Photo ID: 111424 Date Shot Photo By Friday, December 13, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Big Ten Curve (MP 19.5 to MP 20.2) Arvada, CO 287 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak On the south edge of Big Ten Curve, the Zephyr is making its way west. The Zephyr has not seen many ALC-42 Chargers, the power set to (largely) replace the P42DCs. The Chargers are Tier-4 compliant, and they require special additives mixed in with their fuel. the infrastructure currently does not exist in Denver to include the additives, so the Chargers have not been running on the Zephyr. Rumors are that the infrastructure will be added soon, and Chargers are likely to start showing up in 2025. That means this classic consist may be short-lived. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 111423 Date Shot Photo By Friday, December 13, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Big Ten Curve (MP 19.5 to MP 20.2) Arvada, CO 296 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak The morning Zephyr is approaching the open hoppers that serve as a wind break on the eastern edge of Big Ten Curve. The cars have now been in the same place for over 50 years, diligently helping to redirect extreme winds up and over the mainline. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 111422 Date Shot Photo By Friday, December 13, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Big Ten Curve (MP 19.5 to MP 20.2) Arvada, CO 249 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak Just west of the west switch of Rocky, the westbound Zephyr is making its way up the (roughly) 2% grade, working to gain elevation to overcome the Continental Divide. I'm trying to find out seek out some new perspectives from around Big Ten; shooting new angles. This being one of them! Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 111421 Date Shot Photo By Friday, December 13, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Barbara's Gulch (MP 15.9 to MP 17.2) Arvada, CO 254 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak The westbound Zephyr is running nearly 90 minutes as it makes its way through Barbara's Gulch, just east of Rocky. The train was about 45 minutes late departing Lincoln, NE after picking up an ALC-42 "Charger", AMTK 341. That same Charger was then dropped off in Denver, adding a bit more of a delay to the train. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 111420 Date Shot Photo By Friday, December 13, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Barbara's Gulch (MP 15.9 to MP 17.2) Arvada, CO 345 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak Just west of the intermediate signal nicknamed "Plastic" in the Rio Grande days, the westbound Zephyr hustles west in Barbara's Gulch. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 111419 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, December 10, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Tunnel 7 (MP 26.6, 214 ft) Jefferson County, CO 185 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak Just west of the west portal of Tunnel 7, the westbound Zephyr passes through a cut as the head end rounds the bend toward the east portal of Tunnel 8. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 111418 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, December 10, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Tunnel 6 (MP 26.4, 536 ft) Jefferson County, CO 436 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak Hard to beat the view of powdered pine trees out the window of the Zephyr as the train approaches the east portal of Tunnel 6 in the lower half of the Tunnel District. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 111417 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, December 10, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Tunnel 3 (MP 25.8, 369 ft) Jefferson County, CO 459 (1 Comment Posted) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak It is nothing short of amazing that in an era when a computer would have been something of a Sci-Fi novel, surveyors scouted along what is now the grade of the Moffat Tunnel on the edge of the Colorado Rockies and said "sure, we can build a railroad there"! Like tens of thousands of trains before it, the westbound Zephyr passes over fills and through a cut on the approach to Tunnel 3. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 111416 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, December 10, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed CP DS025 (West Plain) Jefferson County, CO 295 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak At the west switch of Plain, the westbound Zephyr enters the narrow single track territory of the Tunnel District. The head end is just about to enter into Tunnel 2, and there will be another 15 closely spaced tunnels after Tunnel 2 before the train reaches the next siding of Crescent, and the end of the lower half of the Tunnel District. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 111415 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, December 10, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Plain (6,530 ft) Jefferson County, CO 282 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak This has come to be one of my favorite views on the Moffat along the Front Range. "Sister" units AMTK 180 and AMTK 179 lead an on-time Zephyr through a powdery white scene about halfway through the siding of Plain. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 111414 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, December 10, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed CP DS024 (East Plain) Arvada, CO 354 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak Last night, about two inches of snow fell in a small storm that was actually unanticipated in the weather forecast. The result was, of course, a nice blanket of snow to provide some nice scenery for passengers on the morning Zephyr. The train has the typical pair of P42DCs, a baggage car, and seven Superliners for the journey. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 111413 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, December 10, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Tunnel 1 (MP 23.4, 366 ft) Arvada, CO 277 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak The Zephyr has come through the first of the 28 tunnels that it will pass through on its way to the Moffat Tunnel. A cloud was just clearing the tracks to allow some sunlight as the train heads west. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 111389 Date Shot Photo By Wednesday, December 4, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Leyden to Rocky (MP 13.4 to MP 17.4) Arvada, CO 310 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak Just west of Leyden, the Zephyr has a pair of "sister" P42DCs for power. I use the term "sisters" because the two units are next to each other on the roster. AMTK 180 is leading with AMTK 179 in the trailing position. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 111388 Date Shot Photo By Wednesday, December 4, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Leyden (7,020ft) Arvada, CO 242 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak The morning Zephyr is right on time at Leyden as it passes by a string of open gondolas in the siding. The gondolas are in long term storage. They showed up about two months ago and the start of October. The question, of course, is how long will they remain? Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 111370 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, December 1, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed CP DS001 (Fox Junction) Denver, CO 297 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak The morning Zephyr is in the control point of Fox Jct (CP DS001). Construction on the pedestrian overpass started in 2014, and was completed and opened in 2015. It connects a lot of new apartments and condos on the west side of the tracks with the RTD B and G-Line Commuter tracks on the east side of the tracks. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture.

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