This westbound BNSF (loaded) coal train, headed for Valmy, NV, has been stuck in this spot for nearly two hours. When the train was climbing out of Rocky, it went in to emergency. After a second attempt, it happened again when the train started to load. BNSF mechanical has been called out to check out the train and attempt to find the cause.
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For the past few months, BNSF has occasionally run a loaded westbound coal train up the Moffat. The train is loaded in the Powder River Basin in Wyoming, and is on its way to Valmy, NV where BNSF has picked up a contract to provide coal for a power plant. BNSF is running the train with three units on the point and three units on the end.
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A view that, in one form another, with one type of train or another, has been repeated somewhere around a half a million times since the Moffat Tunnel opened 96 years ago. The structure built over the rails has cameras that allow UP dispatchers in Omaha to view the tunnel. It also has motion sensors that detect trespassers, warning them they are trespassing if they attempt to approach the tunnel portal.
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Almost exactly 100 years (give or take a few months) before this picture was taken, initial construction on the Moffat Tunnel started. A century later, and a BNSF SD70ACe brings up the tail end of the westbound Denver-Provo.
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The valley that the Moffat Tunnel is located in has a wonderful mix of deciduous and coniferous trees. A pair of SD70ACes are the DPUs bringing up the tail end of this westbound BNSF manifest, disappearing in to the tunnel that runs underneath a shoulder of James Peak.
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The crew on BNSF 5781 is just moments away from experiencing 15-20 minutes of dark as the train enters the Moffat Tunnel. The train is approaching the highest active Class 1 mainline in the country. The apex of the tunnel is 9,239 feet above sea level.
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The Denver-Provo is on the main at East Portal and is approaching a clear (green) signal to go in to the 6.2 mile long tunnel. The building in the background was built by UP in 2010 as a weather safe facility for MOW equipment.
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Halfway through the month of September and there is only very minor change in the deciduous trees at East Portal. When fall colors are in full effect, this scene is going to look even more spectacular!
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Just east of the east switch of East Portal, BNSF's Denver-Provo manifest is approaching a clear (green) signal. The train is snaking its way along Rollins Road. In the distance, you can see the classic yellow schoolhouse that is a fixture in Tolland.
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BNSF's Denver-Provo manifest is westbound on the main at Cliff, running alongside the (empty) siding, and the house track. The house track has a pair of empty flat cars sitting on it.
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A trio of BNSF units is leading the Denver-Provo and is about to disappear behind the rock face as it enters Tunnel 1. The train is making its way up the 2% grade from Coal Creek Canyon, through the S-Curve.
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The two most common units you'll find on BNSF trains on the Moffat are ES44ACs and SD70ACes. This is an example of the latter. The orange is a bit darker than on the ES44ACs that it is stuck in between.
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A somewhat dirty SD70ACe is sandwiched between two ES44ACs on the point of a westbound BNSF Denver-Provo.
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A slow-moving storm unleashes a lot of rain on the northwest side of Arvada as BNSF 5260 leads five additional units on an eastbound Provo-Denver manifest.
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BNSF 5260 is looking at an Advanced Approach (flashing yellow) here at this signal at east Leyden. However, while the train has a signal that would allow it to proceed, it is currently stopped for reasons that were not clear.
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