The first revenue run of the Canyon Spirit is close to wrapping up the round trip from Denver to Salt Lake City and back. The GP40-3s do have a tendency to have quite a few mechanical issues...hopefully that is not the case for RMRX 8021 as a crew member checks something out in one of the access doors on the long hood as the train rolls east on the main at Eisele (Clay).
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On the north edge of Big Ten Curve, the eastbound Canyon Spirit has slow down to 10 MPH due to a slow order that Union Pacific currently has in effect. Not entirely clear why the slow order is out there as there was no wind at all today.
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A nice low angle view of the eastbound Canyon Spirit on Big Ten curve brings in some of the afternoon clouds that are starting to build.
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A westbound UP oil train departed North Yard shortly after 3pm, but only made it as far as Leyden when DS-378 aligned it into the siding to wait for the eastbound Canyon Spirit. No complaints from me! Leyden is a siding that seems to be very seldomly used these days. Dispatchers generally seem to prefer to use Rocky when given a choice between the two.
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Other than its departure time, the Canyon Spirit does not follow a super tight schedule when moving to its next destination. At times, the train will run a bit slower to offer riders the opportunity to take in the beauty of the passing landscape. As such, it is always hard to say if the train is early, on time, or late! Such is the case this afternoon. It is 4pm and the train is approaching the west switch of Leyden.
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As the day has progressed, some pretty serious clouds have started to move into the area. Fortunately, breaks to the south allowed for some nice lighting on the Canyon Spirit as it approaches a green signal at the west switch of Leyden. The clouds "bark" was louder than their "bite", as no precipitation was generated this afternoon.
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After meeting the eastbound Canyon Spirit here at Leyden, it is this unit oil trains turn to move. The engineer is throttling up and pulling west out of the siding. The train would only make it as far as Rocky before having to take the siding again, this time for the eastbound Zephyr.
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One last shot of a westbound oil train pulling out of the siding at Leyden on a day that I referred to as "Potpourri Sunday", as it offered a little bit of everything over the course of the day.
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