While waiting for the dispatcher to flag the west local onto the siding at Leyden, here is a closeup look at the top of the cab of UP 1358. Note that it was last repainted at North Little Rock (NLR) on October 14, 2021.
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When I was a kid, I remember seeing "Rail Box" boxcars and "Rail Gon" gondolas. Rail Box boxcars are pretty rare in 2025, but you can definitely still find Rail Gon gondolas. One such example is one of 41 gondolas that have been tied down in the siding at Leyden for the past six months.
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The engineer on the West Local is hanging out in the cab as the conductor walks back along the train, knocking off hand brakes on a strand of 41 gondolas.
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With the West Local airing up, about ready to return to Denver with a string of 41 gondolas that have been stored in the siding of Leyden for six months, the train will have to wait a little bit longer. A westbound UP coal empty charges west on the main track, a freshly painted C44ACM leading the way.
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A former Rio Grande GP40-2 (ex-DRGW 3105), now a UP GP40N, leads the West Local east at the intermediate at MP 9.8 on the way back toward North Yard. These 41 gondolas have been stored in the siding at Leyden for six months! With the local taking them back to town, the siding is finally available again for the dispatcher to use for meets.
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This GP40-2 (now designated as a GP40N after UP did some rebuilding) is no stranger to these rails! It has been roaming on the Moffat off and on for 53 years! It was delivered to Rio Grande as DRGW 3105 in April 1972. Today, it is leading the West Local back toward North Yard with a string of 41 gondolas in tow.
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An eastbound UP oil train rounds the curve that will take it to a clear (green) signal at the west end of Leyden. If you look closely, you can spot the trio of DPUs that have been cut in to the train, roughly 2/3s of the way back.
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From a railfan "keeping an eye on the rails when I can" perspective, it seems as though UP has been running more trains on the Moffat lately. Note only has there seemingly been an slight uptick in oil train traffic, but I have noticed several coal trains run on the Moffat in the last 10 days as well. Here, an eastbound oil train, with three GEs on the point, is approaching the west end of Leyden.
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