Photo ID: 114207 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, August 11, 2026 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Eisele to Plain (MP 21.8 to MP 24.0) Arvada, CO 41 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Rocky Mountaineer In the 2025 season, RMRX 8600 was entirely blue in its lease colors. This season, however, it has been painted in full Rocky Mountaineer (Canyon Spirit) colors. Looks very good on the point of the train. With the GP40-3s still out of service due to the accident in Rifle last May, UP 4073 is filling in on the train as well. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 114206 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, August 11, 2026 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Detector (MP 22.6) Arvada, CO 37 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Rocky Mountaineer Being raised on Rio Grande, I absolutely love any time there is an opportunity to see an EMD spartan cab leading on the Moffat. Particularly when it is a model that Rio Grande owned, such as this SD45 Canyon Spirit unit. Now, granted this is not a true SD45 as the 20-cylinder prime mover has been removed and replaced with a 16-cylinder prime mover. The unit is classified as an SD40M-2 now, but it still looks like an SD45! Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 114205 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, August 11, 2026 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Eisele (Clay) (5,780 ft) Arvada, CO 42 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Rocky Mountaineer, Union Pacific As the engineer throttles up, UP 4073 really kicks up some exhaust (briefly) as the Canyon Spirit heads west on the main at Eisele (Clay). Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 114204 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, August 11, 2026 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Eisele (Clay) (5,780 ft) Arvada, CO 40 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Rocky Mountaineer RMRX 8600 throttles up as the westbound Canyon Spirit has cleared a slow order and is accelerating a bit back toward track speed. RMRX 8600 has replaced one of the two UP SD70Ms that has been leading the train the last three months or so, ever since the Canyon Spirit struck a semi truck in Rifle. The two GP40-3s are still in Denver, waiting to be repaired. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 114177 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, August 4, 2026 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Plain (6,530 ft) Arvada, CO 62 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Rocky Mountaineer UP is putting together a maintenance team that is preparing to head west out the west end of Plain behind a BNSF Denver-Provo and the Canyon Spirit, which is passing by right now. As soon as the train clears the west end of Plain, DS-378 will issue track and time to the crew. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 114176 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, August 4, 2026 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Plain (6,530 ft) Arvada, CO 53 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Rocky Mountaineer The Canyon Spirit GP40-3s are still out of service after striking an oil truck (semi) in Rifle back in May. I am not sure when they will be returning to the train. In the meantime, a pair of UP SD70Ms continue to fill in as the power. The train is headed west at Plain, ready to make another round trip between Denver and Salt Lake City. It'll return east here next Sunday. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 113980 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, June 7, 2026 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Granby to Sulphur (MP 76.2 to MP 84.6) Grand County, CO 89 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Rocky Mountaineer Not far east of the east switch of Sulphur, US-40 crosses over the tracks, going from the south side to the north side. You can see the overpass in the distance, as the Canyon Spirit continues the journey east to Denver. This is the first time I have shot an eastbound from this angle through here. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 113979 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, June 7, 2026 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Byers Canyon Grand County, CO 88 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Rocky Mountaineer After an extraordinarily dry winter, the Colorado River is running rather low through Byers Canyon right now. UP 4296 and UP 4519 are the (temporary) power on the Canyon Spirit. The units are filling in for the typical GP40-3s, which are currently getting repairs done after striking a truck in Rifle, CO several weeks ago. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 113978 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, June 7, 2026 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Byers Canyon Grand County, CO 109 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Rocky Mountaineer A pair of Union Pacific SD70Ms, on lease to the Canyon Spirit, lead the 12-car luxury train east through the winding curves of Byers Canyon. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 113977 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, June 7, 2026 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Byers Canyon Grand County, CO 118 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Rocky Mountaineer High above Byers Canyon, the eastbound Canyon Spirit climbs the grade along the headwaters of the Colorado River. Max speed for trains through Byers Canyon, which has some tight 10º curves, is 20 MPH. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 113976 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, June 7, 2026 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Sulphur to Flat (MP 86.2 to MP 92.3) Grand County, CO 95 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Rocky Mountaineer Just east of the east switch of Flat, the eastbound Canyon Spirit is moving along at about 55 MPH, several dozen feet above US-40, which is down at to the left, out of the frame. The SD70Ms that the Canyon Spirit are borrowing from Union Pacific don't necessarily look the best, but it is great that they have an option available so the train can continue to run. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 113975 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, June 7, 2026 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Troublesome to Kremmling (MP 98.5 to MP 102.6) Grand County, CO 100 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Rocky Mountaineer At the intermediate signal between Gore and Troublesome, the eastbound Canyon Spirit is on the move with a green signal. A few weeks back, the train struck an oil tar truck in Rifle, CO, damaging the two Canyon Spirit GP40-3s. Until repairs on those have been completed, the train is leasing two SD70Ms from Union Pacific. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 113801 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, May 3, 2026 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Blue Mountain Drive (MP 22.43) Arvada, CO 133 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Rocky Mountaineer The eastbound Canyon Spirit makes its way across Blue Mountain Drive by the Coal Creek fire station. It is a very pleasant afternoon, despite the overcast skies. Later in the week, the forecast is showing as much as 6-10" of snow might fall! Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 113800 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, May 3, 2026 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Coal Creek Canyon (MP 22.8 to MP 23.4) Arvada, CO 136 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Rocky Mountaineer RMRX 8021 leads the eastbound Canyon Spirit through the cut just east of the CO-72 overpass at the base of Coal Creek Canyon. You can see the power car at the end of the train, just clearing the bridge. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 113799 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, May 3, 2026 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Coal Creek Canyon (MP 22.8 to MP 23.4) Arvada, CO 105 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Rocky Mountaineer Unlike the California Zephyr, which is always trying to make track speed in order to stay on schedule, the Canyon Spirit typically runs below track speed, to extend the length of the trip and allow passengers to enjoy the incredible views they've spent a lot of money on to see. Here, the Canyon Spirit is descending from Tunnel 1 at about 15 MPH. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture.

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