A Calif. Zephyr in Ft. Morgan on 17MAR2024 (St. Patrick's Day)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 16 ก.ย. 2024
- The California Zephyr#5 made its station stop in Fort Morgan this morning at 0604 MDT (1 hr. & 3 min. late). P42s #137 & #30 powered the 8-car train to a stop with car 7 to the station platform for passenger service to 1 departing passenger and what will be 3 new fares + a dog. While that was going on, Kelly (I called him Dave. Oops, sorry) and the car attendant for the lounge car stepped to the platform and brought me a cup of coffee. I will never turn down fresh coffee! That was my first time to meet the car attendant, Darrell if I remember right. Thinking the passenger work was completed the high ball was given and almost immediately a stop was called to allow the 3rd passenger with his companion dog to board after a lesson from the conductor. Then a second try to resume the westward trek with the next stop being Union Station in Denver.
My thanks, as always, to the crew of today's Zephyr for the greetings and the coffee!
Everyone please stay safe!
Happy St. Patrick's Day to all!
Hi Mike-looks like another hot one-nice quick stop&go-thanks for your time-stay cool my friend 😎
Thanks for the history. Someday, sooner than later I plan to ride the Zepher west and make sure to say "hello" when we stop in Fort Morgan.
You are quite welcome. I look forward to seeing your wave someday.
Take care and stay safe!
I think being a car attendant would be a cool summer job
Good afternoon, Jay; Thank you for looking in and the comment. If it were only a summer job. The attendants working the Zephyr are on duty as they leave Chicago until they return with that train back to Chicago 6 or 7 days later. That is too much like getting underway aboard a Navy ship to go play on the ocean for a week then come back to port for the weekend and do it all over again and again and again. If it were only a summer job, I would have applied many years ago.
I hope that you have a great afternoon and evening.
Please take care and stay safe!
Good morning Mike. Nice to see the crew taking care of you. I am sure the coffee tasted great . Great crew taking care of late passengers. You have a great day. Love to start my day with your video.😊😊😊😊😊
Good morning, Gerald; I thank you for dialing in as well as the comments. Kelly caught me off guard with the coffee this morning. That was neat. I am learning more and more of the train staff as they roll thru. The hat he referred to looks like a beer mug filled with green beer and a nice foam head. Has mug handle and all. It gets used once a year on this date. Just for fun.
Have a great Sunday down there.
Please take care and stay safe!
Good Morning Mike and Happy St. Patrick's day! First time with CC today, you don't want to get too classy. LOL
Good afternoon, Ted; Thanks for dialing in as well as the comments. I try not to get that way. LOL!
Have a great afternoon and evening. Please take care and stay safe!
Excellent work Mike we all forget a name or two now and then LOL, Be safe my friend
Good morning, James; Thanks for stopping by and the comments. I appreciate it.
Please take care and stay safe up there!
Happy St. Patrick’s Day Shipmate and thank you for today’s interesting #5 California Zephyr Ft.Morgan stop. The last passenger should be thankful that this Conductor scans the station platform as he departs. Love the “Old-School” hospitality and love showed you by the crew this morning. It brought back memories of the same treatment I received on the GMO’s “Abe Lincoln” and the MOPAC’s “Texas Eagle” in the mid-sixties whenever I traveled in Uniform. Great railfan memories to start this beautiful Sunday. Have a safe, joyous, warm, relaxing St. Patrick’s Day, Mike.
Good morning, Curtis; I thank you for tuning in along with the comments. There were lessons to learn today at the depot. And the coffee that was proffered was tasty. I have traded greetings with him before but never learned his name.
My time in uniform was well after yours but having flown in uniform was kinda of a treat until I went thru SFO in the early 70s. That I will never forget and will hold the grudge for the rest of my life.
Anyway, I do recall riding the Rock Island Rocket from Denver to Fairbury, Ne. a time or two. I was always treated very well.
I hope that you have a great Sunday out there.
Please take care and stay safe!
Top of the morning, Michael O'Jensen!
Nice catch of #5 from you and the young conductor! I never saw him (the passenger) until partway through the conductor's) "speech", when he came around the corner! Another "time management" error! If you got that much "stuff", gather it earlier!
Darrell got brownie points this morning! Nice to get a cup of coffee!
You have a great rest of your Sunday!
💚☘️💚☘️💚☘️
Jean
Good morning, Jean; Thanks for dialing in along with the comments. I've been told I have kissed the blarney stone. Won't tell. Everyone is Irish at least one day a year. LOL!
