After meeting BNSF's Provo-Denver, whose DPUs are still visible in the distance, this westbound UP manifest is climbing out of Rocky and up and around Big Ten Curve.
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Three units lead BNSF's Provo-Denver east down Big Ten Curve toward the west end of Rocky. There, it will enter the siding as a westbound UP manifest is holding the main.
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I sure wish this last DPU, BNSF 5827, was facing away from the train so the its nose could have lined up with the nose of BNSF 8044 on the head end of the train! The train is wrapping around Big Ten Curve, heading for Rocky and points further east.
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The amazing architecture of Big Ten Loop allows for the crew on the head end of trains to get a good look at the tail end of their trains. Case-in-point is this shot of an eastbound BNSF manifest making its way east around Big Ten. The head end in the distance is descending toward Rocky as the last DPU in the foreground just departed east Eisele (Clay).
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An ES44C4, an ET44C4, and an SD70ACe lead the eastbound BNSF Provo-Denver out of Eisele (Clay) on an Approaching Diverging (yellow over yellow) signal. The train will wrap around Big Ten Curve before entering the siding at Rocky.
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An eastbound BNSF manifest, sporting a pretty typical 3x2 configuration, rolls east out of Eisele (Clay). Despite the fact it is just after 2pm, most of Eisele (Clay) is already cast in shadows. The effects of winter lighting.
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A short UP manifest (only 36 cars) sits on the main at Rocky. The interestingly configured 1x1 train is going to meet an eastbound BNSF Provo-Denver here at Rocky. The train is actually a work train, headed for Plain. UP has been doing a lot of work in the Tunnel District and the gondolas on this train will be used to haul various scrap away.
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The eastbound signal at the west end of Rocky is showing a Diverging Approach (red over yellow) signal. An eastbound BNSF Provo-Denver is approaching Plain and will meet a UP manifest here at Rocky.
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Looking west at C&S Junction, a coal empty faces a solid red on Bypass 1. The signals are also red for Bypass 2, Main 3, and the North Yard siding...nothing is headed west for the Moffat the moment!
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Three units are on the point of a westbound coal empty on Bypass 1. In the distance, I-76 crosses over the tracks. The train is currently tied down, waiting on a crew to take the train west over the Moffat. UP 2566 is an ES44AC that was purchased as a Tier-4 credit unit.
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A trio of UP GEs lead a westbound coal empty on Bypass 1 just east of C&S Junction. This is a scene that was far more common 15 years ago. Today, it is more common to find oil trains on Bypass 1 and 2, but coal trains still occasionally show up, such as on this day.
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A westbound coal empty is tied down on Bypass 1 just east of the signal tower at C&S Junction. Once the a crew is available, the train will head west to the West Elk mine on the North Fork branch in western Colorado.
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UP's MGJNY is approaching the end of its (roughly) 270-mile journey from Grand Junction, CO to North Yard in Denver, CO. The train is passing by the classic water tower that was used for steam power in an era long since gone here at the north end of North Yard between the Pecos Crossover and Utah Junction.
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UP 6889 and train roll through the west switch of Eisele (Clay) on the journey east toward Denver. UP 6889 was originally built to have a 6,000 horsepower prime mover as an AC6000CW. However, the 6,000 horsepower experiment was relatively short-lived, and the unit has been rebuilt by UP and is now designated as a C44ACM.
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The only manifest that UP runs on the Moffat currently runs between North Yard and Grand Junction (and back). Here is one of the eastbound examples, the MGJNY, passing by Blue Mountain Road and a newly-expanded fire house. Several inches of snow fell over the previous two days, creating a great wintery scene.
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