Photo ID: 109420 Date Shot Photo By Thursday, September 14, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Tunnel 1 (MP 23.4, 366 ft) Arvada, CO 453 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific Five units, a quartet of GEs and a single EMD SD70ACe, lead a westbound coal empty out of Tunnel 1. The train is headed for the West Elk Mine on the North Fork Branch where it will load. Most likely, the train will have a sixth unit added in Grand Junction for the return trip over the Moffat. Coal loads are typically set up in a 2x3x1 configuration. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109419 Date Shot Photo By Thursday, September 14, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Coal Creek (MP 23) Arvada, CO 429 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific UP 7631, an ES44AC, leads a westbound coal empty up the 2% grade toward the east portal of Tunnel 1. The train is headed for the West Elk Mine on the North Fork Branch to load and return east. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109418 Date Shot Photo By Thursday, September 14, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Coal Creek (MP 23) Arvada, CO 433 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific A westbound coal empty climbs the 2% grade from Coal Creek Canyon up toward Tunnel 1. You can see a bit of one of the new roads in the background that are part of the Canyon Pines Subdivision. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109417 Date Shot Photo By Thursday, September 14, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Blue Mountain Drive (MP 22.43) Arvada, CO 593 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific Five units lead a westbound UP coal empty across the grade crossing at Blue Mountain and by the hotbox detector at MP 22.6. The train is heading for the West Elk Mine on the North Fork Branch in Western Colorado. As a railfan, it is good to see a minor uptick in coal traffic on the Moffat. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109416 Date Shot Photo By Thursday, September 14, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed CP DS022 (West Eiesle (Clay)) Arvada, CO 428 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific Coal has certainly dwindled in recent years on the Moffat, but reports are that the West Elk Mine on the North Fork Branch has received an uptick in orders and hopes to load close to a train a day! Not all trains will run east on the Moffat. Some will run west as export coal. Here, a westbound empty departs the west end of Eisele (Clay) after the westbound Zephyr ran around it at Rocky. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109415 Date Shot Photo By Thursday, September 7, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Plain (6,530 ft) Arvada, CO 589 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak With school back in session, a lot of vacations completed, and summer coming to a close, it appears Amtrak has reduced the Zephyr from seven Superliners to six Superliners. It is pretty common for one car to be removed from the train during the winter season, ostensibly due to a decrease in demand. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109414 Date Shot Photo By Thursday, September 7, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Eisele to Plain (MP 21.8 to MP 24.0) Arvada, CO 498 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak Just west of the west end of Eisele (Clay), the morning Zephyr is right on time as it continues its journey west. At this point, roughly 22 miles west of Denver Union Station, you can clearly see the downtown skyline in the distance as the Zephyr rounds the bend toward Blue Mountain Road crossing. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109413 Date Shot Photo By Wednesday, September 6, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Arvada to Leyden (MP 7.5 to MP 11.9) Arvada, CO 385 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific Riding in the last car of a UP Officer's Special would be quite the experience. The car has a full picture window and stadium seating facing out the back to allow full viewing of everything behind the train. Such is the case here as the passenger train approaches the Simms Street grade crossing and, beyond, downtown Denver. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109412 Date Shot Photo By Wednesday, September 6, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed CP DS012 (East Leyden) Arvada, CO 404 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific A pair of nicely painted UP units leads an 11 car Officer's Special passenger train east out of Leyden. This would end up being one of four passenger trains to run on the Moffat on this day. Earlier, the westbound Zephyr and the westbound Rocky Mountaineer ran. Later in the evening, the eastbound Zephyr would also come through. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109411 Date Shot Photo By Wednesday, September 6, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed CP DS012 (East Leyden) Arvada, CO 399 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific After decades of seeing flags on the nose of approaching UP units, it is time to go back to mostly yellow with the UP Shield. UP has updated their official paint scheme, and UP 6454 is sporting it as it leads an Officer's Special east through Leyden. It will continue on to Cheyenne today and ultimately back to Omaha, NE. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109410 Date Shot Photo By Wednesday, September 6, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Coal Creek (MP 23) Arvada, CO 596 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific At the base of Coal Creek Canyon, a UP Officer's Special, led by an AC4400CW and an SD70M, cross CO-72 around the 180° curve. Whether you are a fan of UP or not, you have to admit that their passenger trains look pretty dang sharp! Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109409 Date Shot Photo By Wednesday, September 6, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Tunnel 1 (MP 23.4, 366 ft) Arvada, CO 482 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific After making a journey west over the Moffat to Salt Lake City, this UP passenger special turned around and is now making the journey east. It has been said that UP's new CEO, Jim Vena, may well be onboard, checking out the former Rio Grande. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109408 Date Shot Photo By Wednesday, September 6, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Tunnel 1 (MP 23.4, 366 ft) Arvada, CO 405 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific UP 6454 and UP 4533 lead an eastbound Officer's Special out of Tunnel 1. There are rumors (mind you, only rumors), that UP's new CEO, Jim Vena, is evaluating the Moffat to decide if it might be worth potentially selling. Any truth to the rumors? No idea. Regardless, the train looked might nice. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109407 Date Shot Photo By Wednesday, September 6, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Tunnel 1 (MP 23.4, 366 ft) Arvada, CO 486 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific Just west of Tunnel 1, a UP Officer's Special, rumored to be carrying UP's new CEO Jim Vena, heads east down the Moffat. For two decades UP's official paint scheme has included the American Flag on the long hood of their units. However, UP 6454 sports a revised version and the new paint scheme that will be applied to units moving forward. Personally, I'm not a big fan of the flags on the side of the nose, and I miss the wings on the nose. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109406 Date Shot Photo By Wednesday, September 6, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed CP DS024 (East Plain) Arvada, CO 433 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific On a clear, beautiful September afternoon, an Officer's Special passes by a clear (green) signal at the east end of Plain on its way in to Denver. The stay in Denver should be just long enough for a crew change before the train continues north to Cheyenne. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture.

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