Always nice to see a little variation on the Zephyr, such as Amtrak's Phase 4 heritage unit leading the train this morning, getting ready to dive into Tunnel 1. It has been an unseasonably warm week with a lot of high winds. While the winds are not too bad right now, the temperature is already 60°F (16°C) at 10 o'clock in the morning in mid-December!
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AMTK 164 and AMTK 77 lead the westbound Zephyr as it climbs the 2% grade up from the base of Coal Creek Canyon to the east portal of Tunnel 1. In the distance, you can see the paved road, interestingly named Moffat Road, that is part of the new Canyon Pines housing development.
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At the west switch of Eisele (Clay), the westbound Zephyr has a green signal and continue west. The engineer is calling the foreman of a maintenance crew working west of Plain. The crew has a Form B active and a red board up, so the Zephyr needs to get permission to pass through the limits of the Form B
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AMTK 164, Amtrak's Phase 4 heritage unit, leads the westbound Zephyr this morning as the train rolls west at track speed west of Leyden. The body of water directly behind the Zephyr is Welton Reservoir. The body of water further off in the distance is Standley Lake
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The Zephyr got a short delay just east of Leyden this morning on its way west. A passenger on the train had to be removed from the train for reasons I was not able to figure out from listening to the scanner. Regardless, the train came to a stop with the last Superliner on the grade crossing at 80th Avenue, where Arvada police were waiting.
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You can see the wind kicking up the snow from the Continental Divide in the distance as the Zephyr wraps around the curve toward the east switch of Tolland.
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After getting a good snowfall earlier this week, there is still plenty of snow to go around up here between Rollins and Tolland as the westbound Zephyr, running about three hours late, passes by along a frozen South Boulder Creek. The wind was really kicking up this afternoon, and you can see a bit of snow along the top of the Superliners in the distance.
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Apparently, one of the two P42DCs on the Zephyr was having some mechanical issues in Nebraska overnight, resulting in a delay arriving (and departing) Denver. Here at Rocky, the train is running roughly three hours late as it rolls west on the main track.
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Looking west at Plain, the flatirons look pretty great covered in powdered snow as an on-time Zephyr rolls west on the main. This will be the last train for the next several hours (at least) as maintenance of way gets to own the railroad for a maintenance window today.
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The Zephyr just knocked down a green signal at the east end of Plain. 6-7 inches of snow fell through most of the day yesterday, which is just perfect this morning as the Zephyr has a pair of highly colorful P42DCs (in Phase 7 paint) this morning.
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The sun is shining brightly on a scene of freshly fallen snow as a pair of Phase 7 P42DCs pull the Zephyr up to Tunnel 1. This is the first snow fall of 2025-2026 winter season, and the perfect morning for a ride west on the Zephyr.
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The morning Zephyr has wrapped around the base of Coal Creek Canyon and is now heading geographically east as it heads timetable west, climbing up the grade toward the east portal of Tunnel 1.
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It is a winter wonderland here at the west switch of Eisele (Clay) as the morning Zephyr heads west on time. As much as I enjoy getting shots of trains in the midst of a blizzard, I also really love getting shots of trains in fresh snow under crystal clear blue skies.
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For the past two weeks or so, one of the Zephyr trainsets has been running with a pair of Phase 7 P42DCs. The train is headed west on the main, passing two UP maintenance vehicles. The second truck will be used to haul 250 ties from Eisele (Clay) up to Tunnel 14 today. Only 40 ties can be taken per trip, so about seven trips will be required!
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A significant herd of deer are grazing for food in the snow as the morning Zephyr rolls west on the main at Eisele. In winter months, when it is colder out, deer and elk are more likely to be spotted at lower (warmer) elevations.
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