Western Railroad Discussion > Starting March in the Snow

Date: 03/02/15 12:29
Starting March in the Snow
Author: ColoradoRailfan

Hello-

Cold temperatures continue to persist in the Denver area, so a lot of the 10-14" of snow that has fallen in the last week or so remains on the ground! This morning, there was a bit of action running on UP's Moffat Tunnel Subdivision.

First up was UP's westbound MNYRO (Manifest, North Yard, CO to Roper, UT). At first glance, it isn't clear whether the train is UP's or BNSF's, as the head-end had power from both. The sole BNSF C44-9W made making the distinction even harder! However, this is in fact UP's manifest and a trio of BNSF units are just being borrowed for the journey west to Salt Lake City.

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1. The MNYRO approaches the 80th Avenue grade crossing and the east end of Leyden. The train had a clear signal at Leyden, but would go in to the siding at Rocky for a meet with an eastbound.

2. The sole BNSF C44-9W bringing up the rear of the train.

Kevin Morgan
Arvada, CO
ColoradoRailfan.com

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Date: 03/02/15 12:29
Re: Starting March in the Snow
Author: ColoradoRailfan

Second up was an eastbound coal load (which the MNYRO met at Rocky). Prior to this train, I don't specifically recall the last UP coal load I saw that had all EMD power on the head end! My guess is that SD9043MACs were on the point the last time I saw one. For a long time, UP didn't seem to want to run SD70ACes on coal trains. That trend has changed in the last year or so, and they show up more and more frequently.

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3. The coal train emerges from some morning fog near the east end of Barbara's Gulch (at the Chem Spur switch).

4. At Leyden, the train took the siding to meet two westbounds (the first of which being the California Zephyr). If you look in the distance, you'll notice two mid-train swing helpers just entering the siding. Most coal loads on the Moffat run in a 2x3x1 configuration. The three mid-train swing helpers are cut out in Denver and the train continues east in a 2x(0)x1 configuration. This train, however, is not headed for the plains. It is headed for Xcel Energy's Valmont Power Plant in Boulder. Thus, this train runs in a 2x2x2 configuration.

5. I wouldn't mind owning this house! It is located in the Arvada neighborhood of Five Parks (on the north side of Leyden). At first, I wanted to say the "new" neighborhood of Five Parks, but it is in fact more than 15 years old now. Holy cow, where does the time go!?

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I didn't stick around for the Zephyr, so that's it for now. Keep warm out there! News this morning said there is snow on the ground in every state except Florida.

Kevin Morgan
Arvada, CO
ColoradoRailfan.com

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/03/15 06:15 by ColoradoRailfan.