Photo ID: 106417 Date Shot Photo By Thursday, February 9, 2017 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed CP DS013 (West Leyden) Arvada, CO 1290 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) BNSF A westbound BNSF copper train roles west at the west switch of Leyden. An ES44C4 and a C44-9W bring up the rear of the Provo-bound train on an unseasonably warm February day. Under partly cloud skies, the temperature is 64°F! Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106416 Date Shot Photo By Thursday, February 9, 2017 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Leyden (7,020ft) Arvada, CO 1221 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) BNSF At first glance, it looks as though these gondolas are empty. But if you look closely, you can just barely see some dirt along the edge of the car. This dirt is rich in copper tailings. This train originates in Rincon, NM and BNSF takes it to Provo, UT. I am unsure what company it is ultimately delivered to. But even as this train heads west, another empty train is coming east. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106415 Date Shot Photo By Thursday, February 9, 2017 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Leyden (7,020ft) Arvada, CO 1307 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) BNSF Although they have become less common, leased CitiRail ES44ACs still pop up on BNSF trains from time-to-time. Such was the case on this Thursday morning on the point of a copper train headed west on the Moffat. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106414 Date Shot Photo By Thursday, February 9, 2017 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Leyden (7,020ft) Arvada, CO 1250 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) BNSF Recently, a lot of UP coal contracts have expired and were not renewed. The result has been a radical drop in coal traffic on the Moffat. And with the MNYRO/MRONY only running every three days, there have been periods of 24+ hours with NO UP trains at all! BNSF, on the other hand, seems to be increasing traffic on the Moffat. Some new trains have been showing up. This is one of them: a westbound copper train. These gondolas are loaded with dirt that have copper tailings in them. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106400 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, February 5, 2017 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Leyden (7,020ft) Arvada, CO 1404 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) BNSF The battery box, located behind the cab here, was taken from a Warbonnet C44-9W. Since the model is the same, the paint scheme (obviously) is irrelevant. I note it, however, because it seems like nearly every Warbonnet left has an orange battery box...so isn't it ironic that we have a Heritage 1 C44-9W here with a Warbonnet battery box! Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106399 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, February 5, 2017 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Leyden (7,020ft) Arvada, CO 1351 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) BNSF BNSF has been hauling a LOT of steel coils west out of Denver over the Moffat lately. The Denver-Provo seems to typically have anywhere from 10-20 of these cars on the train. Giant rolls of steel...that'll add some weight to the train! Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106398 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, February 5, 2017 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Leyden (7,020ft) Arvada, CO 1352 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) BNSF On Super Bowl Sunday, a Grand Junction based crew takes BNSF's Denver-Provo west on the main at Leyden in wonderful late afternoon light. The lead unit is an ES44C4, but in an odd number range. Nearly every unit in the 4000s currently on BNSF's roster is a C44-9W. There are 100 units (BNSF 4200-4299) that are ES44C4s. They are Tier 4 "credit" units. BNSF saved up some emissions credits to be able to order these Tier 3 units after the Tier 4 deadline. Some of note is the quality of the camera in the iPhone 7 Plus. I just happened to notice this train as I was driving and stopped for a few shots. I didn't have my Canon with me, so I use the old iPhone instead. Not bad quality at all! Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106396 Date Shot Photo By Friday, January 27, 2017 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Leyden (7,020ft) Arvada, CO 1317 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) BNSF A single ES44C4 brings up the tail end of an eastbound Provo-Lincoln manifest on the main at Leyden. Many of the businesses BNSF (and Utah Railway) handle in the Salt Lake area use tank cars, so it is quite common to find large number of tank cars on BNSF manifests on the Moffat. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106395 Date Shot Photo By Friday, January 27, 2017 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Leyden (7,020ft) Arvada, CO 1480 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) BNSF A quartet of BNSF GEs lead the Provo-Denver trackage rights train east down the main at Leyden. The lighting was absolutely perfect for this train, although it was a chilly morning. Only 9°F on the thermometer at this point! I believe BNSF tends to call its eastbound trains out of Grand Junction at a fairly consistent time as it is not uncommon to find an eastbound BNSF east of the Moffat Tunnel at or shortly after sunrise. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106394 Date Shot Photo By Friday, January 27, 2017 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Leyden (7,020ft) Arvada, CO 1253 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) BNSF After an overnight run from Grand Junction, BNSF's Provo-Lincoln manifest glides east down the main at Leyden. As you can see from the plow of BNSF 6759, there is still plenty of snow in the Colorado high country! Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106374 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, January 21, 2017 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Chemical (MP 14.5) Arvada, CO 1328 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) BNSF In the late 1990s and early 2000s, BNSF would run its westbound manifests with a pair of manned helpers (typically SD40-2s) on the tail end. The helpers would cut off at East Portal and return light back to Denver. With the advancement and (general) reliability of DPU technology, it was a practice that only lasted a few years. Now you can usually expect to find 1-2 DPUs on the tail end of BNSF freight. Such is the case here as a pair of C44-9Ws give an assist to the Denver-Provo. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106372 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, January 21, 2017 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Chemical (MP 14.5) Arvada, CO 1330 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) BNSF A pair of Warbonnets with the Colorado Rockies as a backdrop! True, one Warbonnet has an orange components behind the cab and another has some fire damage...but just getting such a shot in 2017 is a treat! Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106371 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, January 21, 2017 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Chemical (MP 14.5) Arvada, CO 1317 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) BNSF OUCH! Looks like this Warbonnet must've suffered from a fire under the long hood at some point. This unit was one of the final 20 Warbonnets delivered to BNSF. Bummer that it suffered from that fire. Still, always worth a roster shot of Warbonnet...why they are still around to be shoot! Before we know it, they will all be repainted. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106370 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, January 21, 2017 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Chemical (MP 14.5) Arvada, CO 1412 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) BNSF Many railfans would argue that the Warbonnet scheme is the best scheme of any in history. It was wonderful when Santa Fe (and, for a brief time, BNSF) brought the scheme back in the 1990s. Considering the fact it has been 20 years, this Warbonnet is still looking mighty fine! Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106369 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, January 21, 2017 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Chemical (MP 14.5) Arvada, CO 1398 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) BNSF BNSF runs a manifest between Denver and Provo that frequently consists of large numbers of tank cars. A lot of these cars wind up at industries between Provo and Ogden. BNSF deliver the cars to Provo and then turns them over to Utah Railway. Utah Railway then delivers the cars to their respective customers...all this done via UP rails! Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture.

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