Western Railroad Discussion > UP Passenger Special and Amtrak 50th on the Zephyr

Greetings!

Yesterday afternoon there were two less common items on UP's Moffat Tunnel Sub that were worth a look. I was busy for Easter Morning, but around 1pm, I headed west over the Continental Divide to try intercept them. First up was Amtrak's 50th Anniversary P42DC (#100), leading the eastbound Zephyr. I believe this guy frequently hangs out in the northeast, so it was nice seeing it here in Colorado. As it turns out, this was the first time I had actually seen the unit in person. Nice to check it off the list of units I want to try to get shots of!

Following just a few blocks behind the Zephyr was an eastbound UP passenger special. The special departed Grand Junction in the morning, and was headed to Fraser, CO, where it would tie down in the siding. There, it would remain (and continues to remain) until tomorrow (Tuesday) morning. Apparently, some special passengers (I have no idea who these passengers are) will be boarding the train this afternoon (Monday), sleeping onboard overnight, and then departing east toward Denver tomorrow morning.

Whatever the reason for the train, UP put to very shiny C44ACMs on the point for power of the 12-car special.

1. I was hoping to make it to Byers Canyon for a shot of the Zephyr. Alas, I did not have quite enough time, and instead setup for a shot just east of Sulphur.

2. About 15 minutes and a few blocks behind the Zephyr, UP's passenger special shows up at Sulphur. A westbound BNSF Denver-Provo held in the siding for both eastbounds.

3. UP's passenger special is coming up to a Diverging Approach signal at the west end of Fraser in the open valley between Fraser and Tabernash.

to be continued...

Kevin Morgan
Arvada, CO
ColoradoRailfan.com

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4. As advertized, the crew tied the train down in the siding at Fraser. Just one week earlier and the Winter Park Express might have played a roll in all this (as the WPE parks in the siding at Fraser during the day while waiting to make the return trip to Denver). However, with the WPE done for the season, the siding was wide open and available for the passenger train to sit for the next 40-ish hours.

5. Turns out that there was a westbound MNYGJ that met the Zephyr at Winter Park. The lighting and the scenery couldn't have been better for the westbound...alas, UP managed to put the grungiest power on the point to lead the train. Perfect lighting, lousy leader! Haha.

6. After the MNYGJ rolled by, I headed back toward the east slope of the divide. I decided to see if I could get a shot of the Zephyr somewhere in Arvada. I figured it was probably a fools errand, as the Zephyr had a pretty good lead. Not to mention, it had a 6.2 mile tunnel to cut underneath the divide, while I had to take the 30-ish mile routing over Berthoud Pass! However, fate was on my side. The Zephyr encountered a string of 10 MPH slow orders on the east slope of the Moffat, giving me plenty of time to setup for this shot at 66th Avenue, between Leyden and CP DS007 in western Arvada.

Not a bad six or so hours spent on the Moffat on a beautiful Easter Sunday afternoon! If you are interested, feel free to click here to see all the shots from the day.

Thanks, as always, for looking!

Kevin Morgan
Arvada, CO
ColoradoRailfan.com



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/07/26 07:16 by ColoradoRailfan.

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Nice stuff Kevin! Thaks for sharing....

James Nelson
Thornton, CO
www.flickr.com/mojaveflyer

I wanted to go up but easter  dinner , glad you made it

Appears UP does not care about the height of the side lettering.

different models different specs?  repaints done different places?

That UP special shows several signs of a Board of Directors inspection train.  Typically a spring trip.  One dome is enough.  Exercise car.  Clean power.  Good scenery (at least every other year).  And the special guests may not have a lot of time or patience for a long rail trip.  Perhaps someone can confirm?  

the train left CB over a week ago, did the Golden state line, so i think it was used by the engineering department, maybe it was the BOD, but it overnighted several places, now doing VIP service tommorrow.  Last couple years some vips have been staying in WIP with a train laying over in winter park or coming up from Denver, with the personnel changes glad to see they are still getting up there

Excellent!

Wonderful series, thanks for the look.
—Mac

Great set of shots!!!

Super series of photos, Kevin. Thanks for sharing.

Paul Brennecke
Golden, CO

eastlandt Wrote:
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> Appears UP does not care about the height of the
> side lettering.

Different models different painting specs. 

UP is weird 

Really nice pics, thanks for he post!  Considering the traffic level on the old Rio Grande these days, you had a fine session!  I'm amazed that the area between Fraser and Tabernash is sitll as open as it is.

Bob

A YouTuber caught no. 5 stopping at Fraser with the UP special in the siding. One reply to the post said:"I thought those yellow passenger cars were only used with Big Boy. lol

Great shots Kevin!
BB

going to colo springs be in denver soon

Nice shots!!