Winter on the Moffat: Let It Snow!

frontrange Jan 10, 2011

  1. frontrange

    frontrange TrainBoard Member

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    It's been awhile since my last posting here! Things have been busy as "life" has happened a lot the last few months. I was great getting out for the first time in 2011 yesterday.

    The Denver-Metro area has had an unusually dry winter season thus far. Since the start of the winter season (October), Denver received less than 2 inches of snow up through Christmas.

    Things finally changed the week of New Year's. We got a descent 3-4 inches on December 30th. Unfortunately, I was working and couldn't get out for any pictures. Then, yesterday (01/09/11), the snow returned! The Denver area got a respectable 4-5 inches which fell overnight Saturday night and then off and on all day Sunday. Never did see the mercury get above 18°F.

    Bundled up the kids in the winter gear and I put on a couple layers myself and we headed west along UP's Moffat Tunnel Sub. At first it looked like it was going to be a really slow day! Just as I was going to head toward the yards in Denver, a westbound coal empty left North Yard.

    We waited west of Leyden for the empty and then chased it west to the base of Coal Creek Canyon. The kids had fun having snowball fights while we waited! After the empty went by there, it was time for a bathroom break so we headed up CO-72 to the gas station in Crescent. After drinks and snacks, it was back down the hill. I didn't feel like heading further west into the mountains in the blizzard.

    Back on the Front Range, we headed up the road to Plainview to wait for a westbound that had just departed town. More snowball fights and frozen hands followed! The train finally showed up and took the siding to meet an eastbound. Due to the grade crossing near the east end, the train held back a ways until the eastbound was closer.

    Decided to abandon Plain and head down to Blue Mountain crossing for a couple of shots of the eastbound come through the S-Curves at the base of Coal Creek.

    Once the train passed, we were able to get ahead again for a shot west of Leyden and another shot right at the east switch of Leyden. It was getting very dark, very fast as the eastbound came up to Leyden. It was nearly 5:00pm and the light had all but faded as the snow continued to fall.

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    1. UP's Public Service coal empty is just west of Leyden. This coal trains serves Xcel Energy's Cherokee plant in Denver. If nothing changes, this train will cease in 2017 when the Cherokee plant is scheduled to switch from coal to natural gas.

    2. The Public Service train again wrapping around the base of coal creek. This train was 6,880 feet long, which is extremely long for a train on the Moffat. The majority of sidings don't hold trains longer than about 6,000 feet.

    3. An eastbound coal load makes its way through the S-Curves at the base of Coal Creek Canyon. Note the mid-train swing helper descending the grade in the distance. The temperature was down to 7°F at this point!

    4. Last shot of the day. Because of the rapidly descending light, I thought black and white would be perfect for this shot and I was pleased with the results.

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    All the shots from the day are available on my website.

    While the snow is gone today, the clear skies have made for additional chilly temperatures. With the wind chill, it was -1°F as I got in to work. Hope everyone else is staying warm out there! Have a good week.
     

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  2. Stourbridge Lion

    Stourbridge Lion TrainBoard Supporter

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    COOL!!!!!!!

    :tb-cool: :tb-cool: :tb-cool: :tb-cool:​
     
  3. BoxcabE50

    BoxcabE50 HOn30 & N Scales Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    From what the weather-guessers are saying, you should have ample opportunity to capture more such scenes in the next week or two!

    Boxcab E50
     

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