A pretty substantial snow storm has set in along the Front Range. A total of 5-6 inches (12-15 cm) is forecast to fall, with right around 3 inches (7 cm) having fallen so far. The westbound Zephyr is indifferent to the snow, however, as it approaches the Blue Mountain grade crossing, moving along at track speed.
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AMTK 140 and AMTK 207 have the duty to lead the westbound Zephyr this morning. The train is approaching the Blue Mountain Drive grade crossing in a winter wonderland as fresh snow continues to fall.
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Just west of Blue Mountain Drive and the hotbox detector at MP 22.6, the westbound Zephyr is having no issues moving along at track speed in the continually-falling snow. Without question, passengers aboard the Zephyr are going to have a better experience on the trip west today compared to folks driving in the high country on I-70!
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UP's only-remaining manifest that runs on the Moffat runs six days a week. The train alternates west and east every other day, with one day where it doesn't run at all. The train runs from North Yard to Grand Junction and back. Here, the eastbound version has five units on the point. The train is right around 6,000 feet long.
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After an overnight and morning storm, the clouds cleared out and the sun has already started to melt away the fresh powder. However, there is still plenty on the ground as UP's MGJNY approaches the west switch of Leyden.
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UP's MGJNY is crossing over Indiana Street, just west of the west switch of Leyden. At some point, once funding becomes available, this scene will change a bit as there is a push to widen Indiana Street to four lanes. That will necessitate the rebuilding of the bridge to accommodate four lanes. Of note, the second unit (UP 6331) is used to the rails as it was once SP 281!
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A single C44ACM brings up the tail end of UP's MGJNY in a snowy scene just west of Leyden. UP 6891 was originally UP 7003, and was one of a handful of AC6000CWs from the mid-90s when 6000 horsepower was a goal UP gave both EMD and GE. The 6000 horsepower units did not work out from either manufacturer, and 4400 horsepower became the standard that still remains as the standard today, roughly 30 years later.
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UP 6891 is sporting the newest UP paint scheme, which has done away with wings on the nose and returned to the simple UP shield. It is the sole DPU on the tail end of a 6,000-foot MGJNY manifest, rolling east on the main at Leyden.
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