Photo ID: 106385 Date Shot Photo By Wednesday, January 25, 2017 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Leyden (7,020ft) Arvada, CO 1510 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak One of the challenges of shooting the Zephyr in the Denver area is the time of day the train comes through. Both Zephyrs are typically backlit as the westbound Zephyr leaves in the morning and the eastbound Zephyr arrives in the evening. Once in awhile, though, one of the Zephyr will run late...so late that the tables are turned. Such a turning of the tables happened on this frigid January morning when the eastbound Zephyr (from the day before) was 14 hours late! That allowed for a run in to Denver in the early morning light. Here, the train is moving at track speed on the main at Leyden. A fresh dusting of snow on the mountains in the distance. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106384 Date Shot Photo By Wednesday, January 25, 2017 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Leyden (7,020ft) Arvada, CO 1506 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak The eastbound Zephyr heads down the main at Leyden in...morning light? Yep! Due to problems on Donner Pass, yesterday's Zephyr got delayed 14 hours!!! While I certainly feel bad for the passengers and crew, it was great shooting the Zephyr in Denver in morning sunlight. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106383 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, January 24, 2017 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Leyden (7,020ft) Arvada, CO 1517 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific While the MRONY had an all-EMD consist on the head end, it is not an all-EMD consist for the entire train! The sole DPU on the tail end is an ES44AC. This train must have topped 6,000 feet in length. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106382 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, January 24, 2017 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Leyden (7,020ft) Arvada, CO 1527 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific This GP40-2 (of Espee heritage) is catching a lift on the MRONY from Grand Junction to Denver. It is likely due for a 90 day inspection that will be done at North Yard. Hopefully no major issues are found. With Burnham closing nearly a year ago now, if there are any major issues, the unit will need to be shipped to North Little Rock, AR for repairs. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106381 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, January 24, 2017 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Leyden (7,020ft) Arvada, CO 1581 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific One particularly nice thing about overcast days like this one is it allows for some good shots from the north side of the rails! On a sunny day, regardless of the time of year, most of this eastbound manifest would be cast in shadows here at Leyden. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106380 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, January 24, 2017 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Chemical (MP 14.5) Arvada, CO 1599 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific There is no doubt that GE has outperformed EMD for 30 years. Some railroads have all but sworn off EMD (CSX and, to a lesser extent, BNSF). UP, however, has continued to order from both manufacturers over the years, no doubt recognizing the benefits to keeping both builders in business! Here, an all-EMD led manifest heads east toward Denver on a clear signal. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106379 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, January 24, 2017 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Barbara's Gulch (MP 15.9 to MP 17.2) Arvada, CO 1501 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific UP's MRONY makes its way east through Barbara's Gulch, running on clear signals. The train was moving at less that 20 MPH, which was great for me as it allowed me to catch the train two other times between here at East Leyden! Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106378 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, January 24, 2017 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Barbara's Gulch (MP 15.9 to MP 17.2) Arvada, CO 1252 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak I love this vantage point showing the westbound Zephyr in Barbara's Gulch. Not only is the terrain pretty cool for the Gulch, but if you look closely, you can also see the tracks coming out the west side of Tunnel 1 and running west (geographically north...or to the right) through Plain. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106377 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, January 24, 2017 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Barbara's Gulch (MP 15.9 to MP 17.2) Arvada, CO 1261 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak A fairly typical consist can be found on the westbound Zephyr this morning. In addition to the two heritage units and new baggage car, the Zephyr has seven Superliners. Specifically, a Transition Sleeper, two standard Sleepers, a Dining car, a Lounge car, and two Coaches. In Spring and Fall, it is common to find eight Superliners (one more Coach) on the train. In the Summer, it is common to find nine Superliners (two more Coaches). Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106376 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, January 24, 2017 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Barbara's Gulch (MP 15.9 to MP 17.2) Arvada, CO 1202 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak The westbound Zephyr glistens in the morning sun as it heads west (on time) through Barbara's Gulch. A pair of Amtrak Heritage Units lead up the Zephyr for the journey west. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106375 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, January 24, 2017 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Barbara's Gulch (MP 15.9 to MP 17.2) Arvada, CO 1630 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak In the course of the last week, every heritage scheme represented by Amtrak units has come through Denver on the Zephyr! Last week, AMTK 42 (Veteran's Unit) and AMTK 156 (Phase I) were on the Zephyr last Wednesday. On this morning, AMTK 822 (Phase III) and AMTK 184 (Phase IV) rolled through. The Phase II scheme is the only one that hasn't recently been through! Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106374 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, January 21, 2017 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Chemical (MP 14.5) Arvada, CO 1370 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) BNSF In the late 1990s and early 2000s, BNSF would run its westbound manifests with a pair of manned helpers (typically SD40-2s) on the tail end. The helpers would cut off at East Portal and return light back to Denver. With the advancement and (general) reliability of DPU technology, it was a practice that only lasted a few years. Now you can usually expect to find 1-2 DPUs on the tail end of BNSF freight. Such is the case here as a pair of C44-9Ws give an assist to the Denver-Provo. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106373 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, January 21, 2017 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Arvada, CO 1315 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) BLHX You may recall that, up until 2004, Amtrak hauled bulk mail for the United States Postal Service. In 2004, however, Amtrak canceled the contract with the USPS because the Amtrak leadership of the time believed passenger service was being disrupted by the mail service (with switching, etc). So, nearly overnight, Amtrak stopped the practice, much to the surprise of the USPS. After Amtrak stopped hauling mail, the boxcars they had owned for that purpose were sold off. Every once in awhile, you might catch one of those boxcars, still in Amtrak's Phase IV scheme, on the rails! Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106372 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, January 21, 2017 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Chemical (MP 14.5) Arvada, CO 1365 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) BNSF A pair of Warbonnets with the Colorado Rockies as a backdrop! True, one Warbonnet has an orange components behind the cab and another has some fire damage...but just getting such a shot in 2017 is a treat! Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106371 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, January 21, 2017 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Chemical (MP 14.5) Arvada, CO 1352 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) BNSF OUCH! Looks like this Warbonnet must've suffered from a fire under the long hood at some point. This unit was one of the final 20 Warbonnets delivered to BNSF. Bummer that it suffered from that fire. Still, always worth a roster shot of Warbonnet...why they are still around to be shoot! Before we know it, they will all be repainted. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture.

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