POTD - East Portal In a Dome

Today's Photo of the Day is awarded to James Griffin of www.actionroad.net. Few images seem to strike me as the many shots passengers have taken from their seats in the Vista Dome as they are about to plunge into the long darkness of Moffat Tunnel. The beauty of the mountains are all around as I approach the bend in the valley where the tunnel plunges into the heart of the Continental Divide, and I can't help myself! I want to catch the tunnel edifice, the grand gateway to the western slope of the state and the nation. My eyes are riveted to the giant letters

MOFFAT

TUNNEL

and the dates 1923 and 1927, signifying the years the tunnel was started and completed. Click goes the shutter and the next moment the world is swallowed up in darkness.

Accomplished author and photographer James Griffin snapped this photo on
November 7, 1981, aboard the Rio Grande Zephyr just before entering the Moffat Tunnel.
Photo: James Griffin

It is a significant expression of the California Zephyr's unique place in history. Without the Moffat Tunnel, there would have been no California Zephyr. Without the Zephyr, Denver and the Rocky Mountain West would never have opened up to so many young eyes.. It's also historic, as the only remaining passenger service on the route has got rid of the domes it inherited before they ever thought of the marketing slogan telling potential riders to view "America at See Level."

POTD: A Red Nosed San Francisco Zephyr

Last Friday marked the 63rd anniversary of the start of the California Zephyr, the fabled stainless steel streamliner operated by the Chicago Burlington & Quincy, Denver & Rio Grande Western, and Western Pacific. The theme for the next few Photos of the Day will reflect on the Silver Lady and her "children."

Veteran photographer Gary Morris captured what turned out to be a bit of history 35 years ago this month on March 10, 1977. Only a few miles east of Denver on Burlington Northern tracks, the westbound Amtrak from Chicago to San Francisco rolls toward the Mile High City under the name "San Francisco Zephyr," Amtrak's woefully inadequate replacement for the California Zephyr (and the City of San Francisco of the Union Pacific). Note the lack of dome equipment as on the old CZ.

Photo: Gary Morris

An Amtrak Newbie Falls In Love With the Rockies on the CZ

A Washington DC writer travels the Capitol Limited and California Zephyr to Nevada and San Francisco. Her trip was, in my own experience, a typical, positive one. The story is captivating and enjoyable reading.
Tip o' the Hat: Robert Brewster

Checking In

Back in (coal) Black
Boy oh boy. I wish I could say I was in some exotic location, blogging about so-and-so's steam special and what a blast I'm having. It's not all that glamorous to say I've been weathering my illness and playing Minecraft. Oh well. The coffee's nice and the nursing staff at my exclusive convalescence location is quite friendly and accommodating. Still, all things being equal, I'd rather be in Durango.

POTD - Winter Snows Roll Freely By Amtrak's California Zephyr

In honor of those who will be travelling this week, I thought I'd see if I could turn up a Photo of the Day or two on the subject of travel.

It was near my birthday that rail photographer Mark Hyams took this terrific shot of Amtrak's California Zephyr rounding the corner at Cliff, Colorado. I know it doesn't look like it, but the train is in the middle of a near 180° turn and,  a few moments after the picture is taken, will pass through tunnel 29, directly beneath the photographer. The remains of Tunnel 28 after it was daylighted are behind the first two sleeper cars at left. All the while, Boulder Creek is swollen with winter snows and it runs freely away from us and down the canyon for the Gulf of Mexico.

Amtrak's California Zephyr pulls through Cliff, Colorado late for it's appointments at
Fraser, Granby and Glenwood Springs at the height of summer, July 11, 2011
Photo: Mark Hyams

POTD - Ski Train F-40s Led Home By Familiar Face

Jim Burrill presented at the Hugo roundhouse meeting in March with Steve Lee on UP Steam. Back in December of 2000, he managed to catch Rio Grande GP-60 3154 resting at the southern end of Union Station with the then-active Ski Train after one of the F-40PH engines developed trouble on the run to Winter Park. Only recently replaced by the F-40s purchased from Amtrak by ANSCO, 3154 was a common sight on the Ski Train up to the 2000 season.

Photo: Jim Burrill

Amtrak Resumes Zephyr Service, ...Sorta

Since the accident last week, Amtrak hasn't been running the California Zephyr, owing both to the accident and damage from the floods further east. Today, Amtrak resumes service from Ft. Morgan west to the end of the line in Emeryville, California.

Amtrak's California Zephyr Hits Crane, Derails - 22 Hurt

Photo: Nebraska State Patrol

Amtrak's California Zephyr left Colorado and ran into a crane. That's essentially what happened to Thursday's train out of Denver in the early morning hours of today in Benkelman, Nebraska. At least 22 people were injured. The AP has the complete story.

POTD - Westward To Adventure and the Unknown

Living on the Front Range of Colorado, it's possible to take for granted the access to so many wonderful, scenic places. Having been to most of them (and loving almost every time), I miss the sense of adventure I had as a child, the feeling of going to an unknown place. Someday, though, I'm going to travel to someplace I've never been before, and I'm going to feel like a little kid all over again.

