This is a great perspective to see this train as it winds its way through the S-Curves at the base of Coal Creek Canyon. The head end is approaching the grade crossing at Blue Mountain.
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An ES44AC and an C44AC-CTE lead an eastbound coal load through the S-Curves at the base of coal creek canyon and toward the detector at MP 22.6.
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This eastbound manifest is about to knock down the signal at the west end of Leyden and head into the siding. DS-86 informed the train that BNSF's 31st Street Yard is not ready for the train, so they'll have to wait at Leyden until the yard can take them.
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New ties waiting to be installed lay along the right-of-way as an eastbound BNSF manifest (with a UP power-sharing unit) rolls by. These ties will likely be installed during the upcoming eight day closure of the Moffat, which starts October 1st.
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An eastbound BNSF Provo-Denver manifest, with a boat load of power, is headed toward Leyden on a rainy September morning. The train has 11 units on the head end, although only the first three units are actually online. The trailing eight units are DIC (Dead In Consist).
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A westbound BNSF sand train makes its way west up and around Big Ten Curve. This is the south side of Big Ten, on the approach to Eisele. The train is about to curve to the right (and north) to the east switch. Alas, I did not have time to hang out to get any closer pictures of this westbound.
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A westbound BNSF manifest with three units on the point and a pair of units DPU's on the back makes its way through the S-Curves at Coal Creek. The hill leading down to the tracks is part of Jefferson County Open Space.
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UP's has maintenance ongoing on the Moffat until 12:30-1:00pm at the moment. That has meant that, once that time hits, there tends to be a flood of westbound released out of Denver. BNSF's Denver to Provo manifest is approaching the grade crossing at Blue Mountain.
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A little bit of sun peeks out from behind the clouds as the Zephyr approaches the east portal of Tunnel One.
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I actually took this specific photo as a public service. Some people in the neighborhood in which I live were wondering what to do in the event that crossing gates are ever stuck down. So, I figured I'd get a shot of the signal control box with the Railroad/DOT sign for reference.
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The westbound Zephyr is running about 45 minutes late as it approaches the grade crossing at Blue Mountain. Normally, the train would be over five hours late if it were getting to Blue Mountain at this time. However, the Zephyr is currently scheduled to depart Denver at 12:35pm to allow UP to perform maintenance in the morning and (further west) early afternoon.
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As the westbound Zephyr approaches the grade crossing at Blue Mountain, a small herd of deer have decided they've had enough of the noise and they are making a rapid exit to the east. Nice that the deer are elephant-style!
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An ET44AH, a C40-8W, and an AC4400CW, all CSX, lead a westbound coal empty through the S-Curve at the base of Coal Creek Canyon. The train is climbing up toward Tunnel One. On the other side of Tunnel One, the train will take the siding at Plain to allow the Zephyr to pass by.
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They are a little hard to spot, but if you look closely you can see several deer trying to make a rapid retreat from the loud rumble of the trio of CSX units running on the point of this westbound coal empty. The train is headed for the West Elk Mine on the North Fork Branch, southeast of Grand Junction.
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Man, if this was not such a well-known scene, you'd almost think this could be somewhere in West Virginia! A trio of CSX GE's lead a coal empty west on the Moffat on the approach to the Blue Mountain road crossing. Frequently, when foreign power like this comes in to Denver from the east, it is swapped out for UP power. So it is pretty great to see a solid consist of CSX units on this overcast afternoon.
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