All switching complete, the crew of the West Local take a pair of GP40-2s light underneath the CO-93 overpass and back east on the mainline through Barbara's Gulch, back toward North Yard in Denver.
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The closest BNSF has come to offering up any type of heritage unit are these ES44ACs. Ten of them sport this special scheme that features the heralds of the railroads that merged to former Burlington Northern, plus the herald for Santa Fe.
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The city of Arvada has around 125,000 residents and is zoned almost entirely residential. UP's Moffat Tunnel Sub cuts through the middle of Arvada neighborhoods, paralleling Oberon Road in this particular shot. The Rockies that the train just conquered rise high on the horizon.
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BNSF's eastbound Provo-Denver manifest glides east down the long straight stretch of track east of Leyden. The train has crossed both 80th Avenue and Simms Street, and is now crossing both Kipling Street and 72nd Avenue.
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For decades, coal was the "black commodity" that the Moffat was most know for. Recently, however, oil has replaced coal as the new "black commodity" that is now running far more frequently on the Moffat. Here, a loaded oil train is out of Leyden and is approaching the grade crossing at Simms street.
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A pair of BNSF DPUs are about to disappear in to Tunnel 1. If you look in the distance, you can see the head end of the train crossing over CO-72 at the base of Coal Creek Canyon.
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An SD70ACe leads a pair of GEs east toward the west portal of Tunnel 1. The train will have a "straight shot" all the way down to Prospect Jct to ensure the crew can get there before running on of time on their 12-hour "hours of service" clock.
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The crew on this BNSF manifest has 90 minutes left to work before hitting their hours of service. Dispatch asked the crew if they could make it the 24 miles down to Prospect Jct in the time they have left if they get a straight shot. The crews response was "absolutely". So, the train is departing the siding at Plain on a clear (green) signal.
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BNSF's eastbound Provo-Denver manifest has been holding off the grade crossing so as to avoid blocking local traffic while waiting for the Zephyr to show up. Now that the Zephyr is here, the manifest will start rolling toward the east switch at Plain.
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The westbound Zephyr passes in and out of the 366-foot-long Tunnel 1. The Zephyr, coming in at roughly 800 feet, has the engines out of the west end as a few Superliners have not yet been pulled in the east end.
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The morning Zephyr is running about an hour late as it approaches the east portal of Tunnel 1. In the distance, you can see the progress on the new Arvada neighborhood called Canyon Pines. Over a hundred single family homes will be popping up in the next few years.
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A standard pair of P42DCs lead a typical consist of a baggage car and seven Superliners west over the switch and out of the siding of Eisele (Clay).
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As an eastbound oil train departs Eisele (Clay) and enters the west end of Big Ten Loop, the westbound Zephyr has just received a clear (green) signal at the west end and is about to throttle up to depart to the west.
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An eastbound oil train approaches the east end of Eisele (Clay) in the distance as a single DPU clear the west switch. Momentarily, the switch will throw and the westbound Zephyr will get a clear (green) signal to continue its trip west.
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Take a look at UP's newest official paint scheme. After two decades of the American flag on the long hood, UP has made the decision to reduce the size of the flag and put it on either side of the nose. Union Pacific is returning to the long hood, and the UP shield is replacing the wings on the nose. This unit is designated as an C44ACM, a rebuild of a former AC6000CW.
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