaving! So the crossing in Brighton wound up blocked for over 30 minutes anyway.
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A local picks up a string of hoppers from an industry. Unfortunately, due to the location of the switch and the length of the train, the north switch at Brighton is blocked, preventing the coal empty on the siding from being able to continue north.
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