In the warm light of a Front Range sunrise, a UP coal empty is draped around the mouth of Coal Creek Canyon west of Denver. The lead locomotive, clad in a special Operation Life Saver paint scheme... (more)

Union Pacific’s west local is eastbound at mile 14.5 west of Leyden, Colorado, on July 8, 2012. The Front Range of the Rockies is in the background, and is cloaked in ominous looking clouds.

Burlington Northern Santa Fe’s MDENSTO (Denver to Stockton, California, manifest) freight curves over the east switch at Leyden, Colorado, on October 9, 1999. Powering the westbound freight is San... (more)

Union Pacific’s West Local returns to Denver heading downgrade at mile 14.5 west of Leyden, Colorado, on July 8, 2012. Three rebuilt GP40-2s (two rebuilt from Southern Pacific GP40s, while one is ... (more)

The sun rises directly over the Denver skyline, just a blip on the horizon from this vantage point about 16 miles away. Below, a coal train is stretched out over Big Ten Curve as it begins the cli... (more)

Leaving the flatlands of eastern Colorado and the Denver skyline quickly behind, an empty UP coal train storms uphill back toward the mines deep in the heart of the Colorado Rockies. Though not ea... (more)

Leaving Denver in its wake: The westbound Rio Grande Ski Train heads out of Denver just west of Leyden, Colorado, during sunrise on a bright January 6, 2001.

An eastbound Union Pacific coal train approaches Leyden, Colorado, early in the morning on February 11, 2001. The train passes by the now gone searchlight signals at mile 14.5 with a Chicago and N... (more)

Sunrise on January 23, 2005, sees a westbound Union Pacific coal train climbing out of Leyden, Colorado, at mile 14.5 on the Moffat Tunnel Subdivision.

Amtrak Train #6, the eastbound California Zephyr, exits the last tunnel it will encounter on the Moffat District. Ahead lies Big Ten Curves, after that it's smooth sailing for an on-time arrival i... (more)

A relatively short BNSF manifest heads uphill just about to enter the first tunnel of the Moffat Sub. The rear of the train is visible having just passed through the cut on the opposite side of Co... (more)

The eastbound California Zephyr is actually heading nearly due west as it enters the horseshoe curve at the mouth of Coal Creek Canyon, having just exited Tunnel 1 on the Moffat Sub. The tracks on... (more)

A westbound UP manifest is strung out over the horseshoe curve at the mouth of Coal Creek Canyon, gaining elevation on its way toward the tunnel district.

A brief moment of sun illuminates the Ski Train as it drops down through Coal Creek Canyon during an otherwise cloudy summer afternoon on the Front Range. The train was full of music fans returnin... (more)

With UP 1995, these two heritage units lead a 15 car VIP special into the Rocky Mountains.