The Unofficial Moffat Route Tour!!!

And the DPU at Tunnel 15:



No other shots were usable, and the lead power shots were pretty bad, but are included, just to illustrate the train, and the fog. Grrrrr......

 

After this shot, the overcast rolled in thick as usual for a Moffat Route afternoon, and we decided to try somewhere new. We hiked out, and drove to Crescent, but the shots were'nt inspiring, and then proceeded to Cliff, Rollins, and Tolland, before finally seeing a train (the empty coalie I bagged at the S-curve out of Tunnel 18). We went to East Portal, but the camera tower hozed that shot, so we backtracked to the east switch of the siding, hoping for an EB.

I bagged shots of the the old D&SL-era signals, and camped out in the truck near the east switch. When an EB blew for the tunnel portal, I hiked over to my shot, to capture the signals in-use.

Here's the head-end:

 

Back to the report!
After the head-end passed me, the snow started up again... Here's a D&RGW coal load within this train, showing the snow:



And the tail-end DPU:



After this load cleared, we drove out, to see where it'd get stuck for Amtrak. Here's a coal empty stashed in Tolland Siding:



A while back, UP lengthened Tollnd to about 8300 feet, to accomodate nearly any meet. Here's the revised east end:

 

We never did see it again; not at Rollins, Cliff, or Plain. Maybe got stuck at Crescent, but we didn't check.
We did however, head to a shot over Tunnel 29 for Amtrak 6, hot on the heels of that coal load, just waiting on tunnel venting to comete itself.
I hoofed it high (Mike went low) to my spot, over the top of T29, overlooking the tight curve between T29 and old T28.
After not too long, Number Six gracefully descended the scene:

 

It sure was nice to back on our old stompin' grounds again--BTW, I haven't posted Sunday's photos yet... I am unsure of how I forgot day 1!!

 

Since I somehow got a day ahead, I'll backtrack a little. Sunday afternoon, we hit the hills as soon as I got to Mike's place. We drove straight for Cliff, parked, and while we geared-up, a BNSF manifest blew for the crossing at East Cliff.
He had a CEFX rent-a-wreck leader:



It just so happened Kevin Morgan was on the mountain the same day, bagging this guy further up the hill at Tolland.

After he cleared, we hiked to our all-time favorite shot across the canyon from Tunnel 27.
Here's Mike, lounging on the rocks, awaiting some action:



And a crossarm from a telegraph pole from long ago, at the bottom of the canyon:

 

After a short while, a horn was heard from Cliff, denoting an EB train. We readied ourselves, and a UP manifest poked its head end around the curve from Tunnel 29. Here's the lead trio of EMDs just beyond Old Tunnel 28:



A similar shot I have done a few times, the same manifest ducks into Tunnel 27:



Zoomed-in a bit further, here's the tail end, about to disappear into the bore:

 

With nothing moving after that train cleared, we moved around a little, experimenting with other angles. Snow fell, sun broke thru, the sun went down, and we decided to come down off our precarious perches high on the rocks to track level, before it was totally dark. Light fading fast, we decided to try something different, due to a scene mode my camera has, called "starry sky". 15/30/60-sec exposures! We decided to try to bag a train snaking thru the curves towards Tunnel 27.

We hiked to another precarious perch, high on some slick, icy rocks.

Tripod ready, a WB coal empty chugged up the canyon:



Mike found a better angle, offering a nicer shot on Tunnel 27. So on we hiked farther up the icy slope.

Not long after arriving on the spot, we heard an EB whistle at Cliff. I readied my scene program, and Mike let me know when the head-end was at a certain location. That shot stunk, so I tried again for the DPUs. The result was not as inspiring as I had hoped, as it wasn't dark enough. Imagine that, complaining about having too much light. Normally I complain about not enough! The colors are all jacked-up for some reason...
The 60-sec exposure wasn't long enough to get the streaking light thru the tunnel, as the hoppers are still in the shot:



I gotta try this again!!!

Amtrak is late, and getting later by this hour, and we decide to make MRE's for dinner. It's somewhat difficult to make an MRE in pitch blackness...
After finishing, we hear Amtrak (four hours late!) whistling for East Cliff. The canyon was so dark that I couldn't frame the shot, as I had no reference points.

I ended up composing it too low, but the effect is nice:

 

Thanks, guys! Steve, you crack me up!

With Day 1 and 2 finished, that leaves Day 3--well, morning 3. I start us off with this shot, and leave it till tomorrow for the "rest of the story...."

 

Day 3, I got up early, and while Mike got ready for work, I got ready to hit the Flatirons. There's a neat bike trail just east of Eldoardo Springs State park, where I parked. Ihiked to the top of a windy hill with my tripod, and hoped a train with aluminum cars would go west....

First light was amazing! The Flatirons lit up on gorgeous tones of orange, and before long, I saw yellow. Armour Yellow, that is... The train was exiting Tunnel 3, well over a mile away. I missed the head-end, since his lead unit blended so well with the trees in the background, so a hoppers shot will have to do:



As he progressed west, I lost him for a little bit, between Tunnels 4-6. After he exited Tunnel 6, I saw him again, the head-end nearing Tunnel 7:



I zoomed in, and bagged the shot in the previous post, with the hoppers entering Tunnel 8.

One last shot, wider now, of the Flatirons (Tunnels 6-8), and the hoppers glinting against the blue skies:

 

After deciding that windswept hill is a neat shot, but I'm not freezing my anatomy off by sitting up here, I dashed back to the car, and headed for Plainview Rd. At this time, another WB empty charged up the Flatirons... Oh well. Too late for a shot.
I didn't know what shot I wanted, but I knew Blue Mtn Rd was not on my list, as it has been done thousands of times by other folks. I ended up parking near a small creek, and hiking up a bike trail to an small clearing that overlooked West Clay, Big Ten, and Tunnel 1. Underlooked, I guess is more appropriate for Tunnel 1...

After getting to my spot, lo & behold, here comes a manifest. He pulled short of West Clay, between switches, and parked. Along comes Amtrak, meeting the parked manifest:



And the stainless flanks glint off the early morning sun:



Exiting Tunnel 1:



And a wider view, with Coal Creek Peak dominating the scene:

 

It wasn't long after Amtrak cleared East Plain, that the manifest started out again. Here, he's splitting the signals at West Clay:



Approaching Blue Mountain Rd:



Exiting Tunnel 1:



Who says you can't find D&RGW on its home turf?



After this train cleared, I needed to head for Cheyenne. It was great!
That's all folks!

 

I'm getting anxious to see Mike's photos on here--I have seen them, and there are several very nice angles!