Can you spot the Zephyr in this shot? While the camera is setup around MP 23.5, the Zephyr is off in the distance at Rocky and Little Ten Curve, about 3 1/2 (rail) miles east. The train will continue west and the next shot, just west of Eisele, can be seen here.
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The sun is getting much lower in the western sky earlier in the day as we get closer to the end of the summer. Passengers on the eastbound Zephyr enjoy last afternoon views as the train accelerates into Barbara's Gulch.
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In the rays of the setting sun, you can see a little exhaust kicking up on the Zephyr as the train accelerates a bit, approaching the east end of Rocky where speed limits increase. The westbound oil empty on the siding is starting to accelerate as well, the head end already past west Rocky and out on the main.
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With a westbound oil train in the clear in the siding at Rocky, the Zephyr is looking at a clear (green) signal at the west end of Rocky. When Daylight Savings time ends in November, the sun will have set here by the time the eastbound Zephyr arrives, even when it is running right on time.
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The Zephyr is creeping along at 10 MPH due to a slow order around Big Ten Curve. The slow order is in place due to the risk of sun kinks in the rails as a result of hot summer temperatures. Granted, at this point, it is only about 80°F (27°C) out. You can just barely see the east end of Rocky and the start of Barbara's Gulch in the top left portion of the image.
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As the Zephyr rounds Big Ten Curve, you can clearly see the roughly 2% grade of the tracks as they descend down from the mountains. Off in the distance, the buildings consisting of the skyline of downtown Denver stand tall. In an hour, give or take, the Zephyr will be amongst those iron giants for its station stop at Denver Union Station.
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Most of Eisele (Clay) is cast in the shadows of the mountains at 5:45pm this time of year. However, there are a few sections toward the east end that are still lit, and the head end of the Zephyr enters one such section here. Not the westbound UP oil train in the distance at Little Ten Curve.
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A westbound empty oil train, led by an SD70ACe and two ES44ACs pull along the jointed rail of the siding. The house track, which is currently empty, has the derail aligned at the east end. The train will not have long to wait as it is waiting for the eastbound Zephyr. The Zephyr is currently at Plain.
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The signal at the east end of Rocky show a Diverging Approach (red over yellow) signal for an approaching westbound oil train. Note the switch, which is bent for the siding.
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A pair of P42DCs in Phase 5 paint lead the evening Zephyr across the grade crossing in Cliff. The train is 45 minutes late as it rolls through the small town of Cliff. Rumor has it the State of Colorado hopes to expand rail service, potentially reinstituting some depots in small mountain towns such as Pinecliff.
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A westbound oil train...the third overall of the afternoon...is sitting in the siding at Cliff waiting for the afternoon Zephyr. The Zephyr is running about an hour late and is not too far west of Cliff as of this shot.
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A single C44ACM, sporting UP's newest paint scheme, brings up the rear of this westbound unit oil train. The train is going into the siding at Cliff to meet the eastbound Zephyr. A multitude of power lines crisscross, supplying electricity to the handful of residents that live in Pinecliff.
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Nearing the west end of the Tunnel District, a westbound unit oil train has emerged from Tunnel 27. Tunnel 27 is one of the longer tunnels in the district, and it has (roughly) 90° curve in the middle of it, so you cannot see one portal from the other.
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An SD70ACe leads a westbound oil train west out of Crescent toward Tunnel 19. The wires you see to the right and above the train is a slide fence. It held keep rocks off the rails. If a large enough rock breaks through one or more of the wires, it automatically changes the signals protecting the block red and alerts the dispatcher.
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You can peek out onto the plains at the area around Interlocken near the Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport as a westbound oil train comes around the curve west of the grade crossing at Crescent.
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