Just the 2nd day of December with the Colorado River not far off from freezing over... but the UP train looks positively hot cruising downgrade!

A loaded coal train eases down the last stretch of the Craig Branch, passing above the formerly busy railroad town of Bond.

A BNSF Transcon stack train starts the downhill coast to Belen in the last light of the day.

The setting sun creates a wonderful silhouette of the signals on BNSF's Transcon main.

The bright orange engines of this westbound BNSF manifest stands out well from the autumn colors of the Colorado River plain.

This very faded engine can use some of the hues of the surrounding countryside to look a bit better....

A loaded UP coal train eases down the grade towards Bond and the Moffat Line.

A weekend trip to Indianapolis, and this was the one and only train I saw... a CSX B36-7 leading a series of auto racks in front of Conseco Fieldhouse.

An empty coal train slowly charges up the grade on the Crater Loops, with a 3-unit helper consist pushing in the middle.

The Rio Grande Heritage unit, with a waving engineer, sweeps by State Bridge Lodge on its journey eastward to Denver. Many thanks to TME for the scoop!

It's not often that something other than full or empty coal cars gets shipped on UP's Craig Branch.

Amtrak's California Zephyr has just departed the station for its next stop in Grand Junction, CO

UP 7102 about to enter Tunnel 48 in Rock Creek Canyon. Amazing bit of railroad engineering along this line!

Leading a consist of 6 engines, UP 4107 charges across the Colorado River on its journey west.

A short manifest slowly chugs up Glenwood Canyon... cannot compete with FedEx for speed on this stretch of track!