I didn't know that late comer and his companion were in the station. He was fiddling around with the door to the building and not stepping out to the train. The dog appeared to be well traveled as he went straight on the train without hesitation. I am sure lessons were learned today.
The coffee was unexpected even though I saw the door to the lounge was open and Kelly was standing there. I had greeted Darrell several times without knowing his name. And I will continue to greet them all.
Have a great Sunday afternoon and evening back there.
Please take care and stay safe! 👋🍀☘🍀👍👌
Happy Saint Patrick’s Day Mike! Good morning Sunday morning Sir! Well that was a pleasant surprise this morning! Darrell bringing you fresh coffee (you’re not supposed to bathe in it 😂!). That was different, I didn’t see that straggler until Joe called him over after he stopped the train the 2nd time. Kelly will be back through in a couple days I heard him say. Very good! Enjoy your Sunday! I am! Even though it’s just 31 degrees at 9:23 Iowa time this morning. Mark in Iowa.
Good afternoon, Mark; I thank you for dropping by as well as the comments. I don't think a drop hit me or the ground this morning. LOL! That's well on to coffee abuse. LOL! It did go down quite well there and here at the computer desk as I uploaded the video. The latecomer was just out of view to the left of the cam this morning, He did manage to make the train.
I think Kelly works the #6 tonight going back to Lincoln. That would work out right with what he stated as they departed.
Anyway, I hope that you have a great Sunday afternoon and evening. Please take care and stay safe!
HAPPY SAINT PATTY'S SUNDAY to you Mike. Great stop today. Always something different happening! Hope you're sister enjoys the snow, ours is almost gone but that is good as it was all water. Enjoy that coffee and have a great day.
Good morning, David; Thanks for dropping by and the comments. I haven't heard how her family handled the snow up there. I have seen that a lot of it has melted. Lots of free water in the irrigation ditches for a while.
I did enjoy that coffee. Both at the station and at home processing the video.
Have a great Sunday over there. Please take care and stay safe!
Yeah I miss all the snow. I contact relatives in Nebraska and they say that they don't hardly ever get any snow. But you got to have snow because it's good ground covering and it has all the nutrients for the soil. And a couple years ago I was out in West point Nebraska and the lake where my cousin lives barely could support her pontoon boat. So that really kind of wasn't good because we were out there and there was a whole bunch of us at the family reunion. And then we could do the boat but it just wasn't as nice as if we had a nice full lake.
Good morning, Robert; Thank you for dropping by and the comments today. Keep in mind that we have that big wall called the Rocky Mountains west of here. The weather events moving in from the west have to get across them and as they do the moisture gets dumped on the high country with very little left for out here. This area is also labeled the great American desert. We do get some moisture here as wraparound from the lows as they move farther east and draw on the Gulf moisture. As long as there is snow measured in feet in the mountains, we will get some of that out here as melt water in the rivers. I have been past West Point a few times. They are in the same situation as here. My hometown and county have been in drought for a couple of years in southeastern Nebraska.
This year, over 250,000 acres won't be irrigated because of a water compact with Nebraska and Kansas. Guess those who don't think beyond the grocery shelves will be happy to pay the extreme prices for food.
Anyway, Have a great Subday afternoon and evening back there.
Please take care and stay safe!
happy st. patricks day Mike. thanks for the catch of #5 today. glad you got a coffee have a great day and a safe one.
Good afternoon, Ken; Thanks for dropping by as well as the comments. I appreciate it!
Please take care and stay safe while enjoying the afternoon back there!
Mike that approach was almost a Ric style. Must have been someone he trained. Definitely a hot approach to platform.
Good afternoon, Ben; I thank you for stopping by as well as the comments. That was a good approach to the station. I needed to pay more attention to where he was at during that approach. LOL! I should have but didn't know the voice from the cab. Oh well. They are often heard but seldom seen.
Have a great Subday afternoon and evening back there.
Please take care and stay safe!
Good morning Mike happy St. Patrick’s day ☘️and thanks for the catch of #5. Enjoy the day and stay safe!
Good afternoon, Tom; Thank you for looking in as well as the comments today. I appreciate it.
Hope that you have a great afternoon and evening back there.
Please take care and stay safe!
Hi Mike. Sounds like #5 had a friendly St. Patrick's Day stop today. Complete with coffee from the crew. And almost drah-mah with the late boarding passenger. After the black ice has another hour or so to melt off the streets, I'm gonna get out and work off this case of cabin fever I seem to have acquired. Take care!
