In preparation for the 2024 season, the Rocky Mountaineer's "Rockies to the Red Rocks" is making a test run west. The train is approaching Little Ten Curve, passing alongside a westbound BNSF coal load currently tied down in the siding at Rocky.
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Seeing as how it is currently the "off season" for the Rocky Mountaineer, it makes sense that maintenance activities would be taking place. Indeed, the truck from one of the passengers cars has been removed from the car itself. Hydraulic jacks have been used on either side of the passenger car to keep the car elevated while the truck is removed.
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The pair of GP40-3s that serve as the power on the Rocky Mountaineer's "Rockies to the Red Rocks" are currently sitting in UP's 36th Street Yard, shut down and waiting for the start of the spring season.
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The westbound Rocky Mountaineer approaches the east portal of Tunnel 8. Tunnel 8 is one of the longer tunnels in the Tunnel District, and would be a scary one to walk through as the entire tunnel is curved.
Note: DO NOT WALK through train tunnels! The above statement is a theoretical one only.
About two miles west of Plain, the westbound Rocky Mountaineer continues to gain elevation as it passes through Tunnel 7. This is close to the west (technically north) end of the portion of the Tunnel District from which the Colorado plains are visible.
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The Rocky Mountaineer has just started its journey west through the Tunnel District as it emerges from Tunnel 3 and the head end approaches Tunnel 4. In the background on the left side of the image, you can actually see the west portal of Tunnel 2.
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The westbound Rocky Mountaineer passes through the OS at the west end of Plain and the SD70Ms on the point are about to duck in to Tunnel 2, the true start of the east end of the Tunnel District.
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UP has quite a few pieces of equipment as well as dozens of sections of "panel track" laying alongside the house track at Plain. Meanwhile, the westbound Rocky Mountaineer rolls by on the main.
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The final westbound run of the Rocky Mountaineer for the 2023 season heads west on the main at Plain. For this final run, as has been the case for the past few runs, a pair of UP SD70Ms leads the train.
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The eastbound Rocky Mountaineer approaches a clear (green) intermediate signal at MP 9.8. The train will be taking Bypass 1 across the Belt Industrial Lead to get to its final stop at UP's 36th Street Yard, just outside of Denver. The skyline of which stands tall in the distance.
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A pair of Phase 2 SD70Ms lead the Rocky Mountaineer, the premiere passenger train on the Moffat, east through Arvada. Passengers are hopefully enjoying the fall colors here at the lower elevations as the train continues east toward its destination in Denver.
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Fall colors at the higher elevations have died off, but they are just hitting their peak at the lower elevations in the Denver area. The eastbound Rocky Mountaineer, with a pair of UP SD70Ms subbing in for the Mountaineer geeps, glides east down the grade east of Leyden amidst the fall colors. 14,259-foot Longs Peak stands tall in the distance.
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In the valley leading to the base of James Peak, the westbound Rocky Mountaineer approaches the east portal of the 6.2-mile long Moffat Tunnel. East Portal is a very popular spot for hikers, and there is a near-full parking lot in the scene. Hikers used to cross the tracks at the entrance to the tunnel, but UP had the trail head moved to go up and over the tunnel so hikers do not walk across the tracks.
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Fall colors are at their peek at the start of October, which is one of the largest draws for passengers on the "Rockies to the Red Rocks" Rocky Mountaineer. The train is rolling west on the main at East Portal, about a mile from the entrance to the Moffat Tunnel.
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On a crisp, cloudy October morning, the westbound Rocky Mountaineer makes another trip west toward Moab, UT. The "Rockies to the Red Rocks" train will continue running twice a week through the end of October. It will then shut down until the 2024 season starts in April 2024.
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