Amtrak No. 5, the California Zephyr, gets serviced during the station stop at Denver, Colorado, on October 14, 2012. This included getting the front windows washed on P42DC No. 134. Denver Union S... (more)

Amtrak No. 5, the California Zephyr, passes Rocky siding on the afternoon of October 23, 2011. Three levels of track can be seen here, and Amtrak will negotiate them all within a few minutes. The ... (more)

Amtrak No. 5, the California Zephyr, finishes encircling Big 10 Curve and approaches the east switch of Clay siding on the afternoon of October 23, 2011. This long 10° curve uses a mesa and 2 per... (more)

27 miles out of Denver Union Station, the Denver & Rio Grande Western route turns west into Tunnel 8, penetrating the imposing Flatirons during its climb toward the Moffat Tunnel and continental d... (more)

Amtrak No. 6, the California Zephyr, passes the Big 10 Curve windbreak on the afternoon of March 16, 2011. North metro Denver and Arvada is spread out in the background.

Amtrak’s California Zephyr passes the Ski Train in the siding at Fraser, Colorado, amid a flurry of blowing snow on January 3, 2004.

On May 29, 2011, Amtrak No. 6, the California Zephyr, cruises through Clay, Colorado, as a westbound UP coal empty waits patiently at Rocky siding below.

Cresting Thompson Hill
Amtrak’s eastbound California Zephyr glides around the big curved fill east of Thompson, Utah, on the morning of March 4, 2012.

Rolling along the ex Rio Grande, engineer and RP contributor Tom Magazin has Amtrak's Phase 1 heritage locomotive up to track spped leading the California Zephyr.

A heavy early morning fog is just lifting off the Flatiron rock formations at Plainview, Colorado, as Amtrak’s California Zephyr crosses the west switch at Plain and is about to enter Tunnel 2 a... (more)

Amtrak No. 5, the California Zephyr is westbound, but for a moment on the approach to Big 10 Curve, is pointed east, as the train travels between Rocky and Clay on the morning of May 31, 2012. Cla... (more)

Amtrak’s “Heritage III” No. 145 is on the point of the eastbound California Zephyr on the afternoon of June 22, 2011. Having just left Plain and passed through Tunnel 1, the train is about t... (more)

AMTK 156 West races the sunset on the planet of Mars, with the California Zephyr in tow... Really, its Eastern Utah, not Mars!

Amtrak No. 5, the westbound California Zephyr, climbs through a snowy Crescent, Colorado, on March 19, 1998.

East meets west with Amtrak 5 meeting Amtrak 6 at Azure Siding. 6 will make quick stop to hand off a lost coat for 5 to take back to its owner in Glenwood Springs