I was driving under the tracks on B-way street in a snow storm, but it didn't stop me from noticing that the loco parked on the bridge above us was a Diesel in D&RGW livery. I think the number was 1989. Is this one of those heritage schemes from UP? Looked cool as heck, but I was working so couldn't stop to oggle it more. Darn, I even had a video camera in the truck with me but was on my way to a shoot. Ok, I google the engine number and this is what I saw in the snow storm.
It is indeed one of the Heritage fleet. There was a mixed reaction to it here on Trainboard, at least according to the poll. I like it, though.
Ski Train According to Trains Magazine, one of the F40PHs used for Ski Train service pulled up lame so they're going to use the 1989 as power this weekend. If you're near the Moffat Route, it's your time to get it! :teeth: The Ski Train is scheduled to depart Denver Union Station at 7:15 a.m. today, Saturday, and Sunday, arriving in Winter Park at 9:30 a.m. The train departs Winter Park at 4:15 p.m. and arrives back in Denver at 6:30 p.m. The train operates Friday through Sunday through March 1, when Thursday trips will be added until the end of March.
I had doubts about heritage designs, but after seeing it in person I do like it a lot. I know it's not actual D&RGW, sadly those days are gone. i'm happy seeing anything that isn't UP yellow.
Here is a link of some pictures posted by a guy on the Rio Grande Yahoo Groups email list: http://www.drgw.ws/gallery/photo.asp?id=101185
On the point of the Ski Train!! Amazing shots here: http://www.drgw.ws/gallery/gallery.asp?on=20070204&by=KM
Man, you gotta give Kevin Morgan lots of credit for getting those shots with the weather the way it was near Denver yesterday. 80 mph winds and wind chill factor minus what? It looks good on the point of the ski train. :teeth:
How does Kevin Morgan get the shots at different points along the route? Can you get ahead of the train after it passes you to get another picture? Were all these taken at the same place? I don't think so. They sure are nice pictures. :thumbs_up:
Flash, I thought I had seen that one shot on another site, and went back to check it. The two shots are almost identical, but Kevin Morgan's was taken two days after the one I saw by tompm, who is a member here. He described the weather as high winds and below freezing. Looks like Kevin's was taken in less foul weather conditions. Tompm also said that traffic was congested on the rails, so it was easy to get ahead of the train. I don't know anything further, except I confused two descriptions of two people getting the same photo. Sorry. :sad:
Kevin Morgan He snapped the two at Blue Mountain and at Tunnel 1 which are in reasonable distance of each other if you time it right. Also, these trains are not exactly on straight and level track, so it's a little easier to play tag with them, but not too easy. He's a great guy if you get to meet him and somehow, he always manages to be two steps ahead of the next person in knowing where and when and the best spots to shoot. Consummate professional doing what he knows and loves best. We all should be so lucky.
The chase ends being easy beyond Coal Creek Canyon's opening, and add snow into the mix, it was an interesting chase indeed. I presume he did some running, and some prayin' that God would hold the Ski Train for a coal load...:shade:
Thanks Everyone! Wow, thanks everyone for the very kind words. It is most appreciated! I had a blast getting the shots Sunday morning. fitz, as you alluded to in your later post, Sunday was the most mild of the three days. Winds were still blowing very hard, but most of the loose snow had already blown away. Temps were in the 20's, but still pretty chilly with the winds. Flash, believe it or not, all four pictures on this page were taken from close to the same spot. The tracks wind around enough between Clay and Tunnel One that there are a lot of different photo ops from a few positions up near Tunnel One. The shot of the train coming through the drift was taken with a 300mm lens, which is a 480mm equiv using a Canon Digital Rebel XT. For anyone interested, I offer a subscription on my site that allows you to get email updates when I post news story or add new photos to the gallery. You can click here to go directly to the subscription page. Thanks again for the kind words!
Kevin, Welcome aboard!!! Your shots are amazing, the drift-busting shot is my favorite, but the 2 at Tunnel 1 are just as nice. Very well done! Just where was the drift shot taken? East or west of Blue Mtn. road? The shots could be done fromt he same spot, I guess, but I hadn't considered it. I never thought of packing heavy artillery to bag those long shots. They sure look good! I guess I spend too much time on the inaccessible areas...
Glad to be here Hemi! The drift shot was taken from just south of Tunnel 1 (the east portal). In the attachment below, I was standing around the Red X for the shots of the Ski Train (all three). The Red line to the southwest shows approximately where I was aimed for the drift shot. The Red line to the northwest shows approximately where I was aimed for the shots on the approach to the tunnel. The Teal X shows where I was standing for the shot of Amtrak, with the line showing my aim for that shot. I definitely enjoy the inaccessible areas too, but with my two girls, it is very hard getting away a lot of the time! Here is a shot that I took last July from above the east portal of Tunnel 30 between Plain and Rollins. I'll make sure to come back and post often! View attachment 2825