Good morning, suz; Thanks for dialing in along with the comments. It was a decent stop here today. I was caught off guard with the coffee and greetings from Kelly and Darrell. The coffee was much appreciated though.
I didn't know that fella and his companion were still in the waiting room. I think lessons were learned all around.
Hope that black ice problem has thawed by now. That was a mess west of you yesterday on I-70 and 285. No wonder the state patrol have short tempers up there. Happily, they can count to ten and beyond when dealing with the idiots.
Anyway, Have a great Sunday afternoon and evening.
Please take care and stay safe!
Good St Patrick’s Day morning Mike☘️! Wow it’s not good to get left behind on St Pattys Day lol. I certainly hope you have a wonderful safe day and thanks for sharing with us. 👏👍
Good morning, Gene; I thank you for tuning in as well as the comments today. It would not have been the first time I saw someone left behind because they weren't on the platform. In the Navy that was called missing ship's movement. That could get you a court marshal. I came close a couple of times. Learned my lessons.
Have a great Sunday.
Please take care and stay safe!
Good morning Mike and Happy St. Patrick's Day. What a nice trea - hot coffee on a cold morning. That Conductor was really nice holding the train for the passenger and his dog - you would never see that happening here in CT with Metro North. Stay safe!
Good morning and thanks for looking in along with the comments. I didn't know that gent and his companion were in the waiting room. Glad the conductor saw him. At least they made the train as I have seen others miss and then drive to Denver to make the connection. Oh well.
Have a great Sundy back there.
Please take care and stay safe!
Hi Mike, the man was very lucky the train stopped.I learned through a video yesterday the 31st is it for the WPE.Seems like an engine went down.Afer the # 5 came through another engine was replaced.Have a blessed day & happy St. Patrick's day👋😉👋
Good afternoon, Carolyn; Thank you for stopping by as well as the comments. Yep. I learned the same info. There is plenty of snow for the boarders and skiers to enjoy up there. I think that snow will be around for a little longer.
They did take an engine off the #5 that turned in Denver and went back to Chicago as #6 last week. There was a train running a single engine that came thru here as the snowstorm was winding sown up there. The other unit #23 was put into service on the WPE.
I hope that you have a great afternoon and evening down there.
Please take care and stay safe 🤓👋🍀🍀🍀👌👍@@carolynsteed3649
Happy St Patrick's day to you Mike. I may have had a couple of Guinnesses to mark the occasion despite not (afaik) having any Irish ancestry. Hope you're well!
Good evening, Frogfather; I thank you for dialing in and the comments. I would have enjoyed a couple of pints if I could have. The body and meds won't allow it anymore. Oh well. I can dream and remember. I think I am only Irish one day a year. But I do enjoy it.
I hope that you and yours have a great evening over there.
Please take care and stay safe!
Someone almost got left behind, I see! A happy St Patrick's day morning to you, Mike. It sounds like you're almost an Amtrak employee, yourself, on these Zephyr stops. I hope that coffee hit the spot, this morning. Had rain overnight and a slim possibility this afternoon. Then we're back to warmer weather with 80's due by next weekend. It means the end of being able to say "Boy the sun feels good" until late Oct or early Nov, when going outside. NUTS! Have a good day, stay warm and take care. See you tomorrow.
Good morning and thanks for stopping by along with the comments today. I at one time applied to go to work with AMTRAK. I got the usual form letter back stating, "Don't call us, we'll call you". Never heard from them again. Up did the same. Oh well. No grudges. It is just fun to be there and say Hi to the crews of the Zephyrs.
The coffee did hit the spot there and at the computer desk uploading the video.
We are out of the foreseeable rain/snow picture. Highs in the 60s starting tomorrow. I can deal with that.
With the cost per gallon of gasoline headed above $4.00 per gallon really soon up here, I want to get the trike out of storage but that will have to wait until the last of May. I've seen snow on the ground here on Memorial Day several times.
Anyway, Have a great Sunday down there.
Please take care and stay safe!
Top of the morning to ya Mike. The third passenger sure had the "luck of the Irish" this morning!!! With my last name being McClelland, I'm still looking for that pot of GOLD at the end of the rainbow. Have a bowl of Lucky Charms cereal cause there "Magically Delicious" in a green shirt LOL.
You must have had a special hat on today. Have a great and safe day. Conductor Dave.
