The westbound Zephyr passes underneath the signal bridge at C&S Junction, about to cross over Federal Blvd, changing from Main 3 to Main 2. The train is running right on time for its morning trip west.
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AMTK 75 and AMTK 59 are the power on the westbound Winter Park Express. The train was delayed about 20 minutes waiting for a BNSF southbound to clear the diamond at 23rd Street. However, with no eastbound traffic opposing it, the train would still arrive in Winter Park one minute early!
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AMTK 75 leads the morning Winter Park Express westbound across the grade crossing at Plain. There was a light dusting of snow overnight, and the result is powdery white pine trees, ties, and ballast.
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The Denver area has had several unseasonably warm days in the last week. As a result, nearly all the snow in the area has melted away. However, there is still plenty of snow to be had in the Colorado high country, which is where skiers on the Winter Park Express are headed as the train departs Eisele (Clay).
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AMTK 75 and AMTK 59 lead the Winter Park Express westbound on the main at Eisele (Clay). Since the Amtrak started running the Winter Park Express in 2017, it has never had more than 40 trips in a season. However, thanks in large part to the government of Colorado, it will have 69 trips for the 2024-2025 season. Reports indicate that the train has largely been sold out.
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AMTK 75 has, so far, been on every run of the Winter Park Express this season. The second P42DC was originally AMTK 146. However, Amtrak swapped that out and AMTK 59 is now assisting with AMTK 75. The train climbs and comes around Big Ten Curve.
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AMTK 75, sporting Amtrak's Phase 7 paint scheme, leads the westbound Winter Park Express around the outside of Big Ten Curve. In the distance, above AMTK 75, you can actually see the east portal of Tunnel 4. The Winter Park Express runs with a single engineer in the cab.
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The engineer on the morning Winter Park Express throttles up at East Rocky to increase speed a little bit after coming through the west end of Barbara's Gulch.
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One of my personal favorite perspective from Big Ten Curve. Three units, lead UP's MNYGJ, the thrice-weekly manifest on the climb around Big Ten.
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The engineer is throttling up UP 7052, resulting a bit of extra exhaust being kick up as the MNYGJ starts to bit into the roughly 2% grade on the climb to Big Ten Curve. This is the first daylight run of the MNYGJ on the east slope of the Moffat that I have seen in just over a year. The train almost always departs North Yard in the darkest hours of the night.
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UP 5559 is designated as a C44AC-CTE. It is essentially an AC4400CW that has some computer upgrades that UP got from Wabtec when ordering these units. Many of these units are being rebuilt by UP into C44ACMs, but UP 5559 has not yet had its turn at the shop.
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UP 4363 is a Phase 1 SD70M. It was part of the largest single locomotive order at the time, one of 1,000 SD70Ms UP ordered from EMD. Many of those SD70Ms are now in long term storage, but many still roam the rails.
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Roster shot of UP 7052. Originally built as a C44/60AC, and designed to be upgraded to 6000 HP, it has now been rebuilt by UP and is designated as a C44ACM. After a brief push for 6000 HP in the 1990s, 4400 HP has pretty well become the standard horsepower for the last 25 years.
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From slightly below track level, we look up at UP's MNYGJ, Manifest from North Yard to Grand Junction. It just about to start continuing the journey west after the westbound Zephyr overtook it here in the siding.
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It would seem that BNSF has successfully captured a majority of the manifest traffic that runs over the Moffat. UP's MNYGJ and MGJNY are, more often than not, quite short these days. Such is the case this morning as the MNYGJ sits in the siding at Rocky with only 30 cars in tow.
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