A P42DC and a P40DC lead the westbound Zephyr on this Thursday morning. The P40DC, AMTK 816, had its prime mover replaced about a decade ago as part of a rebuild program Amtrak ran. AMTK 816 now has 4,250 HP like its P42DC cousins, but still has mechanical air brakes instead of electronic air brakes.
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Just west of the east end of Eisele (Clay), the westbound morning Zephyr glides past a heart of Elk. They blend in pretty well with the foliage, but you can see them in the foreground at the bottom of the picture. The conductor on Amtrak made an announcement to the passengers so they can look for the Elk as the train rolls by.
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Passengers on the westbound Zephyr have a truly unique view as they look out over the plains this morning. A morning layer of fog has formed and is currently enveloping the entire Denver Metro area. Passengers looking out will essentially be looking out over the top of the clouds! This is something that usually only happens once or twice a year.
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The westbound Zephyr crosses the big fill west of Tunnel 2, through the cut, and heads in to Tunnel 3 near the east end of the Tunnel District.
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At the west end of Plain, just before ducking in to Tunnel 2, you can see just entirely enveloped the Denver-Metro area is this morning in a low hanging layer of fog. It is a truly beautiful sight to look out over the tops of the clouds.
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The weather in the Denver-Metro area is weird this morning. Once or twice a year, the ground is warm enough and the air cools enough overnight to create a layer of fog that entirely encompasses the area. Such is the case this morning as the westbound Zephyr climbs out of the fog and into the clear at Rainbow Cut.
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The westbound Zephyr, running about 40 minutes behind schedule, emerges from an early morning layer of fog that has totally enveloped the lower elevations in the Denver Metro area. By the time to train reaches Rainbow Cut, it will be entirely above the mist.
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An oil train leaves the east end of Plain and descends down in to the fog that has entirely enveloped the Denver Metro area at lower elevations.
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A pair of elephant-style GEs brings up the tail end of this eastbound loaded oil train on the main at Plain. The plains to the east are entirely obscured in a low fog layer this morning.
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A westbound oil empty crosses over the huge fill west of Tunnel 2 and is heading in to Tunnel 3 after meeting an eastbound loaded oil train at Plain.
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Now that it is back on the mainline, the West Local will be able to speed up to 45 MPH on the track not far ahead. A bit faster than the 5-10 MPH it was restricted to on the Rocky Spur. On the upper-right side of the shot, you can see the grade crossing (protected by a stop light) where the Rocky Spur crosses CO-93. The local was just up at the crossing a short time ago.
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At this point in the day, there is only a single dispatcher for the entire former Rio Grande from Denver to Salt Lake City. So, although the West Local has toned up the dispatcher to request permission to enter the main track at Rocky, they have not yet heard back.
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The westbound Rocky Mountaineer approaches the east portal of Tunnel 8. Tunnel 8 is one of the longer tunnels in the Tunnel District, and would be a scary one to walk through as the entire tunnel is curved.
Note: DO NOT WALK through train tunnels! The above statement is a theoretical one only.
About two miles west of Plain, the westbound Rocky Mountaineer continues to gain elevation as it passes through Tunnel 7. This is close to the west (technically north) end of the portion of the Tunnel District from which the Colorado plains are visible.
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The Rocky Mountaineer has just started its journey west through the Tunnel District as it emerges from Tunnel 3 and the head end approaches Tunnel 4. In the background on the left side of the image, you can actually see the west portal of Tunnel 2.
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