Photo ID: 110771 Date Shot Photo By Thursday, July 25, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Cliff (6,900 ft) Boulder County, CO 72 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak This evening's eastbound Zephyr rolls along South Boulder Creek on the main at Cliff. CO-72 is on the far side of the tracks, going over the hill that the train can bypass. The third track in the scene, furthest from the Zephyr, is the house track at Cliff. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 110772 Date Shot Photo By Thursday, July 25, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Cliff (6,900 ft) Boulder County, CO 73 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak Like so many other towns along the rails in Colorado and throughout the United States, the small town of Pinecliffe, CO exists because of the tracks. Indeed, Pinecliffe had its own depot and the Yampa Valley Mail stopped there daily until May 1968. Now, it is just a brief blur out the window for these passengers on the eastbound California Zephyr. The town itself has a whooping population of 23. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 110773 Date Shot Photo By Thursday, July 25, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Eisele to Plain (MP 21.8 to MP 24.0) Arvada, CO 77 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak Running just about an hour late, the evening Zephyr descends the roughly 2% grade from Tunnel 1 down toward the base of Coal Creek Canyon. You can see the tracks to the right on the other side of CO-72, where the Zephyr will be momentarily. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 110774 Date Shot Photo By Thursday, July 25, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Detector (MP 22.6) Arvada, CO 68 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak I get the opportunity to get pictures of the eastbound Zephyr less often than the westbound Zephyr, so it is always nice when I can get out in the evening. Additionally, while the westbound Zephyr always departs Denver (when it is on time) in daylight, the eastbound Zephyr descends from the Moffat Tunnel in darkness several months through the winter. Here, the eastbound Zephyr is passing the detector at MP 22.6, approaching the grade crossing Blue Mountain Drive. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 110775 Date Shot Photo By Thursday, July 25, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Blue Mountain Drive (MP 22.43) Arvada, CO 62 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak It is a beautiful July afternoon as a 1-hour-late Zephyr makes its way through the curves just east of the grade crossing at Blue Mountain Drive. While other long distance trains...the Empire Builder in particular...have started to get a lot of ALC-42 "Chargers" on them, the Zephyr is still running with P42DCs. Rumors are floating around that perhaps the new Chargers will start showing up on the Zephyr in 2025. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 110776 Date Shot Photo By Thursday, July 25, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Watkins to Bennett Adams County, CO 57 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Limon (UP) Union Pacific At MP 612 on the Limon Sub, a late evening oil empty rolls west, the town of Bennett, CO in the distance. UP 1943 has been working oil trains for several months now, and continues to do so, leading the unit train west through some of the hills of the Colorado plains. Incidentally, the milepost indicates we are 612 miles from Kansas City, MO (via UP rails). Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 110777 Date Shot Photo By Thursday, July 25, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Watkins to Bennett Adams County, CO 60 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Limon (UP) Union Pacific After clearing a 15 MPH slow order just west of Bennett, the engineer on UP 1943 throttles up in order to get back to track speed. In an interesting role reversal, the two EMD SD70ACes kick out a lot of exhaust when throttling up, while the GE in between burns clean through the acceleration. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 110778 Date Shot Photo By Thursday, July 25, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Watkins to Bennett Adams County, CO 62 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Limon (UP) Union Pacific A lot of railfans were not (and are not) a fan of the paint job on UP 1943. Personally, it is one my personal favorite specially painted units. The clever combination of Air Force silver, Navy gray, camouflage, and red, white, and blue make for a fantastic tribute to the US military. The special unit is leading a westbound oil empty on the Limon Sub across the plains of Colorado. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 110779 Date Shot Photo By Thursday, July 25, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Watkins to Bennett Adams County, CO 52 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Limon (UP) Union Pacific Forest fire in the the Oregon and Montana area have resulted in a week of very hazy skies in Colorado as prevailing winds have taken the smoke southeast. While not particularly enjoyable as the air quality has significantly decreased, the one benefit about the smoky atmosphere is a bit of red and yellow near dusk as the sun shines through the smoke. Meanwhile, a westbound UP oil empty rolls west on the single track main of the Limon Sub toward Denver. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 110780 Date Shot Photo By Thursday, July 25, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Mesa to Watkins Arapahoe County, CO 53 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Limon (UP) Union Pacific It is about 20 minutes before sunset, yet it looks like the "blue hour" has already set in as the sun has descended behind a thick layer of clouds to the west. UP 1943 and two additional units lead a westbound unit oil train around the small bridge over an irrigation ditch just west of the town of Watkins, CO. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture.