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Monday, May 17, 2010

Rock Slide Causes Amtrak Service Disruption

Here's the answer to a question I know that everyone was anxious to know. The question is "Is it really possible to drive a P42 engine backward?

The answer is, if you have a conductor to spot you, sure!

Amtrak P42 #67 pulls the California Zephyr consist while running backward through Arvada, Colorado, on May 15, 2010.

Seriously, no one would expect to see this, ever. But railroading in Colorado sometimes necessitates such unusual methods. In this case, a rock slide in the Moffat Route's Tunnel District closed the line and caused a significant service distuption for Amtrak. The original westbound, pictured above, returned to Union Station and sent passengers by bus to Winter Park to board the original eastbound. Eastbound passengers likewise were sent by bus to Union Station to resume their trip aboard the original eastbound equipment. Service disruptions like these are simply reality when you run through the mountains, not around them.

Further Reading

For the rest of  Kevin Morgan's coverage of the results of the Amtrak service disruption, please visit this link to the photos at ColoradoRailfan.com.

CBS 4 Denver's coverage: Main reportVideo 

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