Fabulous thread, Jeremy!!! Next thing I suspect you'll be joining the DANS club soon, with their massive model of, you guessed it, the Moffat route between Denver and the East Portal. It's worth checking out!
I looked up their site, and wow, that layout is BIG! I am gonna build a smaller, shorter version of that layout, but not till I get into a different house--with a basement!
Tunnels 19, 20, and T21! Many of the shots feature no trains, and the time I shot these photos, no trains ran for a good 4 hours. Next time I visit this area, I will attempt to get some train shots to fill in here. Tunnel 19 is at milepost 32.11, is 1055 sharply curving AND straight feet long. The tunnel is sharply curved at the eastern end, and straightens out for 600+ feet on the western end. A BNSF Denver-Stockton manifest grinds upgrade on slick rails under fading dusk light: My most favorite Tunnel District shot! Here's T19's west portal: http://www.trainboard.com/railimages/data/630/T19_WP.jpg T20 is at MP 32.45, and is 460 feet in straight length. T20's east and west portals, in that order: http://www.trainboard.com/railimages/data/630/T20_EP.jpg http://www.trainboard.com/railimages/data/630/T20_WP.jpg Tunnel 21 is at MP 32.71, and is slightly curved with a total length of 667 feet: T21's west portal: Next up, T22, 23, and T24!
Tunnels 22, 23, and T24! This area (T19-T29)features among the most brutal of terrains the railroad had to conquer, and as such, is my favorite area to railfan! Tunnel 22, at MP 32.98, is 180 straight feet long. Again, a bare portal shot, raining like crazy all day, and no trains for miles! T22 west portal, looking east thru a cut before T23: http://www.trainboard.com/railimages/data/630/T22_WP.jpg Tunnel 23, at MP 33.20, is 1553 feet long and is arrow-straight. Here's someting you never want to see, when hiking thru a tunnel! T23's east portal, with a MOW hi-rail truck approaching: That hi-rail truck was unlike any I had ever seen, parked at Crescent Siding the next morning: http://www.trainboard.com/railimages/data/629/Crescent_hi-railer.jpg T23's east portal: http://www.trainboard.com/railimages/data/630/T23_EP.jpg Finally a train! Tunnel 24, at MP 34.10 is 812 sharply curving feet long. Here, a UP coalie is captured from atop T25, descending from T26: BNSF EB mixed freight, from atop the tunnel, from a different position: (I have a portal shot of T24 somewhere, but it isn't uploaded... T25's west portal: http://www.trainboard.com/railimages/data/630/T25_WP_b.jpg Next up, T26 and T27!
Tunnel 26, and 27! This area (T19-T29)features among the most brutal of terrains the railroad had to conquer, and as such, is my favorite area to railfan! Tunnel 25, at MP 34.61, is 639 slightly-curved feet long. Tunnel 26, at MP 35.22, is 295 feet long and is arrow-straight. The site of a fatal derailment due to a rockslide in 1991, this plaque reminds and warns us of the dangers of rugged-mountain railroading: East Portal of T26: http://www.trainboard.com/railimages/data/630/T26_EP.jpg West portal of T26: Finally a train! Well, sort of... The FRA inspection car glides by the vicinity of T26: A view of the neat rock spire that stands next to the rails, looking east from T26: http://www.trainboard.com/railimages/data/630/west_of_T25.jpg Tunnel 27, at MP 35.72, is 643 sharply-curving feet long. BNSF mixed freight grinds upgrade out of T27's west portal: A difficult shot to achieve, requires a ton of hiking to reach, but well-worth it. T27, from the opposite ridge: (and the stinking clouds screwed the shot minutes before the train arrived! *grr!* ) http://www.trainboard.com/railimages/data/630/BNSF_T27_b.jpg Next up, Old T28, and T29!
Thanks Rich, I have accumulated all of these shots in just 5 trips this year. I hope to go again, before the year's out. It does get better, and I have tons of shots from Tunnel 29 all the way to Moffat Tunnel!
Old Tunnel 28, T29 and Bridge 36.45! Tunnel 28, as built, was short at under 200 feet in length. It was problematic with shattered rock, and was daylighted in the early 1950's. Its location was just west of T27 a short distance. A water tank once stood at T28, fed by South Boulder Creek, which flows just past the foundations of old T28. Here's a BNSF WB manifest slugging it out on the 2% at old T28--notice the bare, unweathered rock face: Tunnel 29, a staple of Moffat Route railfan photos is at MP 36.38, and is a linear 78 feet long. Here's an EB coal load in full dynamics howling past T29, just after a drenching rainstorm: Another coal train, from above the tunnel, shooting eastward at the DPUs of the coalie, looking at the famous super-tight 12-degree curve: So-named due to its milepost location, Bridge 36.45 crosses South Boulder Creek after the railroad parallels it for a few miles: (albeit several hundred feet above the creek) UP coal empties grind over the bridge, thanks to a 5 MPH slow-order mandated from an FRA inspection car finding a sun kink just east of T29: More westbound UP action from atop T29, looking down at Bridge 36.45: http://www.trainboard.com/railimages/data/630/Bridge_36_45.jpg Next up, (Pinecliffe) Cliff Siding!
Cliff Siding! Pinecliffe, CO is the site of a 6506 feet long siding, a capacity of 134 cars. East switch is at MP 36.67, and west switch is MP 38.20. UP coal empties grind towards Cliff Siding's east switch: http://www.trainboard.com/railimages/data/630/east_cliff_empties.jpg Here's a WB UP train meeting an EB BNSF train headed downgrade toward T29: WB coal empties accelerate towards Pinecliffe, CO: http://www.trainboard.com/railimages/data/630/east_cliff.jpg West Cliff hosts a meet from yesteryear--in 2004! The lighting was all but gone, but this is a meet with consists that won't be seen for a long time, if ever again! http://www.trainboard.com/railimages/data/630/West_Cliff_1.jpg Looking like a shot from 10 years ago, SP ACeez await a meet at Ciff's west switch: http://www.trainboard.com/railimages/data/630/Espees_at_west_Cliff1.jpg Amtrak #5 charges west at Cliff Siding: http://www.trainboard.com/railimages/data/630/no_5_cliff.jpg #5 crosses South Boulder Creek again, on Cliff Siding: http://www.trainboard.com/railimages/data/630/no_5_cliff_2.jpg UP EB coal loads cross the creek, same area as last shot: http://www.trainboard.com/railimages/data/630/west_cliff.jpg Next up, the area between Rollinsville and Pinecliffe!
This next area ias short on shots in my collection, I'll do some digging, and find some more, and continue soon. Either that, or make a trip, and get the shots I need!
Here's a new site I found, real-time info on the Moffat Tunnel sub's train movement: Moffat Sub It updates every minute, depending on weather on the mountain.
Hemi, The wonder of the web when you can see the location of trains, very interesting and thanks for sharing
Not only can you watch progression of train on that Moffat Sub site, you can listen to live scanner activity from Railroad Radio. Just click the player format; Windows Media Player, WinAmp, or RealPlayer, and away you go!
Hemiadd2, I just came across this thread - great pictures and thx for linking to Matt Hannes - great pictures there. Through your and Matt's shots, I've been much better educated this morning on the Moffat Route and even Rollins Pass. Happy Holidays.
Excellent shots, makes me want to go again and again The NS loco would be a C44-9W. A bit of usless railway trivia. Norfolk Southern and Canadian National are the only North American Class ones not to purchase AC traction although NS does have some from the Conrail purchase (SD-80MAC/SD-70MAC)
