#5 (11) Held up by flooding in Colorado

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Just to add to idle speculation, tonight's local news just reported that 80% of US 34 is damaged or entirely gone. Two other neighboring major roads are about 50% wiped out. So I'd be pleasantly surprised if this photo from the Tunnel District shows the only major washout on the line. Just the easiest to spot from public roads, perhaps.

The washout pictured here looks so enormous! It looks like several hundred feet of material must be replaced, both vertically and horizontally. How is that accomplished? You can't just back up hopper cars to the cliff and dump fill onto a steep, unstable slope-- can you? Or would it be better to build a bridge, piered to bedrock?
 
Now that this reroute is in place, does the CZ still arrive in Chicago on time? Is it early, late?
 
Guinness835 said:
We are currently westbound on train 5 and I can confirm there are no smoke stops between Denver and Salt Lake City. I'm not a smoker, but if you are that's about 13 hours between breaks. The scenery in Wyoming is more plains, but there are a lot of antelope! Still better than the bus bridge. We left Denver about 9:45 am and are currently near Rock Springs, WY. We're told we will be in SLC about 10:30 pm.
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IIRC, they change crews at Green River....might have time for a quick break there.....
 
Golden grrl said:
jis said:
I agree completely. I love the old transcon through Wyoming. Whenever I go for work to Fort Collins, I usually tack on a weekend day or two to drive up to the old transcon for railfanning around Sherman Hill. You want to see top quality triple track action on top quality, well maintained smooth track? that is where you go. Laramie is my favorite hangout place on those random weekend trips.
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Is UP still running old steam loco #8444 for the excursion trips around the time of Cheyenne Frontier Days?

I've been in that engine and the passenger cars, but only during the exhibit when it's parked in Cheyenne. Tickets for the ride went mostly to news people and the rich and powerful of Cheyenne and Denver and UP.

Sherman Hill was a favored point for us common folk to watch those special trains. You can see the black smoke up in the sky way before the train flies on by your location. Around two decades ago, my spouse nearly got run over when the oversized pickup of some eager tourist busted right through a crossing barrier on the cattle guard, all to see that steam engine.
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Golden grrl said:
Agent said:
Yes, they are. Although it has long been renumbered to its original number 844:
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Sigh.

Showing my age to call it 8444. Though I'm not quite so old as the loco.
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When I lived in the Denver area, during the '70's and '80's, I was an active member of the Intermountain Chapter of the NRHS. We ran an annual steam excursion from Denver to Cheyenne or Laramie or Sterling for many years. As part of the chapter crew running the event, I received the "high privilege and distinct honor" of several cab rides in the 844 and the 3985 during those memorable excursions. Memories that will stay with me forever.... :)
 
railiner said:
Guinness835 said:
We are currently westbound on train 5 and I can confirm there are no smoke stops between Denver and Salt Lake City. I'm not a smoker, but if you are that's about 13 hours between breaks. The scenery in Wyoming is more plains, but there are a lot of antelope! Still better than the bus bridge. We left Denver about 9:45 am and are currently near Rock Springs, WY. We're told we will be in SLC about 10:30 pm.
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IIRC, they change crews at Green River....might have time for a quick break there.....
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As I mentioned earlier, only if it happens to stop at the track by the platform. not otherwise.
 
The stop in green river is for crew change only. They didn't let anyone off. We are currently on time and next scheduled stop is Reno.
 
railiner said:
Guinness835 said:
We are currently westbound on train 5 and I can confirm there are no smoke stops between Denver and Salt Lake City. I'm not a smoker, but if you are that's about 13 hours between breaks. The scenery in Wyoming is more plains, but there are a lot of antelope! Still better than the bus bridge. We left Denver about 9:45 am and are currently near Rock Springs, WY. We're told we will be in SLC about 10:30 pm.
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IIRC, they change crews at Green River....might have time for a quick break there.....
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Last year when I went over the reroute they had no smoke breaks. Should've bought some nicotine patches and sold them for a pretty penny...
 
I've been following this thread for while, having had a trip planned from Iowa to Glenwood Springs, CO. It has been very informative and there are obviously some serious train buffs here.

I have a question. How are some of you able to get information about what is going on, in the complete absence of info from AMTRAK???

I'm sorry I missed my first train trip in nearly 50 years, but didn't have the time freedom to await a solution. That and the refusal to stop the bus in Glenwood Springs on the way from Denver to Grand Junction. Probably a minor inconvenience in view of the suffering and loss of those living on the front range, but the policy is ridiculous!!! Hopefully I get another chance to make this trip through the Glenwood Canyon....

Thanks for all your information, stories of your trip or travels and your opinions....

TheHonda1
 
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I'm current on the #5 so I've been providing updates. Our sleeper attendant said today they were told it would be at least 2 months until the old route is repaired and opened. The Wyoming detour will continue.
 
