RCF_1209
Amtrak No. 5, the westbound "California Zephyr," rolls through East Portal, Colorado on May 21, 1987. The longer train (compared to today) dates this scene to the time when the Amtrak version of the "CZ" carried through cars for the "Pioneer" to the Northwest, and the "Desert Wind" to LA. Those trains came off in 1997. The third car is an ex-Santa Fe hi-level, but the other cars behind it are Superliners (except a Rio Grande business car on the rear). Just several yards ahead is the portal for the 6.2-mile Moffat Tunnel that replaced the insane stretch of railroad with four percent grades over the top of Rollins Pass in 1928. A portion of the grade leading to the "Giant's Ladder" of the long-abandoned line can be seen rising above the rear third of the train.
RCF_1209
Amtrak No. 5, the westbound "California Zephyr," rolls through East Portal, Colorado on May 21, 1987. The longer train (compared to today) dates this scene to the time when the Amtrak version of the "CZ" carried through cars for the "Pioneer" to the Northwest, and the "Desert Wind" to LA. Those trains came off in 1997. The third car is an ex-Santa Fe hi-level, but the other cars behind it are Superliners (except a Rio Grande business car on the rear). Just several yards ahead is the portal for the 6.2-mile Moffat Tunnel that replaced the insane stretch of railroad with four percent grades over the top of Rollins Pass in 1928. A portion of the grade leading to the "Giant's Ladder" of the long-abandoned line can be seen rising above the rear third of the train.