AMTK 51 and AMTK 157, running elephant-style, lead the westbound Zephyr through Eisele (Clay) precisely on time, if not a few minutes early.
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Thanks to the angle of the sun this morning, black and white just felt right for the Zephyr, heading west on the main at Eisele (Clay) right on time.
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AMTK 58 and AMTK 56 have the duty of running with the westbound California Zephyr on this Monday morning. The train is passing alongside Clear Valley Park to the south (right) and a mostly frozen over Jim Baker Reservoir to the north (left).
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The morning westbound Zephyr made good time getting out of Denver and is just slightly ahead of schedule here, just west of C&S Jct on Main 2. Indeed, the crew is trying to keep up the good performance, exhaust pouring out of the P42DCs as the engineer throttles up. The track to the right is BNSF's Golden Sub, which runs to (among many other things), the Coors Brewery in Golden.
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The Winter Park Express crests the hill on the climb to Tunnel 1. So far, no new homes from the Canyon Pines neighborhood have appears in the shot. Though for how much longer that will be the case is anyone's guess!
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The seven Superliners of the Winter Park Express offer a night glint of orange from the slowly rising sun, not too far away from the end of the morning golden hour. The train just knocked down a clear (green) signal at the east end of Eisele (Clay).
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The ground at Rocky and all around Big Ten is still covered in snow from a storm two days prior. There is not a cloud in the sky this morning, however, as the westbound Winter Park Express wraps through Little Ten Curve. The Denver Skyline, from where the Ski Train here originated about 40 minutes ago, is clearly visible in the distance, about 18 rail miles away.
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The morning Winter Park Express enters into the east end of Little Ten Curve at Rocky about 20 minutes after sunrise. After several days of below-freezing temperatures, the ground here is still covered in snow.
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The westbound Zephyr is running with an extra Superliner this morning. Specifically, there is a diner catching a ride on the end of the train. Most likely, the car was repaired at the Beech Grove, IN shops and is headed back to the west coast to be put into service.
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As AMTK 77, leading the westbound Zephyr, kicks up some snow with its plow at the grade crossing of Blue Mountain Drive, one of the engineers in the cab offers a friendly wave.
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The bitter cold that has enveloped the Denver area is starting to lift, but a strong wind has moved in. With gusts of 40 MPH, the westbound Zephyr, running about 45 minutes late, approaches the grade crossing at Blue Mountain Drive.
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The Zephyr is running just a couple of minutes late as it passes by Oberon Lake 1, out of sight behind the camera. The train is moving at track speed, around 45 MPH, which is kicking up plenty of snow from the ground. Indeed, the powder appears to be semi-enveloping the Superliners.
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An inch or so of (unexpected...at least to me) snow fell overnight last night, adding to the nice blanket covering the city. The temperatures are also the coldest they've been all winter so far, with an overnight low of -8°F (-22°C). Here, as the westbound Zephyr approaches 66th Avenue in Arvada, the temperature has climbed to -2°F (-19°C). Not much of a difference!
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The California Zephyr emerges from the west portal of Tunnel 1. Right after a snow storm, when the ground is still covered in white and the skies are blue, is one of my favor conditions to shoot trains.
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From above Tunnel 1, we see the California Zephyr as it climbs the roughly 2% from the base of Coal Creek Canyon up to the east portal of Tunnel 1. This, of course, is the first of 28 tunnels the train will pass through prior to reaching the Moffat Tunnel. Four inches of fresh snow remains on the ground and in the trees this morning, setting up a perfect winter scene.
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