Photo By: Kevin Morgan

The east end of the Moffat Tunnel is a rather fascinating complex. The tracks enter a man-made structure about 500 feet before they actually enter the mountain. This structure at East Portal is where the equipment to ventilate the tunnel is located. Gigantic fans are turned on and suck fresh air in from the west portal and blow out exhaust here at the east portal.

At one point in the past, the fans blew fresh air in from the east portal, blowing the exhaust out the west portal. However, the town of Winter Park was not thrilled with the exhaust being blow out and around the ski resort and town, so the fans were reversed. If you are ever near East Portal when the fans activate, you will definitely hear them.

Also visible in this shot is the Moffat Water Tunnel. A tunnel built parallel to the tracks, which brings water from the west slope to the front range, ultimately winding up in Gross Reservoir.
Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster.

User Comments (0)

No comments posted yet. Click Here to add the first one!

563
views
0
comments
Thursday, June 10, 2021 at 12:15:52 PM
image date



Location Information
City or County and State
Gilpin County, CO

Subdivision
Moffat Tunnel (UP)

Milepost or Control Point
Moffat Tunnel




Train Information
Railroad
Union Pacific
Model
None
Unit Number
None



Photo Information
Camera Make/Model
DJI / Mavic Air 2 [FC3170]
ISO
100
Flash
Did Not Fire

Focal Length
24 mm
Shutter
1/800 seconds
Aperture
f/2.8


Check out ColoradoRailfan.com on Facebook
Check out the latest ColoradoRailfan.com photos on Flickr

ColoradoRailfan.com Email Subscription
To receive updates made to ColoradoRailfan.com via Email, Click Here.

The D&RGW Site Ring
This site owned by: Kevin Morgan
Add Your Site

SiteRing by Bravenet.com

SiteRing by Bravenet.com

All content ©2000,2024 by Kevin Morgan, except where noted. Please do not use any material from this site without permission. Thank You.