Photo ID: 106735 Date Shot Photo By Wednesday, November 29, 2017 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Chemical (MP 14.5) Arvada, CO 1462 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Kansas City Southern KCS has traditionally been an EMD railroad, but after EMD's quality decreased in the 80s and 90s, KCS (like all railroads) made some GE purchases. Today, they have 240 GE units on the roster, accounting for roughly 1/3 of all their power. That does not include Kansas City Southern de Mexico, which has 320 GE units, and accounts for about 60% of the KCSM roster. For both KCS and KCSM, all 560 units are split between two models: AC4400CWs and ES44ACs. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106734 Date Shot Photo By Wednesday, November 29, 2017 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Chemical (MP 14.5) Arvada, CO 1329 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) BNSF BNSF and KCS leaders on an eastbound unit oil train make for a mighty fine sight on a mild November afternoon. The thermostat is reading 60°F as the train rolls past the neighborhood of Leyden Rock (off to the left). It's possible that at some point in the future, this shot could include a highway overpass in the scene. If the Jefferson Parkway is ever completed. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106733 Date Shot Photo By Wednesday, November 29, 2017 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Chemical (MP 14.5) Arvada, CO 1208 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) BNSF For a period of time in 2015, it looked like oil trains might be the new staple on the Moffat after the demise of coal. But with the subsequent decrease in oil prices, shipping by rail because less economical and oil trains largely disappeared from the Moffat. That said, they do still appear every once in awhile. Such was the case on this day as a loaded oil train rolls east with a BNSF leader and a pair of KCS units behind. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106732 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, November 28, 2017 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Chemical (MP 14.5) Arvada, CO 1315 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific After meeting a coal load at Leyden, this light power move got a clear signal from the dispatcher to head west. The consist is headed for the yard at Glenwood Springs. There, the units will wait until they are needed as mid-train swing helpers on eastbound coal loads coming from the West Elk Mine on the North Fork Branch. If you see these light power moves on the Moffat, chances are the units will always been in multiples of three, as three units are typically cut into those eastbound loads. Until February 2, 2004, the lead unit in this consist was SP 253. Having been delivered in June of 1995, it has now spent more of its life as a UP unit than an Espee unit! Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106731 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, November 28, 2017 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Barbara's Gulch (MP 15.9 to MP 17.2) Arvada, CO 1431 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) CSX, Union Pacific A sole CSX ES44AH brings up the tail end of this eastbound coal load. The train is headed for a customer east of the Mississippi. The train will be turned over to CSX at the Mississippi, most likely Kansas City or possibly St Louis. The sun came out just enough to cast some nice shadows as the train snaked east through Barbara's Gulch. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106730 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, November 28, 2017 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Barbara's Gulch (MP 15.9 to MP 17.2) Arvada, CO 1185 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific The American Flag peeks through the trees that line the west end of Barbara's Gulch leading up to the east switch of Rocky. This ES44AC is the third of three mid-train DPUs on an eastbound coal load. Upon reaching Bypass 1 in Denver, the mid-train swings will be cutout and the train will continue on the KP with two units on the point and one on the rear. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106729 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, November 28, 2017 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed CP DS016 (East Rocky) Arvada, CO 1281 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) CSX, Union Pacific Of the four "big" US Class 1 railroads (UP, BNSF, CSX, and NS), CSX is probably the railroad I have the fewest pictures of. In general, Norfolk Southern units seems to find their way more frequently than CSX (and typically on BNSF). However, that is slowly changing as this coal train has appeared on the Moffat three times since September. Each time with CSX units for power. Hopefully, that trend will continue! Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106728 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, November 28, 2017 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed CP DS016 (East Rocky) Arvada, CO 1302 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) CSX, Union Pacific As this CSX-led coal train reached the east end of Rocky, the sun just barely started to peek out from behind the early morning clouds. The blue and yellow of CSX's Dark Future paint scheme doesn't look half bad on the Moffat, eh? Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106727 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, November 28, 2017 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Rocky (7,330ft) Arvada, CO 1274 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) CSX, Union Pacific a long lens shot (400mm) that shows an eastbound coal load on the main at Rocky. As the lead units pass by the switch to the Rocky Branch, the mid-train DPUs enter Little Ten Curve. Those mid-train DPUs will be setout in Denver before the train continues east on the KP. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106726 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, November 28, 2017 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Blue Mountain Drive (MP 22.43) Arvada, CO 1331 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) CSX, Union Pacific A third CSX unit could be found on this eastbound coal load on the Moffat. The first two units were CSX, and the trailing DPU is also CSX. The train came west with just the three CSX units for power. Now, they were split and setup for front and end power. A trio of UP units were picked up in Glenwood Springs and cut in mid-train. Those units will be setout in Denver, and the train will continue east with only the CSX units, setup 2x1. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106725 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, November 28, 2017 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Blue Mountain Drive (MP 22.43) Arvada, CO 1338 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) CSX, Union Pacific A pair of CSX units lead an eastbound coal train past the detector at MP 22.6. The last of three mid-train DPUs is visible in the distance, descending the grade toward the base of Coal Creek Canyon. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106724 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, November 28, 2017 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Plain (6,530 ft) Arvada, CO 1337 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) CSX, Union Pacific A pair of CSX GE's (in the newest version of the "Dark Future" paint scheme) lead this eastbound coal train down the siding at Plain. The train will slow to a stop at the east switch as the empty on the main is too long (by a car and a half) to clear the east switch. This was good news for me, as it gave me time to set up for additional shots at Blue Mountain! Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106723 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, November 28, 2017 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Plain (6,530 ft) Arvada, CO 1536 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) CSX, Union Pacific For the third time in three months, a coal train runs on the Moffat with CSX power. Seems that there is a contract for a customer east of the Mississippi that uses CSX and UP. But rather than power swapping, the train just runs the distance with CSX power! The train has been appearing every four weeks (or so) since September. It's a little hard to tell, but the ditch lights on CSX 3202 are flashing...an option that CSX has chosen for its ditch lights, but UP and BNSF have not. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106722 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, November 28, 2017 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Plain (6,530 ft) Arvada, CO 1264 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific A westbound empty pulls on the main at Plain toward Rainbow Cut. This is something an iconic and timeless view for me. I remember coming to this spot at Plain many, many times with my dad as a kid and watching Rio Grande trains, both coming and going, from this vantage point. Note the pile of old ties that were replaced as part of the maintenance blitz back in October. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106721 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, November 28, 2017 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Plain (6,530 ft) Arvada, CO 1231 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific There has been a slight uptick in coal trains on the Moffat lately. In fact, this Energy-bound coal empty will be meeting a coal train that loaded at West Elk Mine on the North Fork Branch. This particularly empty is quite long, which is why the dispatcher has him on the main. Even still, it will not be able to clear the east switch at Plain until the load is in the siding at in the clear so the empty can start pulling west. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture.

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