Photo ID: 110796 Date Shot Photo By Wednesday, July 31, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Big Ten Curve (MP 19.5 to MP 20.2) Arvada, CO 607 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak On the back side of Big Ten Curve, the westbound Zephyr heads into the sun on an afternoon in which it is running nearly five hours late. The back (south) side of Big Ten is actually a long straight section of track connecting the east side of Big Ten (where the wind break cars are) with the east end of Eisele (Clay). Note the giant steel structure located alongside the tracks at Chemical, roughly five rail miles to the east. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 110795 Date Shot Photo By Wednesday, July 31, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Rocky (7,330ft) Arvada, CO 216 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak It is close to 95°F (35°C) on this last afternoon in July as a very late Zephyr heads west on the main at Rocky. Note some MOW equipment in the house track at Rocky. UP has been doing work on Little Ten and Big Ten Curves over the course of the past month or two. The Zephyr has a standard consist (for 2024), with a pair of P42DCs, baggage car, and seven Superliners. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 110794 Date Shot Photo By Wednesday, July 31, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Barbara's Gulch (MP 15.9 to MP 17.2) Arvada, CO 220 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak At the west end of Barbara's Gulch, a pair of Phase 5 P42DCs lead a nearly five hour late Zephyr west toward a clear (green) signal at east Rocky. The train was 2 hours late departing Chicago due to equipment issues, and then lost 3 more hours due to extreme weather in Iowa. Today, it is nearly 95°F (35°C) here at 2:15pm. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 110789 Date Shot Photo By Monday, July 29, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Eisele to Plain (MP 21.8 to MP 24.0) Arvada, CO 238 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak An Amtrak California Superliner is hitching a ride on the tail end of the westbound Zephyr this morning. The car is headed back to California to be put back in service, likely after receiving repairs at Amtrak's maintenance shop in Beech Grove, IN. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 110788 Date Shot Photo By Monday, July 29, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Tunnel 1 (MP 23.4, 366 ft) Arvada, CO 265 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak There is not a cloud in the sky on this Monday morning at the end of July as the westbound Zephyr emerges from Tunnel 1 on its journey west. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 110787 Date Shot Photo By Monday, July 29, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Eisele (Clay) (5,780 ft) Arvada, CO 243 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak This Superliner sports a different paint scheme on the back of the California Zephyr. It is wearing the colors of Amtrak California, and is returning to California, likely after having repairs done at the Beech Grove, IN shops. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 110786 Date Shot Photo By Monday, July 29, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Eisele (Clay) (5,780 ft) Arvada, CO 439 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak The makeup of the westbound Zephyr is a little different than normal this Monday morning. To start, there is an Amtrak California superliner catching a ride on the tail end of the train. Perhaps a little less obvious at first glance is the fact that there is no lounge car on the train! Instead, there are two dining cars. The second dining car is a "Dining Cafe" car. This car has the tables rearranged from a traditional dining car. Presumably, no lounge cars were available in Chicago, and Amtrak substituted with this dining car. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 110785 Date Shot Photo By Monday, July 29, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Big Ten Curve (MP 19.5 to MP 20.2) Arvada, CO 321 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak The westbound Zephyr has a bonus car today. An Amtrak California superliner is grabbing a ride on the tail end of the train this morning. the car likely needed some repairs, and was sent to Beech Grove, IN. The train here is climbing toward Big Ten Curve. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 110784 Date Shot Photo By Monday, July 29, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Rocky (7,330ft) Arvada, CO 315 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak From north of Rocky, we see the Zephyr on the main track, headed west. Across the valley, you can clearly see some of the open hoppers used as a wind break on Big Ten Curve. "AWARE" has been spray painted on five of the cars, and all of the cars are pretty well covered in graffiti. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 110783 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, July 28, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Glenwood Springs Glenwood Springs, CO 316 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Glenwood Springs (UP) Amtrak The eastbound Zephyr is stopped on the east siding at Glenwood, right in front of the Glenwood Springs depot for its scheduled station stop. Many passengers will board the train here, as a lot of people take the Zephyr to (and from) Glenwood Springs from Denver for a couple days getaway. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 110782 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, July 28, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Glenwood Springs Glenwood Springs, CO 302 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Glenwood Springs (UP) Amtrak The eastbound Zephyr is right on time as it heads east on the main at Glenwood. Glenwood actually has two sidings, and east siding and a west siding. The main is located between the two sidings. At the Center Glenwood crossover, the Zephyr will move from the main to the east siding for its station stop. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 110775 Date Shot Photo By Thursday, July 25, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Blue Mountain Drive (MP 22.43) Arvada, CO 370 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak It is a beautiful July afternoon as a 1-hour-late Zephyr makes its way through the curves just east of the grade crossing at Blue Mountain Drive. While other long distance trains...the Empire Builder in particular...have started to get a lot of ALC-42 "Chargers" on them, the Zephyr is still running with P42DCs. Rumors are floating around that perhaps the new Chargers will start showing up on the Zephyr in 2025. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 110774 Date Shot Photo By Thursday, July 25, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Detector (MP 22.6) Arvada, CO 301 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak I get the opportunity to get pictures of the eastbound Zephyr less often than the westbound Zephyr, so it is always nice when I can get out in the evening. Additionally, while the westbound Zephyr always departs Denver (when it is on time) in daylight, the eastbound Zephyr descends from the Moffat Tunnel in darkness several months through the winter. Here, the eastbound Zephyr is passing the detector at MP 22.6, approaching the grade crossing Blue Mountain Drive. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 110773 Date Shot Photo By Thursday, July 25, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Eisele to Plain (MP 21.8 to MP 24.0) Arvada, CO 320 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak Running just about an hour late, the evening Zephyr descends the roughly 2% grade from Tunnel 1 down toward the base of Coal Creek Canyon. You can see the tracks to the right on the other side of CO-72, where the Zephyr will be momentarily. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 110772 Date Shot Photo By Thursday, July 25, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Cliff (6,900 ft) Boulder County, CO 411 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak Like so many other towns along the rails in Colorado and throughout the United States, the small town of Pinecliffe, CO exists because of the tracks. Indeed, Pinecliffe had its own depot and the Yampa Valley Mail stopped there daily until May 1968. Now, it is just a brief blur out the window for these passengers on the eastbound California Zephyr. The town itself has a whooping population of 23. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture.

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