A couple of covered hoppers have to be shuffled around at the aggregate plant at the north end of the Rocky Spur. The West Local, with just a single GP40-2, is facilitating the moves.
Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster
or add a comment to the picture.
The West Local makes the long reverse move north up the Rocky Spur, ready to deliver three covered hoppers to the aggregate plant located at the north end of the spur.
Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster
or add a comment to the picture.
The West Local backs away from the camera across Colorado Highway 72. A trash truck and two cars wait patiently for the slow-going train to clear the crossing.
Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster
or add a comment to the picture.
The stop light protecting the tracks across (very busy) Colorado Highway 93 has turned green for the West Local, slowly backing up toward the crossing. Note that the light covers on several of the stop lights for CO-93 are missing, likely due to the high winds that are often found out here.
Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster
or add a comment to the picture.
A single GP40-2 of Espee heritage shoves a trio of covered hoppers up the 8% grade of the Rocky Flats Industrial Lead. The siding (right) and main (left) tracks lie empty on the right half of the picture.
Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster
or add a comment to the picture.
The West Local has received authority to enter the main track at Rocky. The brakeman is walking down from the hopper to throw the switch from the main to the Rocky Spur. In the distance, you can see the mainline just out of the west portal of Tunnel 1.
Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster
or add a comment to the picture.
The West Local is backing down the 8% grade toward the main at Rocky. The switch is still locked and the crew will need to tone up the dispatcher and request permission to enter the main track.
Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster
or add a comment to the picture.
Weeds have somewhat overtaken portions of the Rocky Spur. The West Local is about to back over parts of those stretches of track. In fact, the track the local is starting down carries a rather hefty 8% grade. But no problem for these two peeps, particularly when a single covered hopper is all they have with them.
Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster
or add a comment to the picture.
There is a circuit in the rails at the CO-72 grade crossing that turn the stoplight red for traffic and green for trains as a train slowly approaches. Such is the case here as the signal for the West Local has turned green. The brakeman is riding on the sole covered hoper to protect the shove and ensure no cars decide to try to beat the train over the crossing.
Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster
or add a comment to the picture.
The West Local, with a single covered hoppers, backs down the Rocky Spur in the foreground as the relatively new housing development of Candelas in western Arvada is now fully built out in the distance.
Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster
or add a comment to the picture.
A brakeman stands on the platform of the covered hopper to protect the reverse move of the West Local back to the mainline at Rocky. It is passes by Rocky Flats Lake, also known as Francis Smart Reservoir.
Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster
or add a comment to the picture.
The West Local backs down the south leg of the wye on the Rocky Spur with a single covered hopper. GP40-2s are still pretty common in 2023, but it is really great to see GP15-1s are still roaming the rails as well. The Moffat mainline crosses the mountain in the background, from Tunnel 1 to Tunnel 8.
Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster
or add a comment to the picture.
The Lonely Local In the open space surrounding the former Rocky Flat plant, the West Local prepares to back down the south leg of the wye to the main track at Rocky. A single covered hopper is the only car the local is taking back to Denver on this Wednesday.
Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster
or add a comment to the picture.
Amongst the weeds, the West Local heads toward the east switch on the wye on the Rocky Spur. The brakeman stands ready to throw the switch to reverse down the south leg of the wye. Back in the distance, you can clearly see the mainline at East Plain.
Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster
or add a comment to the picture.
The West Local is on the north leg of the wye just south of the road that used to be the west entrance to Rocky Flats. If you know where to look in the background, you can see Tunnel 4 quite clearly on the mainline!
Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster
or add a comment to the picture.
