I'll definately 2nd that proposal Alan! Jere,is the wye still in place at east end of Moffat tunnel?I suspect not????
A very short version of it. Prolly not usable for anything heavier than a 44 tonner... I have never seen it in use, but sometimes freight cars are parked there. Another reason to hit the mountain! Now I need shots of the wye! The trail of the wye leads into a hillside. Unknown how they turned massive articulated steamers here...
Another round of Moffat Route shots coming up soon..... Note to self: Do not pitch tent within 100' of an active mainline, unless you don't want to sleep....
Preview: Summer Ski Train at Blue Mtn Dr. crossing: Tunnel 27, across the ridge shot, the one I love so much, with a coal load decsending the 2% grade:
Trip Report, 26-27 Aug 05: We drove straight to east Rollinsville, packing backpacks, sleeping bags, and stuff, ready to hike to Tunnel 30 area. Not 5 minutes before we left the car, Amtrak #6 eastbound drifts downgrade near where we parked: We hiked in after Amtrak, dropping our gear off about 50 yards from the west portal of T30. We set up camp on the only smooth, flat spot inthe area, which coincidently, was 28 feet from the outside rail.... The next rain we saw was in almost darkness, as was the next 8... The first train that passed that saw us apparently radioed the DS and notified them that some guys have a tent pitched near T30. The next train that passed, and EB coal load, whistled a half mile away from mus,a nd continued whistling till past the tunnel! No surprises there. We thought there was no sleep to be had that night... Were we ever correct! Out of 8 trains that passed from dusk till 2AM, we slept thru 0 of them. The westbounds were deafening, and the EB's were nearly as bad. Every flat-spotted wheel would make a small earthquake, shaking us, the tent, and the ground... Was it fun? You betcha! Was it loud? You better believe it! Would I do it again? Yep, just not so close next time... First light, 0630, we hiked east of T30, and await a train. The first one was a WB, wrong light for that... 20 minutes later, we hiked to the tent, and began breaking camp. All of the sudden, the familiar sound of dynamics whining came wafting thru the canyon. An EB! Yes! Awesome low angle light: We hiked out, packed the gear into the trunk, and drove to east Cliff. We hiked into T29 area, and awaited the EB manifest that was waiting for his light. Here he is, SD70M on the point, at Bridge 36.45: After that EB cleared, we heard a thunder up the canyon, in the form of a light unit power transfer. A first time to see that for me, on the Moffat. 11 units thunder thru T29: After the WB cleared, we hiked to our fav. shot on T27, across the ridge from the tracks. The first score was a 7-unit powered WB manifest: Then it got quiet, for the summer Ski Train: Then an EB load drifts downgrade: Stay tuned for more!!
I do pray you will one day make a book out of all these excellent photo's Jere. One day.......... Until then,this will always be my fav thread of all!Keep them coming. [ August 31, 2005, 09:33 AM: Message edited by: JASON ]
Maybe one day, when I have a train at every portal.... A book of boring empty tunnels would not sell very well. I have more, and need to upload more shots.... I managed to get construction shots of the wood bridge west of Rollinsville, which Uncle Pete is replacing with a steel structure...
Trip Report, 26-27 Aug 05, pt II: After the coal load cleared, we awaited a fleet of WB empties, which never came. Apparently, they ran the fleet while we tried to sleep... After hiking back to the car, we headed for Tunnel 19, to shoot the east side of it. Just about a 1/4 mile west of west Crescent, the tracks make a hard northerly turn, and into the tunnel. Now that it is so customarily overcast, I put as little effort into a shot as possible.... EB coal loads exit T19, and proceed towards West Crescent: Going away shot of the DPU's: We hiked out back toward the car, and awaited the eastbound Ski Train: After the Ski Train cleared, we hot-footed it back to Blue Mtn Dr, to bag the exiting Tunnel 1 shot, and the customary crossing shots... Exiting Tunnel 1: Down the grade a bit further: Then at Blue Mountain Drive: Stay tuned for shots above Big Ten!!
Thanks guys! I have some shots of a wood trestle over South Boulder Creek, about 2 miles west of Rollinsville (built by Denver & Salt Lake?) being readied for replacement... And more shots from the T 27 area.... Also more shots coming from T30 area, including shots that were very hard to reach. Don't touch that dial! Hey--I saw that......
Trip Report, 26-27 Aug 05, pt III: Coverage continues at Big Ten! Ski Train, eastbound at Big Ten, thru various parts of the famous curve: Backing up a bit, we see the wood bridge at MP 45, west of Rollinsville. It was originally built by the Denver & Salt Lake or very early D&RGW, likely before WWII broke out. It is currently being replaced with a steel structure. Here it is, surrounded with construction equipment, and a vehicle shoofly: Back at Tunnel 19, we have shots of the east portal, from 2 vantage points:: More coverage from the Tunnel 30 area coming soon!
In the pic with the S curve I like how the modler used the line of trees and the embankment to obsure it. Nice shot, very nice.
I'll tell you what, the 'Modeler' that built this layout used some incredible scenery in his backdrops... Trip Report, 26-27 Aug 05, pt IV: Coverage continues at Tunnel 30! If you hike to the top of Tunnel 30, just to the left of the portal as seen below... ...Then you get this shot: And a bit further west along the ridge, this shot: (same EB manifest we see below, and the next day at Bridge 36.45. Apparently he got tied down at Cliff for a new crew) Looking east from atop T30, you see an EB manifest: First light has not yet broken past the high ridge surrounding T30, and on the east side, we see a WB coal empty thunder past: Jumping around a bit, (I'm doing that a lot now, eh?) we see a WB manifest pop out of T27: Amtrak #5 westbound at Tunnel 27: And to cap off another great trip to the Moffat Route, we catch the former D&RGW business car Kansas on the Ski Train at old Tunnel 28:
Thanks! I plan to make one last trip before heading to Montana; I also plan on covering what I have missed. The areas between Tunnel 10's WP thru Tunnel 13, and the area in between Tunnel 23 and 24. The trip will come in November, hopefully in conjunction with Denver GATS. Alaska GP49 and I have shared many of these trips, and I think this last trip will be a big one. The trek from Cliff to T23 will be about 3.5 miles, one way...... T17-T10 is about a mile less. On a side note, I want to build a photo slideshow, covering the entire Moffat Route, from Rocky to East Portal. This last trip will complete the slideshow, which may commnce in '06 sometime. I will likely offer the slideshow for sale, cost unknown. The slideshow will likely be several hundred photos long, (likely requiring a DVD) comprehensively covering the 'Secret Places'. This thread here on TB is but a glimpse of the scenic wonder of Moffat's dream railroad.
