Photo ID: 109947 Date Shot Photo By Wednesday, December 20, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Flat (7,050 ft) Grand County, CO 118 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Kansas City Southern de Mexico, BNSF In 1996, when the Mexican government privatized freight railroad operations, one railroad formed was Transportación Ferroviaria Mexicana (TFM). Kansas City Southern was one of the creators of and stock holder in the railroad. In 2005, KCS bought out its partners and took full control of the railroad. The name was changed to Kansas City Southern de Mexico, a subsidiary of Kansas City Southern. The subsidiary had its own fleet in the Retro Belle scheme, but with "de Mexico" printed on the unit. Here is an ES44AC sporting that paint scheme. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109948 Date Shot Photo By Wednesday, December 20, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Flat (7,050 ft) Grand County, CO 139 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) BNSF The westbound BNSF Denver-Provo has come to a stop in the siding at Flat as an eastbound UP oil train rolls by on the main. The manifest has a very colorful consist today, with a New Image SD70ACe leading a KCSM ES44AC, a Canadian Pacific AC4400CW, and a Heritage 2 AC4400CW. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109949 Date Shot Photo By Wednesday, December 20, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Sulphur to Flat (MP 86.2 to MP 92.3) Grand County, CO 119 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific Oil trains on the Moffat have basically become a successor to coal trains as far as "energy" trains go. While the oil trains are not as ubiquitous as coal trains once were, they have become more common in the past year. Here, an eastbound example rolls toward the west entrance to Byers Canyon. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109950 Date Shot Photo By Wednesday, December 20, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Byers Canyon Grand County, CO 136 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific The rails in this part of Byers Canyon are just barely lit by the sun in the far western sky. A single ES44AC brings up the tail end of this eastbound oil train, slowly snaking its way along the Colorado River. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109951 Date Shot Photo By Wednesday, December 20, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed CP DS076 (West Granby) Granby, CO 151 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific This eastbound oil train is facing a clear (green) signal at West Granby. However, the train is currently stopped. The reason? There is a gas station located right next to the rails here and the conductor has made a quick trip over to the store to buy some supplies for himself and the engineer on their trip east to Denver. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109952 Date Shot Photo By Wednesday, December 20, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Granby (7,325 ft) Granby, CO 90 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak As far as train station go in 2023, the Granby Station is by far one of better looking, more well kept stations that you will find in the United States, particularly in small towns. Even though there are only two Amtrak stops per day, both of which are generally less than three minutes, the station looks fantastic! Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109953 Date Shot Photo By Wednesday, December 20, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Granby (7,325 ft) Granby, CO 156 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific As the sun is dipping lower and lower in the western sky, this eastbound oil train is on the roll, climbing the grade on the mainline at Granby. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109954 Date Shot Photo By Wednesday, December 20, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Granby (7,325 ft) Granby, CO 138 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific This eastbound oil train is passing by the currently idle station at Granby on the main track. Indeed, the station will not be used again until a very late Amtrak #6 shows up about eight hours after this shot was taken. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109955 Date Shot Photo By Wednesday, December 20, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Granby (7,325 ft) Granby, CO 98 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific If you look a bit in the background of this oil train, you'll notice a bend in the tracks to the left. Indeed, you might notice that the main track where the back half of this train is looks to align perfectly with the siding on the far side of the bend. You'd be correct as, until sometime around 1990, there were actually two sidings at Granby. An east siding and a west siding. Each was about 4,700 feet long. The two siding were ultimately combined to make a single 7,325 foot long siding (and main) that exist today. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109956 Date Shot Photo By Wednesday, December 20, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed CP DS065 (East Tabernash) Tabernash, CO 117 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific At the east switch of Tabernash, an eastbound oil train passes underneath US-40 and starts the steepest part of the climb up to the Moffat Tunnel. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109957 Date Shot Photo By Wednesday, December 20, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Fraser to Tabernash (MP 63 to MP 65) Grand County, CO 107 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific As the sun has set behind the mountains, we have reached blue hour as an eastbound UP oil train parallels US-40 as it digs in to the 2% grade and climb up toward the Moffat Tunnel. Note the ski slopes at the Winter Park ski resort off in the distance. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109958 Date Shot Photo By Wednesday, December 20, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Fraser to Tabernash (MP 63 to MP 65) Grand County, CO 134 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific The final shot of the day for me, five days before Christmas, comes during the start of the blue hour. In a chilly scene, a UP oil train is on the rolls between Tabernash and Fraser. Evening traffic is building on US-40 alongside the rails and the train looks at a clear (green) signal at the east switch of Fraser in the distance. The ski slopes of the Winter Park ski resort loom large in the distance, the Continental Divide standing behind the resort. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture.

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