Four units lead a southbound Z-Train on the Greeley Sub between La Salle and Platteville. The train is making track speed on the trip south, making it very hard to catch up to for subsequent shots. Turns out this would be the last shot in daylight before the sun would set anyway.
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Just south of La Salle, UP 7620 is leading the ZLADV-12 just minutes before the sun sets behind the Colorado Rockies to the west. The height of golden hour!
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Welcome to Evans, CO! This small town of roughly 23,000 people just south of Greeley. A short, special train is headed north on the Greeley, passing through Evans along its way. The train will meet a southbound Z-Train not far ahead at Greeley.
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We are only a week away from the shortest day of the year, so the sun is setting mighty early! With roughly 30 minutes left before the sun dips behind the Rocky Mountains, a northbound special crosses the South Platte River between La Salle and Greeley. The UP train, with a CSX visitor from the east, is a special nuclear cask train.
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Just south of the E-470 overpass, a sole CSX ES44AH leads a special train north on the Greeley Sub. The two curious looking cars on this train are carrying radioactive nuclear material. The casks allow the material to be safely transported by rail.
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One of the more common shots in the Denver area to shoot from, UP 7215 and train are crossing over Sand Creek as the train starts its journey north on the Greeley Sub.
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At Sand Creek Junction, the inbound and outbound tracks converge down to a single track that makes up the Greeley Sub mainline northbound. UP's MNYGR is entering the single track as it passes through the Suncor refinery.
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UP's MNYGR (Manifest from North Yard, CO to Green River, WY) is coming off the Belt Industrial Lead and headed north on the Greeley Sub.
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A single UP unit is crossing the grade crossing at York Street at the south end of the Greeley Sub. The unit will run around the wye and head east on the Limon Sub.
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The last shot of the Big Boy steam excursion for 2025 would come here, at the bridge over the South Platte River between La Salle and Greeley in northern Colorado. The lighting was beautiful and the smoke from UP 4014 was pumping out nicely as the train continued on its journey north back to Cheyenne.
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UP 4014 crosses over Sand Creek at Sand Creek Junction, the train just coming off of the Inbound track to proceed north to Cheyenne. This is a very popular spot for shooting the steam train when it runs as, in the summer time, the three quarter lighting is about as perfect as it can get in the mornings.
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In fantastic early morning light, UP 4014 and train pass through the Suncor oil refinery in Commerce City, the Denver skyline standing tall in the distance. Indeed, the train is drawing the attention of some Suncor employees. And the with the type of show UP puts on, who could blame them!?
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Ed Dickens and another member of steam crew sit on the engineers side of the cab of UP 4014. Ed is currently in control of the engine, left hand ready to pull the whistle. The numbers beneath "4014" on the cab indicate the following:
4-8-8-4: Wheel arrangement
1: Production Batch (1st, in this case)
68: Wheel Diameter (68-inch drivers)
24 24 / 32: Cylinder Dimensions
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Ed Dickens leans out the window of UP 4014, looking down the rails ahead, in charge of the 762,000-pound (not including the tender) 4-8-8-4 Big Boy locomotive.
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UP 4014 and train just passed by the Suncor Oil Refinery and is headed into town on the Outbound track. Once arriving at 36th Street Yard, the train will wye and then head to North Yard via the Belt Line.
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