The Unofficial Moffat Route Tour!!!

OOps.. I put Amtrak out of sequence--it's supposed to be after the coalie... The empty coalie we scooped at Byers Canyon was hot on our heels.. Well, an hour after arriving to our spot, the coalie rolled past... I'll post the coalie next...

 

Day 2, part 6:

The coal train I neglected to post....
Even with the punishing, slow, slick roads we encountered, we still beat that coal empty we shot in Byers Canyon to Gore Canyon... I was surprised, but after a quick hike from the truck, we selected shots, and awaited the imminent passing of the WB.

We didn't wait long, before way off in the distance, the empty passed Azure and Radium. The railroad's alignment is wonderfully snaky here!





The 7 units on the headend:



The WB coal empty approaching Tunnel 39:

 

Day 2, part 7:

The coal empty reaches 63-foot-long Tunnel 40:



Zoomed-in a bit more:



Looking west, deep into the heart of Lower Gore Canyon:



Stay tuned!!!!!

 

Day 2, part 8:

After Amtrak cleared, and hearing whistles at Yarmony a few miles west, we moved several hundred yards west, and got a new angle on the canyon. Mike was ona precarious perch a hundred yards west of me, while I climbed down the ravine side a bit to get an unobstructed view of Tunnels 39 and 40.
The whistles at Yarmony were both Amtrak's distinctive chime, and a different, freight-loco horn. We prepared ourselves for an EB load, and we were not disappointed.

The EB trains work all the way thru Gore Canyon, on a moderate grade; here's the head-end exiting Tunnel 40:



Zoomed-in a bit on T40:



The mid-train units exit T40, with a clean CNW unit:



The tail-end power exits T40:

http://www.trainboard.com/railimages/data/1036/Tunnel_40_loads.jpg

And shortly after exiting T40, enters T39:



More to come!!!

 

Day 2, part 9:

After the coal load chugged by, we loaded back up into Mike's truck, and headed to Yarmony, where some MOW trucks sat, awaiting track and time. After a quick chat, we learned another load was due soon, so we headed to a neat S-curve in Yarmony Siding, and climbed up a slick, muddy, steep hill (did I mention muddy?). It wasn't but a few minutes till the loads worked by us heading to Denver:



After the load cleared, the MOW guys got their track & time,a nd we headed to Bond, to see what we could scare up. At Bond was a coal empty tied down in a siding, just east of the junction leading to the Craig Branch.

Here's the empty:



The lead unit was an unpatched Espee AC:

Pardon the wires and poor light, I left the wire filter at home!



The Craig Branch exits the mainline here, heading up a 2% grade off to the right at the signals:



At Bond proper, was a surprise! Stay tuned!

 

East of Bond, a little dot on the road map called State Bridge held a jewel of a snaky curve.. Insert train here!

 

Day 2, part 10:

At Bond, was a real surprise, a wreck train, with actual D&RGW cars!
A pair of sideboom cars with 'Cats, and another pair of boxcars!










More surprises were in store for us... Don't touch that dial!!
(I saw that!)

 

Day 2, part 11:

Just up the road from the crossovers, was this old-school D&RGW speed limit sign, just begging to have its picture taken:



Also some D&SL-style signals still in place at Bond:



After a short drive down the road, I spied a tunnel off in the distance, seemingly appearing out of nowhere; this is Tunnel 43:



A short dirt road jaunt led us to Copper Spur (spur long ago removed), a tight horseshoe curve (thanks to Dale Sanders' book, it also hides Tunnel 44, little did we know)--insert train here! A deep cut behind me leads to the tunnel, not listed on any track diagram that I know of:



Another surprise was yet to come....

 

Day 2, part 12:

Back on the hiway from Copper Spur, McCoy Rd leads to Crater, and the loops of the same name. No train, sure woulda been neat to catch one here!

As we entered Crater Loops, Mike spied a derailment aftermath...

Apparently a heavy-handed hogger stringlined 8 *new* cars on the upper loop:

 

Day 2, part 13:

More carnage!



Derailed at Crater, CO--Born: April 06. Died: February 07...



Still coupled--in fact, all 8 cars were still coupled!



Crater's lower loop:

 

The signals at East Crater siding proudly stand in the valley:



A short hike along the Crater gravel pit caps off a great day railfanning; Rock Creek Canyon!!!



Day 3 to commence this weekend....

Stay tuned!

 

Darren,
Amtrak thru here is well-protected. As close as they can, the #5 generally runs close to schedule. The EB #6 is the one chronically late. The storms in the Sierras I hear were not helping the issue, likely also poor dispatching on the California side of the system.

UP shuts down the RR 30-60 min before Amtrak passes by. At least on the Moffat Tunnel Sub, they do.
The coal trains are the lifeblood of this railroad, as it was back in David Moffat's day. Without Routt County coal, the DNW&P, D&SL, D&RGW, SP, and UP would not be on this route. Too expensive to operate and maintain, too treacherous, sometimes dangerous to maintain.

The wreck at Crater Loops was of empty cars, no significant spilled coal was found.

Jason,
Thanks for the kind compliments! I have been told for a couple of folks now, that I should do a book..... It is tempting!
Stay tuned, I have all of day 3 to post yet!!!!!:shade:

 

Day 3, Part 1:

The day started clear and cold in Kremmling, where we grabbed a hotel for the night. The morning dawned at below zero, and climbed to a smokin' two degrees by the time we checked out, at first light.
We headed east to find sunlight, and a train.
At West Troublesome, the signals were all red, and with the pre-dawn light, I took a quick shot:



Driving east again, we scooped a WB empty at track speed near Flat. A quick U-turn later, we were at maximum warp to get ahead of the train, and bag a shot at the overpass overlooking East Troublesome: (Mike's glint shot at the other side of the overpass is stellar! Hint, hint)



After catching him, we tried to bag him again at East Kremmling, but there was no way to catch him. Track speed was every bit of 60-65MPH!
We headed back east, and made it as far as Winter Park, when a coal empty exited Moffat Tunnel above us ont he hillside. Another quick about-face, and we headed to Tabernash to bag him in the fog, entering Fraser Canyon:



Another train was headed our way, after bagging the coalie, we headed back to Fraser, where an empty rail train sat at the AmHut. When we pulled up, he whistled off..

Back to Winter Park, we found a wooded crossing, and place to park to capture the rail train. The No-trespassing sign was painted-out, but some quick Photo-Chop makes it pure again....



Don't you dare move, more's coming quick!

 

Day 3, part 2:

The rail train wasted no time on the 2%, thanks to an abundance of power; here's the head-end at that crossing:





Looking east towards Moffat Tunnel, a few miles east:

 

Day 3, part 3:

Shortly after the rail train cleared, we heard another whistle,a nd set back up again on that same crossing, on top of a huge snow pile.
After a few minutes, a BNSF manifest drifted down the grade to Fraser:



A brand-new tank car contrasted nicely with the brilliant snow:



There's much more yet to come--keep yer eyes peeled, loads of trains to see, and many more miles to cover before daylight's gone....
Stay tuned!:shade: :shade: