Photo ID: 109975 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, December 31, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Coal Creek (MP 23) Arvada, CO 406 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific A trio of GEs leads an eastbound unit oil train across the bridge at the base of Coal Creek Canyon. Interestingly, the lead unit is the same one that led an eastbound oil train 11 days earlier when I was chasing on the west slope of the divide. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109974 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, December 31, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Tunnel 1 (MP 23.4, 366 ft) Arvada, CO 470 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific An eastbound loaded oil train is out of Plain and is approaching the west portal of Tunnel 1. Way off in the distance (in the top-right corner of the picture), you can actually see the city of Boulder. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109973 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, December 31, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Rocky (7,330ft) Arvada, CO 352 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific A westbound UP oil train empty is slowly rolling west in the siding at Rocky. The train will come to a stop at the west end of the siding to wait for an eastbound loaded oil train which, currently at Crescent. On a side note, this would be the final picture in direct sunlight taken in 2023! Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109966 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, December 31, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed CP W005 (Sand Creek Junction) Commerce City, CO 550 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Greeley (UP) Union Pacific A trio of C44s leads a northbound UP manifest off the Inbound track and across Sand Creek at Sand Creek Jct. The train is passing through Suncor's oil refinery in Commerce City and is about to cross the BNSF Brush Sub. The line was built in to Denver by the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy, reaching Denver in 1882. The line would become Burlington Northern's in 1971 after its creation (and absorption of the CB&Q), and finally BNSF in 1995. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109965 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, December 31, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed South Platte River Denver, CO 390 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Belt Industrial Lead (UP) Union Pacific UP 5742 leads UP's MNYGR...the final one for 2023...across the South Platte River on the Belt Industrial Lead. Xcel Energy's Cherokee Power Plant is pumping out steam in the background. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109964 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, December 31, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed CP DS902 (Broadway) Denver, CO 434 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Belt Industrial Lead (UP) Union Pacific Trains departing UP's North Yard to the east do so on the Belt Industrial Lead. About a half mile east from the yard, this manifest is approaching the control point at Broadway. It is here that the Bypass tracks (visible to the right) converge with the Belt Lead. The Bypass tracks were built around 2004 as a shortcut for coal trains that did not need to enter North Yard. Note the old water tank at Utah Junction visible in the distance to the right. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109963 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, December 31, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed East of Utah Jct Denver, CO 397 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Belt Industrial Lead (UP) Union Pacific UP's North Yard, CO to Green River, WY has assembled its train and it is departing the yard on the Belt Industrial Lead. Right as the Belt Lead starts, it passes underneath the RTD B/G Commuter Rail Line. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109962 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, December 31, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed North Yard Denver, CO 372 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Yard Shots Union Pacific North Yard in Denver was originally built by the Denver and Salt Lake. It then went to the Rio Grande, followed by Southern Pacific, and now, Union Pacific. There are around 25 yard tracks in North Yard. As you can see, there are cars on most of the tracks, although many of the tracks are not particularly full. If you note the light blue building in the distance (with one white door and one blue door)...this was the car repair facility (called the RIP facility - Repair In Place). On December 5, 2023, UP management decided to close the shop. 13 car repairmen were immediately laid off and escorted off the property! No more car repair facilities in Denver. North Platte is now the closest for repairs. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109958 Date Shot Photo By Wednesday, December 20, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Fraser to Tabernash (MP 63 to MP 65) Grand County, CO 423 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific The final shot of the day for me, five days before Christmas, comes during the start of the blue hour. In a chilly scene, a UP oil train is on the rolls between Tabernash and Fraser. Evening traffic is building on US-40 alongside the rails and the train looks at a clear (green) signal at the east switch of Fraser in the distance. The ski slopes of the Winter Park ski resort loom large in the distance, the Continental Divide standing behind the resort. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109957 Date Shot Photo By Wednesday, December 20, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Fraser to Tabernash (MP 63 to MP 65) Grand County, CO 395 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific As the sun has set behind the mountains, we have reached blue hour as an eastbound UP oil train parallels US-40 as it digs in to the 2% grade and climb up toward the Moffat Tunnel. Note the ski slopes at the Winter Park ski resort off in the distance. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109956 Date Shot Photo By Wednesday, December 20, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed CP DS065 (East Tabernash) Tabernash, CO 473 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific At the east switch of Tabernash, an eastbound oil train passes underneath US-40 and starts the steepest part of the climb up to the Moffat Tunnel. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109955 Date Shot Photo By Wednesday, December 20, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Granby (7,325 ft) Granby, CO 331 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific If you look a bit in the background of this oil train, you'll notice a bend in the tracks to the left. Indeed, you might notice that the main track where the back half of this train is looks to align perfectly with the siding on the far side of the bend. You'd be correct as, until sometime around 1990, there were actually two sidings at Granby. An east siding and a west siding. Each was about 4,700 feet long. The two siding were ultimately combined to make a single 7,325 foot long siding (and main) that exist today. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109954 Date Shot Photo By Wednesday, December 20, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Granby (7,325 ft) Granby, CO 540 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific This eastbound oil train is passing by the currently idle station at Granby on the main track. Indeed, the station will not be used again until a very late Amtrak #6 shows up about eight hours after this shot was taken. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109953 Date Shot Photo By Wednesday, December 20, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Granby (7,325 ft) Granby, CO 449 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific As the sun is dipping lower and lower in the western sky, this eastbound oil train is on the roll, climbing the grade on the mainline at Granby. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109951 Date Shot Photo By Wednesday, December 20, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed CP DS076 (West Granby) Granby, CO 523 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific This eastbound oil train is facing a clear (green) signal at West Granby. However, the train is currently stopped. The reason? There is a gas station located right next to the rails here and the conductor has made a quick trip over to the store to buy some supplies for himself and the engineer on their trip east to Denver. 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