A car that looks like it may have come from Via Rail in Canada happens to be on the westbound Zephyr (ahead of the baggage car) on this morning. The number on the car is "5004".
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A look from the end of Tracks 1 and 2 looking out. In two years, these rails will connect downtown Denver to Denver International Airport. Denver has had Light Rail for 20 years, but the East Line and the Gold Line will introduce Denver to commuter rail. Commuter rail trains are heavier than light rail and have a maximum speed of 79 MPH instead of 55 MPH.
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A pretty serious bumper has been installed at the end of all eight tracks. Hopefully there will never be a need to test them out!
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For those passengers that wake up at the station, the sign reassures them of what city they are in! A handful of elevated platforms - elevated beyond the rest of the platform - are found along Track 4. They allow for easy wheelchair access for Amtrak.
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"Location" signs, starting with the letter "A", have been placed along the platform for Track 4. Presumably, Amtrak will take advantage of these to tell passengers where to go when looking for their cars.
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A look at one end of the Train Hall canopy as well as the pedestrian bridge. Regardless of whether you may like or dislike the architecture, at least Union Station will still serve Amtrak. So many other stations - Salt Lake comes to mind - still stand but will (most likely) never again serve as a rail terminal.
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A look toward the stub ends of Tracks 1 and 2. For nearly 25 years, the tracks behind Union Station have been "stub" tracks, coming to a dead end. The rails once ran through the station to the southwest and connected with the Joint Line. However, after the tracks were removed, rebuilt roads and new building (including the Pepsi Center) have been built on the original grade, precluding the possibility of rails once again running south out of the station.
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Clash of the centuries! The contemporary look of the Train Hall infrastructure stands in stark contrast to class Union Station. Much of Train Hall is exposed, with only portions of the platform along Tracks 1, 3, 4 and 8 covered.
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Track 3 stops short of Track 1 and 2. This allows passengers to access both Track 2 and Track 3 from a single platform.
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Another historic building in downtown is the Ice House. Wow if this building could talk! The things that it has seen over the decades. The rising sun has not yet peeked over the top of the building. Track 1 and a small portion of Track 2 are visible in the foreground.
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Plenty of signage has been added, helping to direct passengers to the track they are looking for.
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Tracks 1-3 looking back toward the station. From my position on the platform, Track 2 is not accessible. As you can see, Track 3 ends sooner than Tracks 1 and 2. This allows passengers access to both Tracks 2 and 3, depending on where they are along the platform.
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Tracks 1-3 looking away from the station. You can see the base for catenary poles and signals, still yet to be erected. Likewise, it doesn't appear that any switch machines have been installed yet. Also visible in the shot is the scoreboard at Coors Field and a line of commuters making their way in to town off the HOV overpass from I-25.
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Walking down toward the end of the platform for Track 4, we find a sign restricting access to the engines. This interesting car was found ahead of the baggage car, along for the ride on this morning.
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Even though Amtrak has returned to the station and is using "Train Hall", much of "Train Hall" is still fenced off. Passengers can essentially get from the station to the platform along Track 4. The other platforms and the stairs to the pedestrian bridge are all fenced off, and will probably remain that way until May 2014.
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