Rocky Mountain California Zephyr
Amtrak 5 is like a n scale train coming from tunnel 13 in comparison to the dramatic mountain cliffs of South Draw and Eldorado Canyon.

Approach on Tunnel 30
Into the vibrant sun through Lincoln Hills and into Rollins Canyon Amtrak 5 is about to enter tunnel 30.

A pair of grimy Rio Grande SD40T-2 Tunnel Motors help Amtrak’s California Zephyr with some extra power over Soldier Summit on July 7, 1988. The train is now heading downgrade through the curves ... (more)

Snow is coming down pretty hard as the engineer of Amtrak’s California Zephyr climbs down to make a quick trip back toward the diner for a cup of coffee. The train is having its “smoke stop”... (more)

#5 highballs the west siding switch at Crescent on a windy summer morning, giving passengers a sweeping view of the Rockies and the Gross Dam Reservoir as they continue to gain elevation enroute t... (more)

With an arduous crossing of the Continental Divide now behind it, Amtrak’s westbound California Zephyr cruises west out of Granby, Colorado, on November 15, 2021.

Running about an hour and a half behind schedule, Amtrak's westbound California Zephyr catches the last light of the day as it speeds past farm fields in Batavia, Iowa on BNSF's Ottumwa Sub. In th... (more)

Cutting it close. I tried to caculate how far east I would have to go to get a picture of Amtrak number 5 with the sun still up. I pulled it off with about 15 minutes to spare. At Verde on the Gre... (more)

Looking a bit like an N scale model, Amtrak’s westbound California Zephyr edges the rocky cliffs through Gore Canyon at Azure, Colorado, on September 15, 2021.

Amtrak's westbound California Zephyr makes its evening run across the BNSF Ottumwa Sub, cruising through Chillicothe, Iowa a few miles past its last station stop in Ottumwa. Trailing 3rd is Siemen... (more)

Amtrak California Zephyr was heading south for Richmond after a 3.5h major delay.

Amtrak #5 over takes a UP manifest in Rollinsville, CO on UP's Moffat Tunnel Subdivision.

On the American Bicentennial, Amtrak train 5, the San Francisco Zephyr, departs downtown Chicago’s Union Station for a trip to Oakland, California. AMTK SDP40Fs 622 and 627, built two ye... (more)

After completing its station stop in Ottumwa, Iowa, Amtrak's California Zephyr throttles up and continues west into the setting sun. On the point of this day's train is P42DC 160, painted for the ... (more)

Led by a matched pair of GE P42DCs, Amtrak’s westbound California Zephyr begins its journey through the Rockies on UP’s Moffat Tunnel Subdivision, framed from atop tunnel 1 near Plainview, CO.... (more)