Photo ID: 112579 Date Shot Photo By Wednesday, June 11, 2025 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed CP DS007 (Arvada) Denver, CO 79 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific At CP DS007 (Arvada), the MGJNY diverges from the Main Track to Main 2. UP intentionally added a little dog leg curve to the main so Main 1 (far track to the right) would not be diverging at the switch. This is because heavy coal trains (and now oil train) generally run on Main 1, and UP did not want the heavy trains to diverging through the switch. The switch itself is actually a (relatively) high speed switch. It is long and has moveable point frogs. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 112578 Date Shot Photo By Wednesday, June 11, 2025 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Arvada to Leyden (MP 7.5 to MP 11.9) Denver, CO 108 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific UP's MGJNY, the thrice-weekly manifest from Grand Junction to Denver, is approaching the Pierce Street grade crossing in Arvada. If you look in the distance, you can actually see Big Ten Loop. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 112577 Date Shot Photo By Wednesday, June 11, 2025 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Pecos X-Over to C&S Jct (MP 4.0 to MP 4.8) Denver, CO 73 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific After meeting the Rocky Mountaineer at Arvada, this loaded oil train continued east and into Bypass 1 at C&S Junction. The Rocky Mountaineer got out of town just in time, as both Bypass tracks are now plugged with trains. Bypass 2 has a coal train on it (behind the camera). At the time of this photo, there was a new rumor floating around that UP is planning to start running all oil trains through Wyoming and over Soldier Summit, cutting out the Moffat. Time will tell... Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 112576 Date Shot Photo By Wednesday, June 11, 2025 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed CP DS005 (C&S Junction) Denver, CO 106 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Rocky Mountaineer At C&S Junction, the Rocky Mountaineer proceeds west from Main 1 to Main 2 on a diverging approach signal. The train will stop at the next signal at Arvada to wait for an eastbound oil train. For those versed in identifying which main is which, you might noticed that the head end of the train is still on Main 1 in this shot. The OS at C&S Junction is half a mile long, and the crossover from Main 1 to Main 2 is behind the camera. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 112575 Date Shot Photo By Wednesday, June 11, 2025 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Pecos X-Over to C&S Jct (MP 4.0 to MP 4.8) Denver, CO 106 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Rocky Mountaineer The Rocky Mountaineer had to briefly hold on Bypass 1 at C&S Junction to wait on a (somewhat rare) eastbound UP coal load that just arrived on Bypass 2. With the coal train now in the clear, the Mountaineer will shortly be able to continue west. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 112568 Date Shot Photo By Wednesday, June 11, 2025 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed CP DS000 (Prospect Junction) Denver, CO 80 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak The California Zephyr is working on getting out of Denver with nine Superliners in tow. The train is briefly stopped at Prospect Junction, waiting for a conductor to reboard the train after aligning a switch on the Buck Lead. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 112562 Date Shot Photo By Monday, June 9, 2025 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Eisele to Plain (MP 21.8 to MP 24.0) Arvada, CO 95 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak Just west of Tunnel 1, the morning Zephyr is running about 45 minutes late. You can see Canyon Pines Drive, the road that accesses the new Arvada neighborhood of Canyon Pines. The neighborhood will have custom home builds, but several years into the project, no houses have actually popped up just yet. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 112561 Date Shot Photo By Monday, June 9, 2025 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Tunnel 1 (MP 23.4, 366 ft) Arvada, CO 92 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak The westbound Zephyr approaches the east portal Tunnel 1 above CO-72 at the base of Coal Creek Canyon. When the Denver and Salt Lake (or, at the time, the Denver, Northwestern, and Pacific) first started investigating routes to head west through The Rockies, Coal Creek Canyon was one of the routes surveyed. The route would have necessitated a 2-3 mile long tunnel. As such, the route along the Front Range and South Boulder Canyon, through the Tunnel District, was chosen instead. Today, of course, CO-72 heads west up Coal Creek Canyon. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 112560 Date Shot Photo By Monday, June 9, 2025 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Blue Mountain Drive (MP 22.43) Arvada, CO 80 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak This spring has been quite a bit cooler in the Denver area than the average area, and it certainly has been a wetter spring than on average. In May, 3.9" of rain fell in Arvada, nearly double the average of 2.2" for the month. The result has been the greening up of the area. The valley here at Blue Mountain Drive looks fantastic and alive as the morning Zephyr heads west. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 112559 Date Shot Photo By Monday, June 9, 2025 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Eisele (Clay) (5,780 ft) Arvada, CO 70 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak Since COVID in 2020, the Zephyr has pretty consistently been running with a baggage car and seven Superliners. A few weeks ago, a third coach started appearing on the Zephyr, increasing the length of the train to eight Superliners. On this particular morning, as the Zephyr heads west on the main at Eisele (Clay), the train is a bit longer with nine Superliners in tow. Granted, the very last car is a sleeper that is just deadheading out to California. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 112558 Date Shot Photo By Monday, June 9, 2025 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Big Ten Curve (MP 19.5 to MP 20.2) Arvada, CO 82 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak AMTK 51 and AMTK 14 lead the westbound Zephyr by the recent construction site on Big Ten, where Union Pacific spent a few weeks putting new rock down to reinforce the grade here on the north end of Big Ten Curve. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 112557 Date Shot Photo By Monday, June 9, 2025 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed CP DS019 (West Rocky) Arvada, CO 114 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak After several weeks of overcast, gloomy morning, there isn't a cloud in the sky as the Zephyr departs the west end of Rocky, starting the climb up Big Ten Curve. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 112556 Date Shot Photo By Thursday, June 5, 2025 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Rocky (7,330ft) Arvada, CO 89 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific Under partly-cloudy skies, a westbound BNSF oil train heads west on the main at Eisele. Most BNSF oil trains have six units on the head end, which are reconfigured 3x3 for the trip east. This train, however, only has three units. BNSF will likely bring in three other units on a different train, dropping them off at the transload facility at Wash. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 112555 Date Shot Photo By Thursday, June 5, 2025 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Rocky (7,330ft) Arvada, CO 88 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific An SD70M and a well-worn SD70ACe lead a 22-car ballast train. The ballast is in the classic green-ish ballast cars that UP has used for decades. The train is about to leave the siding at Rocky eastbound on a green signal. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 112554 Date Shot Photo By Thursday, June 5, 2025 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Rocky (7,330ft) Arvada, CO 86 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific After meeting a westbound oil train, whose head end is just coming around Big Ten Loop in the distance, UP 4630 and train are slowly starting to roll eastbound on the siding at Rocky, having receiving a clear (green) signal at the east end. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture.

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