The morning Zephyr is running about 20 minutes late today, after a bit of a delay getting out of Union Station. The train is approaching the narrowest part of Barbara's Gulch on the journey west.
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The westbound Zephyr, which is being led by AMTK 199 and (Phase 4 heritage) AMTK 164 this morning, is on the move out of Union Station. Scheduled departure is 8:46am, and indeed the train started pulling right when the clock hit 8:46am.
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At the west switch of Crescent, the westbound Zephyr rolls through the OS on a green signal. In the distance, construction continues on increasing the height of the dam at Gross Reservoir. The height of the dam was originally 340 feet. It has been increased roughly 60 feet so far, with another 71 feet to go. The dam will be 471 feet tall once complete, tripling the capacity of the reservoir.
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Since I am certainly no botanist, I don't know much about foliage, so I have no clue what the plants are that have changed to this fantastic bright red color just east of the east portal of Tunnel 1. Passengers on the morning Zephyr get to enjoy the color as they enjoy the journey westbound.
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AMTK 25 and (Phase 7) AMTK 204 lead the westbound Zephyr out the west end of Eisele (Clay). The fall foliage here at the west end still has some good fall colors, despite the yellows not being quite as bright this year as one might have liked.
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As the Zephyr heads west on the main at Eisele (Clay), note the multiple piles of ties laying along the right-of-way. UP is in the midst of a major maintenance project on the Moffat, which includes replacing a lot of ties. These are all new ties, waiting for their turn to to be installed beneath the rails in the coming weeks and months.
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The morning westbound Zephyr, running right on time, has just met an eastbound BNSF manifest that is tying down in the siding at Rocky. Black and white seemed appropriate as the Zephyr makes its way through Little Ten Curve.
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AMTK 205 was involved in a collision with a vehicle the day prior to this photo. As a result, for safety reasons, the unit was set out here in the siding at Dell. There is also another P42DC currently in the siding at Newcastle west of Glenwood from a similar incident.
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Now here is something I definitely did not expect to find in the siding at Dell! A single Amtrak P42DC. Unfortunately, the eastbound Zephyr the day before struck a vehicle not far west of here on the Dotsero Cutoff. For safety reasons, the unit was set out here in the siding at Dell.
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The afternoon Zephyr is running about an hour late as it crosses over Yarmony Creek at the east end of the Glenwood Springs Subdivision, just west of the west switch of Bond.
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Near the west end of Tolland, the evening Zephyr heads east through a sea of golden trees, most of which have reached their peak fall colors for the season.
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The California Zephyr is always a scenic and amazing ride. However, the last week of September is one of the absolute best times of year to ride the Zephyr if you can. The train is just east of Granby, heading into Fraser Canyon ahead. Fall colors are at the peak, with the Fraser River lazily twisting around in the terrain.
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The eastbound Zephyr is running just a few minutes late after making its station stop at Granby. The Zephyr is overtaking a UP coal load in the siding amidst a very vivid fall scene here in the small town of roughly 2,300 residents.
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A nice treat this morning was to find Amtrak's Phase 4 heritage unit, AMTK 164, leading the westbound Zephyr as the train crosses East Portal Road between Tolland and East Portal. Fall colors are about as good as they are going to get, offering a spectacular ride for passengers.
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In the rapidly fading light, the westbound Zephyr climbs up the east slope of Thompson Hill. The dirt mounds of the desert cast some crazy shadows in the low light, giving the desert a different feel from the middle of the day.
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