The photographer's daughter, Bella, watches the scenery change in front of
her as Amtrak #5 carries them westward through tunnels toward adventure
Photo: Kevin Morgan

Trainstar: Guide to Temporary Train Station

What changed at this year's Cheyenne Frontier Days Special (here/there) was the location where passengers boarded, near the temporary Amtrak station. Helen Bushnell, blogger for Train Star, completed a very helpful guide to Denver's Temporary Train Station, in place for the duration of DUSPA's remodeling of Union Station, due to end in 2014. She's put together a fairly decent travel guide in her post. Of note, she pays attention to details that are meaningful to most, including the disabled and the folks that are onboard and jumping off to grab a few items at the nearest convenience store. Thanks, Ms. Bushnell, for helping folks Travel by Train. If anyone is still looking for official information, here's the best available directions ^(PDF) and the site.

Hear That Whistle Blow

One of the more interesting groups of railfans are the ones that are into locomotive whistles and horns, the signaling devices used by engineers to communicate and warn the world outside his cab of what he's doing. An entire industry has grown around a collection of railfans who collect and, at times, sound off their affection for trains.

California Zephyr Crash in Nevada

All the details have yet to emerge, but a semi collided with Amtrak's California Zephyr in Lovelock, Nevada.

Copper Thieves Nabbed After Moffat Route Spree

Brothers Gerald and Donald Furrer are caught near Parshall, Colorado, after a month of purportedly stealing cable off the Union Pacific's (ex-Rio Grande, D&SL) Moffat Route. Grand County Sheriff's Deputies nabbed the men after they hid by using a thermal imaging camera. Nathan Holmes has the story at DRGW.net.

DUSPA To Resume Walking Tours This Summer

From the semi-autonomous Denver Union Station Project Authority's newsletter for May 2011,

The Denver Union Station Project Authority (DUSPA) once again will be conducting free walking tours of the Denver Union Station redevelopment site this summer. The tours will be held at 4:30 p.m., starting on Thursday, May 19, 2011, and continuing on the first and third Thursdays of the month through September. The one-hour tour will depart from the main entrance of the historic station on Wynkoop Street.

Featured Photographer - Gary Morris

Aside from the photo aggregate sites like  railpictures.net and rrpicturearchives.net, it's hard to find photographers with high-quality railroad photographs of the 60s, 70s and 80s in Colorado. That's why I got a bit excited when I found Gary Morris' site and his section on the Rio Grande Railroad earlier this summer. He's got his collection organized in HTML by railroad, but you can still find a few BN and UP shots in Denver if you dig for them.

Coal Creek Canyon Bridge Knocked Out Of Service A Second Time

If you've ever had the feeling you were on a streak of bad luck, you and the bridge over Colorado Highway 72 at Coal Creek Canyon might have something in common. Last December, a significant derailment dropped hopper cars like toys all over the bridge and both approaches, closing the highway. Monday, May 17th, was a bit different, but it had a similar impact, with delayed motorists, re-routed freight and a Cal-Z sent through Wyoming.

Rock Slide Causes Amtrak Service Disruption

Here's the answer to a question I know that everyone was anxious to know. The question is "Is it really possible to drive a P42 engine backward?

The answer is, if you have a conductor to spot you, sure!

Amtrak P42 #67 pulls the California Zephyr consist while running backward through Arvada, Colorado, on May 15, 2010.

Amtrak Anarchist Not Charged

Ojore Nuru Lutalo, the self-described anarchist arrested in La Junta, Colorado after being put off Amtrak's Southwest Chief for making threats and statements related to Islamic terrorism, is off the hook.

Amtrak Passenger Held In Colorado After Threats

An Amtrak passenger aboard the Southwest Chief was arrested in Colorado after making terrorist threats on his cell phone.

Amtrak: CZ Denver To Chicago Run Canceled Friday

Important Information

The information below was based on facts available in 2010. For updated information on Amtrak train status, the first site to check is always www.amtrak.com. - S.Walden 2015-FEB-17


Amtrak's California Zephyr, the only Amtrak train serving the state has canceled Friday's eastbound run from Denver to Chicago because of the snow.

From the National Association of Railroad Passengers:

The California Zephyr due to arrive Chicago yesterday afternoon got there at 17 hours 56 minutes late, at 9:26 this morning. The Zephyr due to arrive Chicago today terminated in Denver yesterday. Yesterday’s departure from Chicago did not operate Chicago-Denver but the train departed Denver west this morning.

Similarly, freight service on BNSF (route of the CZ) and  Union Pacific, has been disrupted. From the AP:

Burlington Northern Santa Fe said the cold weather and snow was causing its freight trains to be delayed between 24 and 72 hours in Colorado, Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, Minnesota, Montana and North and South Dakota.

There is no word whether service for Saturday is canceled.

More Info: Amtrak Suspends Chicago-Denver Train Due To Snow