Nice to see you and Ben got to meet up. Looking forward to more pics! The Dotsero Cutoff from Glenwood to Bond is quite scenic, too. Red rocks everywhere.
CZ#6 Status - Denver Arrival [TABLE] [TR] [TD="class: scheduled status_result arrives whitebackground"]Scheduled[/TD] [TD="class: act_est status_result arrives whitebackground"]Estimated[/TD] [TD="class: lightbluetrainstatusbackground status_result arrives whitebackground"]Notes[/TD] [/TR] [TR="class: status_result arrives whitebackground"] [TD="class: scheduled"]6:38 pm Fri Aug 12, 2011[/TD] [TD="class: act_est"] (7:19 pm) Fri Aug 12, 2011 (estimated)[/TD] [TD="class: lightbluetrainstatusbackground"] Estimated Arrival Time: 41 minutes late.[/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE]
CZ#6 Status - Denver Arrival [TABLE] [TR] [TD="class: scheduled status_result arrives whitebackground"]Scheduled[/TD] [TD="class: act_est status_result arrives whitebackground"]Estimated[/TD] [TD="class: lightbluetrainstatusbackground status_result arrives whitebackground"]Notes[/TD] [/TR] [TR="class: status_result arrives whitebackground"] [TD="class: scheduled"]6:38 pm Fri Aug 12, 2011[/TD] [TD="class: act_est"](8:31 pm) Fri Aug 12, 2011 (estimated) [/TD] [TD="class: lightbluetrainstatusbackground"]Estimated Arrival Time: 1 hour and 53 minutes late. [/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] Looks like Mark is stuck in the tunnels somewhere...
Well, 1st we were held up for some MOW crew. Then, the MOW crew cut the signaling system, so all through the red rock canyons we got to travel at the incredible speed of 10 MPH. We just now had wheel stop in Fraiser, 6:06, almost 2 hours 20 minutes late. Used my T2i all through Gore and got some great pics and vids.
CZ#6 Status - Denver Arrival [TABLE] [TR] [TD="class: scheduled status_result arrives whitebackground"]Scheduled[/TD] [TD="class: act_est status_result arrives whitebackground"]Estimated[/TD] [TD="class: lightbluetrainstatusbackground status_result arrives whitebackground"]Notes[/TD] [/TR] [TR="class: status_result arrives whitebackground"] [TD="class: scheduled"]6:38 pm Fri Aug 12, 2011[/TD] [TD="class: act_est"](8:00 pm) Fri Aug 12, 2011 (estimated) [/TD] [TD="class: lightbluetrainstatusbackground"]Estimated Arrival Time: 1 hour and 22 minutes late. [/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] Now if you don't get stuck behind any UP Freight going either way...
CZ#6 Status - Denver Arrival [TABLE] [TR] [TD="class: scheduled status_result arrives whitebackground"]Scheduled [/TD] [TD="class: act_est status_result arrives whitebackground"]Estimated[/TD] [TD="class: lightbluetrainstatusbackground status_result arrives whitebackground"]Notes[/TD] [/TR] [TR="class: status_result arrives whitebackground"] [TD="class: scheduled"]6:38 pm Fri Aug 12, 2011[/TD] [TD="class: act_est"](10:00 pm) Fri Aug 12, 2011 (estimated)[/TD] [TD="class: lightbluetrainstatusbackground"]Estimated Arrival Time: 3 hours and 22 minutes late.[/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] Catch some ZZZ's Mark, it's going to be a another long night on the CZ...
We are just now at te big 10 curves! After Moffat, we were stopped to let a coal pass, then as we made our way towards the tunnel district, we got another slow order because of maintenance. And before we entered the tunnel district, we were sided again to let westbound #5 pass! Well if we aren't late enough, they sure are!!We creeped through the tunnel district at 10mph. But the view of the full moon over the Denver city lights sure made a nice treat.
Life on the CZ... Here is a couple of video clips of my last CZ#6 ride that also got in late to give folks a feel for what Mark is seeing now... [video=youtube;P7cdiB_Z61U]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7cdiB_Z61U[/video] [FONT=Trebuchet MS, Arial, Helvetica]Video #30[/FONT] [video=youtube;F5bo0ef-ZIc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5bo0ef-ZIc[/video] [FONT=Trebuchet MS, Arial, Helvetica]Video #31[/FONT]
We're so late that about 15 minutes before Denver they will be doing a mobile crew change to relieve the current crew. And that puts us into Denver station around 10:15.
Oh, well. Being late on the train just means you get to spend more time on the train! (Yes, I am a foamer.)
Hahaha, that's exactly what I told Ben while in Grand Junction! We are moments away from reversing into Denver.
And wheel stop Denve... Oops, wait...Aaand.... Um. Little more... Tttthhheeere we go. And Wheel stop Denver.
Now departing Denver, 3.5 hours late. Here's a video of the first MOW crew we had to wait for today:http://i1239.photobucket.com/albums/ff504/WildMarker/9e419c0e.mp4
That looks like a continuous loop like you'd see in cheaply made cartoons when I was growing up - you know, the ones where Shaggy and the Scoob kept passing the same door while appearing to walk down a long hallway.
Well we're on our way into the night. It's a full moon out, so who knows. Scooby and me may spot some interesting ghostly creature off in the shadows of midnight. After fourteen pages, the live portion of this ride-along is about to close out. I had a great time sharing sights, posting what I could and meeting new friends. I hope everyone enjoyed the play by play.
Have you ever had one of those experiences where everything's peaceful. Then you hear a faint train horn. It grows louder, and closer, and louder and closer, and louder until BAM!!! the teacher slams a book on your desk! Well, I just had a similar experience. Except that the imaginary train was a real train. And instead of the teachers book, it was a real train. And instead of BAM! It was wwwwwWwWwWWWWWAAMMMmmmm! For some reason, we passed a freight that was laying on the horn. The only thing between the horn and my ear was a few feet and a sound reducing window built by the lowest bidder. It's a good thing the seat next to me is empty, (and I don't know how Adam was ever able to foreshadow this!) because I just did the Scooby Doo rocket jump into the next seat! Anyways, we were expected to make up about an hours worth of time, but we just now stopped in McCook, putting us another hour in the opposite direction. 4.5 hours late.
Normally the Eastbound and Westbound Zephyrs would meet somewhere in this area. But since we're so late, Hey wait a sec!! *Meet* Well, turns out both Zephyrs are about equally late!