Thursday was our last day for a while

HOPEFULLY it will be only a few weeks to get the Moffat Section done. Our little store in Grand Junction gets all of our business from Amtrak passengers and crew. They crew we talked to, was not very optimistic about how long it would take. The UP people however were very sure it would be done quickly. They really need that section open more than anyone else. I am prone to listen to the Union Pacific workers more. One of them told us they will be bring as many loads of boulders rocks and dirt as possible to fill that big gap. It looks to me like it may need a bridge , but I am no engineer.
 
Does anyone know -- when--- the clock for the reopen estimates started for the ongoing DRGW Moffat line slide closure???

I hope for everyones sake that the clock started on Septtember 11, 2013 rather than today Sept 21, 2013 (10 day difference0.

I am just a very interested bystander hoping that everyone gets their lives back in GOOD Order Very very SOON.

A very big Thank You to everyone for keeping all of us up to date on this major disaster.

---- Daniel
 
Beth said:
Now that this reroute is in place, does the CZ still arrive in Chicago on time? Is it early, late?
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It'll be on-time, most likely. The reroute is actually faster than the regular route, but at stops DEN and after, the train still has to wait for shceduled departure time, so it cannot depart early.

Honda1 said:
I've been following this thread for while, having had a trip planned from Iowa to Glenwood Springs, CO. It has been very informative and there are obviously some serious train buffs here.

I have a question. How are some of you able to get information about what is going on, in the complete absence of info from AMTRAK???

I'm sorry I missed my first train trip in nearly 50 years, but didn't have the time freedom to await a solution. That and the refusal to stop the bus in Glenwood Springs on the way from Denver to Grand Junction. Probably a minor inconvenience in view of the suffering and loss of those living on the front range, but the policy is ridiculous!!! Hopefully I get another chance to make this trip through the Glenwood Canyon....

Thanks for all your information, stories of your trip or travels and your opinions....

TheHonda1
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We just get the info by each telling bits and pieces, then we piece it all together. A lot of these stuff comes from live reports of people from the scene. I'm pretty sure Amtrak will get you to Glenwood Springs somehow, Interstate-70 is operational. If they won't offer a bustitute, just get a Greyhound ticket there, a bus departs at noon for Las Vegas and it stops at Glenwood Springs.

I know, I wrote the "G-word", but I'm just trying help.

daniel3197 said:
Does anyone know -- when--- the clock for the reopen estimates started for the ongoing DRGW Moffat line slide closure???

I hope for everyones sake that the clock started on Septtember 11, 2013 rather than today Sept 21, 2013 (10 day difference0.

I am just a very interested bystander hoping that everyone gets their lives back in GOOD Order Very very SOON.

A very big Thank You to everyone for keeping all of us up to date on this major disaster.

---- Daniel
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There's really no accurate estimate of how it will be repaired. The location seems very hard to access and the section could be damaged indefinately. I'm more concerned about the safety of rail operations then getting the line repaired with high speed.
 
I can report that the repair work is progressing night and day. I just drove down from Boulder, past the Tunnel District. It looked like small city or industrial facility had popped up suddenly. Bright work lights were strung along the horizontal line of the route for a mile or more. Maybe I'll go back there tomorrow with binoculars and long lenses. It seems like a hell of a lot of work to be done up there, but on the bright side, at least it has rail access!
 
domefoamer said:
I can report that the repair work is progressing night and day. I just drove down from Boulder, past the Tunnel District. It looked like small city or industrial facility had popped up suddenly. Bright work lights were strung along the horizontal line of the route for a mile or more. Maybe I'll go back there tomorrow with binoculars and long lenses. It seems like a hell of a lot of work to be done up there, but on the bright side, at least it has rail access!
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Where were you exactly? From which road did you see the contruction? I have a bunch of contour maps from the area and I can better understand what's going on if you tell me where you spotted the construction. I'm another guy that loves long-range spotting with binoculars, they're awesome up in the Rockies.
 
For those who haven't yet gone through via the detour route, one highlight to keep an eye out for is Devil's Slide.

2580.jpg
 
Swadian Hardcore said:
Where were you exactly? From which road did you see the contruction? I have a bunch of contour maps from the area and I can better understand what's going on if you tell me where you spotted the construction. I'm another guy that loves long-range spotting with binoculars, they're awesome up in the Rockies.
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I drove Colorado 93, the main road south from Boulder to Golden. The most intensive lighting and, I assume, work, was happening in the last stretch of north-south rail before the route turns west, above Eldorado Springs.
 
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There is another stretch of track west of Eldorado Springs that has a large land gap now with welded rail and attached ties stretching across a chasm. Not sure if this stretch can be seen from Colorado State Highway 72, which would be the closest highway to the location. Highway 72 may also have experienced significant damage.
 
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