A fairly short eastbound ballast train sits on the siding at Rocky, having just met a westbound oil train. The two cars that have been in the house track at Rocky for several weeks, one of which derailed on Big Ten, are finally gone, having been taken back to Denver.
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This SD70ACe has certainly seen better days. The flag is almost entirely gone on the long hood on the conductor's side. The unit is currently on a ballast train. It's possible the unit has seen a lot of time on work trains.
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Not too often you find an SD70M on the point of a mainline train these days. UP 4630 happened to be the leader on an eastbound ballast train. The train took the siding at Rocky to meet a westbound oil train.
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Classic shot of a colorful consist. Under partly cloudy skies, this westbound oil train is approaching the east tunnel of Tunnel 1. It has been an exceptionally wet and cool spring, so the scenery is still very green. An incredibly welcome sight.
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This oil train is running on UP rails, with a Norfolk Southern leader, and a BNSF crew! Quite the interesting mix. The yellow hand rails on the lead unit really pop in the scene as the train curves toward Tunnel 1.
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Always like trying to get a roster shot of a foreign visitor in the area. Particularly when it is a visitor from the south or north of the border! Second out on this westbound oil train is a Ferromex SD70ACe. Ferromex, of course, is one of the two largest railroads in Mexico.
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Last week, UP officially wrapped up a majority of the construction on Big Ten and reopened the mainline between switches at Rocky. There is still some minor work happening, but all the speed restrictions have been lifted. This NS/BNSF oil train climbs the north edge at track speed.
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It seems that a business east of the Mississippi has a contract with the Wash oil loadout. The train originates on Norfolk Southern and is turned over to BNSF. However, most of the time, the train has been running with at least a few NS units all the way to the oil transloaded facility. On this particular day, an interesting NS/FXE/NS trio lead the train.
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The eastbound Zephyr is on the main at the south end of North Yard, alongside a lot of double stack containers in BNSF's Rennicks Yard. One of several thunderstorms has moved east and is continuing to drop a lot of rain on the eastern plains. The train is approaching an approach signal at Fox Jct.
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A massive summer thunderstorm has passed through the area and is moving out onto the eastern plains. The sun is breaking through the clouds to the left, offering some great storm lighting as the eastbound Zephyr passes alongside North Yard and Rennicks, just about 15 minutes away from its station stop at Union Station.
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The eastbound Zephyr departed Fraser almost an hour late, but made up about 45 minutes on the trip down the Moffat. Here, it is on the main, coming by North Yard (UP) and Rennicks (BNSF). Tracks 1-5 are all empty of cars this afternoon.
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UP 1820 is a snoot nosed SD40-2. Or rather, it was originally. UP has rebuilt it and it is now designated as an SD40N. This month, June 2025, the unit will celebrate its 51st birthday, with its entire life spent on Union Pacific's roster.
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UP 1212 is 41 years old, having been delivered to MKT in April 1984 as a GP39-2. UP rebuilt the unit and it is now designated as a GP39N. The two radiator fans are spaced a bit further apart that most GP39-2s. Probably an artifact of the rebuild.
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Since the start of PSR (Precision Scheduled Railroading) on UP, it is not uncommon for North Yard to be relatively devoid of power. However, on this particular June 1st, there is actually quite a bit of power waiting to be serviced.
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While this is technically south of Greenland, CO, the months of May and June are typically the only time of year when this area actually lives up to the name of being a green land. A CN-led grain train is currently stopped in The Sag, waiting for its turn to head south at Palmer Lake. A northbound is visible in the distance on Main 2.
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