The westbound Zephyr just passed by some maintenance equipment in the siding and house track at Rocky. The Zephyr is about 25 minutes late this morning. UP's yard transfer between BNSF's 31st Street Yard and UP's North Yard was temporarily blocking the Zephyr down at Prospect Jct.
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Posted By Terry Ten Eyck On Tuesday, March 24, 2026 At 2:51:39 PM (PT)
Kevin’s great photograph has captured AMTRAK #5 west of Mile Post 18 – just reentering the 2.00% continuation of the grade after clearing the originally designated “Siding #3’s” 0.50% SLACK GRADE that Moffat’s Chief Engineer, H. A. Sumner, designed in 1902. Climbing westward from Leyden and just after crossing over Highway 72 at Indiana Street, the Moffat Road is built on a steady 2.00% grade, COMPENSATED FOR CURVATURE. After passing through Steam Shovel Cut and beneath Highway 93, the 2.00% grade makes it past the end of the 4° left curve in the distant background where it enters the 3,609.4’ long “Siding #3” tangent that AMTRAK #5 is on. Sumner specified 2,500’ long sidings (about) every 5 miles. Rail was laid here on Oct. 12, 1903. After construction, this siding was named “Plateau Station”, but in 1904, it was changed to “Arena” and since about 1952, when the Rocky Flats Plant spur was built, it has been called “Rocky”.
The D&RG was able to access water at Arena after the Denver Water Board built their canal from South Boulder Creek to their Ralston Reservoir to deliver water diverted from the Fraser River through the pioneer bore of the Moffat Tunnel. The railroad then built a 6" Poage water column, which could supply water to steam locomotives at Arena from August, 1943 to about 1956, when steam locomotives were ending their service. This water supplemented the Coal Creek tank, which was located further west, at about Mile Post 23 – just north of the S.H. 72 underpass at the entrance to Coal Creek canyon. This tank struggled to have enough water supply from Coal Creek in the dry, end of summer (and winter) months. The Coal Creek Tank was on a 2% grade, while the Arena/Rocky water column was on this slack 0.50% grade.