Good afternoon, Conductor Dave; Thanks for dialing in as well as the comments today. Yep. It was on his side. That is a really good surname! I've spent many a happy hour at Callahan's and O'Mally's in my younger days. That's about as close as I can claim right now. But today everyone can claim a little Irish.
Yes. the head cover is one that only gets worn one day a year. It is shaped as a beer mug with handle and a nice foam head on top. Of course, it's green. I'm just not into green beer. Sounds like it isn't ready to serve. LOL! Can't drink it anymore anyhow. Oh well. I am wearing a green shirt though.
Have a great afternoon and evening back there.
lease take care and stay safe!
A good St Patrick's Day to you Mike from cloudy 54 mid Tenn. You know they just about run that "companion" service dog in the ground. Those who " really need" the animal suffer the problems. Enjoy your fresh Amtrak coffee my friend. Will think about you today when I dive into corned beef/cabbage/ red potatoes.
Good afternoon, Ben; Thanks again for dialing in along with the comments. It has reached 45 F. here with partly cloudy skies. Tomorrow the temp should go into the mid 60s. I do understand what you are saying about the companion dogs. This dog wasn't wearing any identification as such but did heed his master quite well. No hesitation of boarding the train.
I have no problems with the companion being a dog. It's when that companion becomes a porcupine or some such that I have to draw the line.
I'll let you have my portion of the corned beef. We'll have a tussle over the cabbage and russet spuds. And I won't budge on the soda bread. LOL!
Take care and stay safe! 👋☘🍀☘👍
Good morning.
Good afternoon and thank you for stopping by. I appreciate it.
Take care and stay safe!
Nice job Mike. I talked to you that morning before the train got there. Told you I liked your hat. I see the man that was sprawled out in the ladies room all morning blocking us females from using it got on the train after all making the train stop a second time. I felt sorry for that dog. Anyway, I watched myself get on the train, great video. Hope to see you again.
Good morning, Debbie; Thank you for dropping by as well as the comments I didn't realize at the time that gent and his companion were the ones who kept you from the washroom. At least the facilities were available on the train. He was not a local. beyond that I hope that you had a great trip. Being a Nebraskan by birth, I always enjoy chatting with good folks before they board the train.
Anyway, have a great Wednesday.
lease take care ad stay safe!
Wow that's real nice of them to bring you a cup of coffee. I'm sure it tasted good on a cold day like this. It's not even going to get 40° back here but you know it's still kind of winter and it is March. But that's always nice when they do that for you. That's amazing how you know all the crew. I'm sure they appreciate you coming by. You know you kind of keep an eye on the place I'm sure to a degree. How are those unstaffed stations handled by Amtrak? Does somebody come by and clean the washroom if there's a washroom there? Do they plow the parking lot or mow the grass around the area? I've always wondered who maintains those buildings. It's always interesting to find that out. And like where's the dispatch office in that area.?
Hi again, Robert; The building and parking area are under the care of a contracted local company. They also clear the snow from the platform but don't do any other maintenance. Still waiting for a certified electrician to repair the light fixtures around the perimeter of the building. The company the maintains the cleanliness of the interior and the platform doesn't inspect for other concerns during the dark. Too scarry for them.
BNSF dispatch is in Fort Worth, Texas and UP dispatch is in the bunker in Omaha. The BNSF dispatcher only knows Fort Morgan as a point on the computer map of the system and sub. They have never set foot here.
Late Passengers sounded like Ric today
Good afternoon, Dillan; I thank you for looking in along with the comments. I don't think that was Ric. He should have been thru headed east last night. I'm watching for him tomorrow morning.
I hope that you are having a great afternoon back there.
Please take care and stay safe!
Not the Conductor's job to "give lessons". Conductor was service-oriented enough to stop the train for the late passenger and dog. Should have left the matter beyond that alone.
Happy St. Patrick's Day, Mike! Question...is the Moffet Tunnel east or west of Fort Morgan?
Good afternoon, Pamela; Thank you for looking in and the question. The Moffat Tunnel is west of Fort Morgan and Denver. It was built by David Moffat who owned the Denver and Rio Grande & Western Railroad to shorten the time to travel to Salt Lake City. It is now part of the Union Pacific railroad.
I hope that answers your question.
Have a great afternoon and evening.
Please take care and stay safe!
Did I see a guy get on the train with a dog? And if so how does Amtrak accommodate dogs? Every dog has to go outside occasionally.