Back in 2007, an empty coal train bound for West Elk Mine near Somerset, CO, is working up the 2% grade on the Front Range of Moffat Tunnel Sub. The train has just passed over the west switch at Crescent and is about 18 miles from Moffat Tunnel. The train will head south at Grand Jct on the North Fork Branch for loading.
In the background is the Gross Dam. It was named for Denver Water former Chief Engineer Dwight D. Gross, the reservoir was completed in 1954. It serves as a combination storage and regulating facility for water that flows under the Continental Divide through the Moffat Tunnel. Standing 340 feet above the South Boulder Creek streambed, Gross Dam contains some 627,559 cubic yards of concrete.
