With the desert mainline now behind it, the eight car Rocky Mountaineer is now headed south on the track warrant controlled Cane Creek Subdivision. The tracks largely parallel UT-191, with lots of traffic headed to or leaving Moab.
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RMRX 8020 and train cross over the currently dried up Thompson Wash in the town of Thompson Springs, UT. The town barely exists anymore, with only 104 people actually calling it home (as of 2020). That, however, is a fairly significant increase since 2020 when the population was a mere 34 people. A new RV park in town seems to be attracting more folks.
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Some maintenance of way work at Sagers resulted in the Rocky Mountaineer briefly stopped and then running through the siding. Now back on the main, the GP40-3s are throttling up as the train really bites into the 1% grade on the climb up Thompson Hill, kicking out a little exhaust for their effort.
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The westbound Rocky Mountaineer "Rockies to the Red Rocks" is making its way through incredibly scenic Ruby Canyon along the Colorado River. The siding ahead is named Utaline as the siding sits right on the line between Colorado and Utah.
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After shooting the Rocky Mountaineer at Fruita, I had hoped to make it to Ruby Canyon ahead of the train for a shot of it coming. Alas, I arrived about two minutes too late, and had to settle with a going away shot as the train approaches a clear (green) signal at the east end of Utaline.
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The Rocky Mountaineer has slowed to about 20 MPH as it enters the siding at Fruita. There is a BNSF oil train tied down on the main track, necessitating all trains coming through to run through the siding.
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The westbound Rocky Mountaineer slowly crosses Bower Avenue as it heads west on the siding at Palisade. The siding here is one of the longest on the former Rio Grande at 12,200 feet in length. The train still has a way to go before it can see the signals at the west end.
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The Rocky Mountaineer is coming up to a Diverging Approach (red over yellow) signal at the east end of Palisade. DS-378 is sending the train into the siding to meet the eastbound Zephyr. The town of Palisade is very well known for its peaches, which are incredibly sweet and juicy. It is also know for a number of wineries and vineyards.
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The westbound Rocky Mountaineer is passing by the Grand Valley Diversion Dam, also referred to as the Cameo Diversion Dam. The dam was built in 1916 and was the first dam in the United States to use roller gates to control water flow. The dam is used to control water flow for crops.
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The Colorado River is continuing to grow in size as we continue to move west in Colorado. The Rocky Mountaineer "Rockies to the Red Rocks", on the main at De Beque, is moving west toward its next station stop, just outside of Moab, UT.
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The scenery through Grand Valley in western Colorado is simply amazing. Employees of the Rocky Mountaineer are enjoying the views on this test run of the train, which is set to start another season of revenue runs in a couple of weeks. The train just passed a clear (green) signal at the east switch of De Beque.
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At the east switch of Grand Valley, the pair of GP40-3s of the Rocky Mountaineer keep the test run of the train on the move west through the town of Parachute. Just out of view to the left, UP's Minturn Local is patiently waiting on the Mountaineer.
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Just east of the east switch of Lacy, the westbound Rocky Mountaineer is following along the Colorado River on its journey west.
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It is shaping up to be a beautiful March day in western Colorado as the westbound Rocky Mountaineer moves through a temporary speed restriction on the main track west of Rifle. The train has seven passengers cars and a power car for this test run.
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At the west switch of Chacra, along I-70, the Rocky Mountaineer is starting to pick up a bit of speed after leaving yet another canyon behind.
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