Photo ID: 110933 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, August 20, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Barbara's Gulch (MP 15.9 to MP 17.2) Arvada, CO 33 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) BNSF Three units lead BNSF's westbound Denver-Provo manifest rolls underneath the CO-93 overpass at the west end of Barbara's Gulch. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 110934 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, August 20, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Big Ten Curve (MP 19.5 to MP 20.2) Arvada, CO 45 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) BNSF While meeting its counterpart at Rocky, the crew on this westbound Denver-Provo and the crew on the Provo-Denver were venting some frustrations. Specifically, the crew on the Provo-Denver was unhappy about making it all the way to Rocky, only to have to tie the train down and not make it all the way into the yard. The crew on the westbound here was sympathetic, although they had no specific gripes. Perhaps because they are headed home to Grand Junction. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 110935 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, August 20, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Big Ten Curve (MP 19.5 to MP 20.2) Arvada, CO 35 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) BNSF SD70MACs are increasingly rare as we continue moving forward in the 21st century. BNSF has hundreds in long term storage in various spots on their system. The ones still active are generally seen on coal trains, but catching one on the Moffat on the Denver-Provo was a nice find this August morning. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 110936 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, August 20, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Big Ten Curve (MP 19.5 to MP 20.2) Arvada, CO 31 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) BNSF A pair of SD70ACes bring up the tail end of BNSF's Provo-Denver manifest around Big Ten Curve. Meanwhile, across the valley, BNSF's Provo-Denver sits on the siding at Rocky, the crew working to secure and tie the train down. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 110937 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, August 20, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Big Ten Curve (MP 19.5 to MP 20.2) Arvada, CO 32 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) BNSF We are a month away from the official start of fall, and the greens in the grass are definitely fading here in the latter part of August. It is still a very hot 90°F just a few minute before 11am. A pair of SD70ACes are the DPUs on this westbound Denver-Provo manifest, making its way from Big Ten Curve to Eisele (Clay). Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 110938 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, August 20, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Rocky (7,330ft) Arvada, CO 39 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) BNSF An eastbound BNSF Provo-Denver is getting tied down and the crew will wait for a van to pick them up and take them to their hotel in Denver. In the distance up at Eisele (Clay), the westbound counterpart, the Denver-Provo, is on the main, a pair of SD70ACes bringing up the rear of the train. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 110939 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, August 20, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Rocky (7,330ft) Arvada, CO 35 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) BNSF A trio of similarly-numbered ES44ACs are the power on the Provo-Denver this morning. Alas, the crew had to tie the train down here at Rocky as BNSF's 31st Street Yard said there was "no room at the inn" for the train, despite the crew having nearly an hour left on the clock. So, the train will wait here until a relief crew is available (and space is available in the yard) for the train to continue east. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 110940 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, August 20, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Big Ten Curve (MP 19.5 to MP 20.2) Arvada, CO 44 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific Following about 20 minutes behind a westbound BNSF manifest, a westbound empty oil train (with five units on the point) makes its way around Big Ten Curve. This perspective, looking east towards the plains, really helps to exemplify the amazing architecture of the Moffat route as it climbs to the Rockies, barely exceeding a 2% grade on the climb. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 110941 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, August 20, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed CP DS022 (West Eiesle (Clay)) Arvada, CO 31 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific On a mostly clear morning, a westbound UP oil empty heads out of Eisele (Clay), heading around the curve that will take it over to Blue Mountain Drive and the climb up to Tunnel 1 and beyond. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 110942 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, August 20, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Tunnel 1 (MP 23.4, 366 ft) Arvada, CO 36 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific 20 years ago, when coal was just about at its peak on the Moffat, who would've thought that oil would essentially replace coal as the energy sources rolling on the rails of the Moffat!? While oil trains are nowhere near as numerous as coal was 20 years ago, there still seems to be 2-3 oil trains, on average, every 24 hours on the Moffat. One such example would be this empty, with an ET44AC on the point, approaching the east portal of Tunnel 1. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 110943 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, August 20, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Leyden to Rocky (MP 13.4 to MP 17.4) Arvada, CO 31 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) BNSF Three units on the head end of this coal load (yes...a load...) work hard to keep the train moving just west of Leyden. The coal was sourced in the Powder River Basin in Wyoming, and is headed for the Valmy power plant in Nevada. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 110944 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, August 20, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Leyden to Rocky (MP 13.4 to MP 17.4) Arvada, CO 35 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) BNSF Mid-August is the time of year when sunflowers typically bloom in Colorado, and this August is no exception. The mainline is lined with lots of sunflowers as a BNSF coal load passes by a clear (green) intermediate signal at MP 14.5, just west of Leyden. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 110945 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, August 20, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Barbara's Gulch (MP 15.9 to MP 17.2) Arvada, CO 34 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) BNSF The further away from the summer solstice we move, higher quality of light in mid-day slowly starts to return. A westbound BNSF coal load, in a 3x3 configuration, makes its way through Barbara's Gulch when the sun is near its apex in the sky. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 110946 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, August 20, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Barbara's Gulch (MP 15.9 to MP 17.2) Arvada, CO 38 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) BNSF In the narrowest part of Barbara's Gulch, BNSF 8780 leads two other units on a heavy, loaded coal train. When BNSF sends units west on a train to Utah, they typically return to Denver fairly quickly. BNSF 8780 led the Denver-Provo west out of Denver just five days earlier. The train must have made it to Provo, and the unit immediately sent back on a Provo-Denver. With this coal load going to Nevada, it'll probably be a bit longer before this unit is back in Denver. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 110947 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, August 20, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Rocky (7,330ft) Arvada, CO 39 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) BNSF Two SD70ACes and an AC4400CW bring up the tail end a loaded BNSF coal train. The train met a Provo-Denver manifest that had no crew onboard at the time. You can see the derail is set in the foreground. The train is tied down and waiting for a relief crew, which is already been called. The train will be headed for Denver in another 90 minutes or so. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture.

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