Operating through a slow order, Amtrak No. 5 crawls over the fill on the approach to Big 10 Curve west of Rocky, Colorado, on June 9, 2014. A section of track on the fill was just lifted and hand-tamped to allow safe passage of No. 5 and other trains. After the Colorado floods of September 2013, a 200-foot section of track here on the large fill just below Big 10 Curve was removed, with the fill stabilized and improved with a new culvert and wider access road. Everything was fine for a week or so after being put back into service, but then a portion of track west of the culvert began to slowly drop away. It has been a constant maintenance battle and slow order, needing frequent ballast and alignment, with the track moving a total of five feet. On this day, a large group of contractors is moving in to “get to the bottom” of the problem so-to-speak.
