Photo ID: 109648 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, October 15, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Castle Rock Castle Rock, CO 286 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF Northbounds are stacking up on the Joint Line at Castle Rock! The crew on this military train "died" (not literally...they reached 12 hours on the clock and can no longer operate their train) at 12:30pm. 2 1/2 hours later and there is no relief crew on the horizon just yet. The BNSF coal empty is stuck, and four additional trains further south also have nowhere to go until the military train can start rolling again. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109647 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, October 15, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Castle Rock Castle Rock, CO 311 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF A northbound BNSF coal empty has stopped 200 feet from the back of a northbound military train on Main 2 alongside the Plum Creek golf course in Castle Rock. Unfortunately, the UP crew on the military train reached their hours of service at 12:30pm, forcing them to stop their train. They are legally prohibited from operating it any further. Another crew will not show for a few hours, bringing northbound traffic on the Joint Line to a complete hault. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109645 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, October 15, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed CP 363 Castle Rock, CO 363 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF BNSF 8561 splits the signals at the control point at CP 363. A few years ago, BNSF installed CTC on Main 1 between Littleton and Palmer Lake. Two "hold" signals were installed on Main 1. These are absolutely (dispatcher-controlled) signals. They allow for track and time to be given to MOW while trains from the north can still approach. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109644 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, October 15, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed South of Castle Rock Castle Rock, CO 288 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF BNSF coal trains are, by far, the most dominating type of train you'll find running on the Joint Line. These trains originate in the Powder River Basin in Wyoming and are destined for power plants in the south. The approaching train is no exception as it parallels the I-25 frontage road and I-25 itself, just south of Castle Rock, which is visible in the distance. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109635 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, October 15, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed South of Castle Rock Castle Rock, CO 281 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) Union Pacific A northbound UP military train crosses over Bell Mountain Parkway a handful of miles south of downtown Castle Rock. Way off in the distance, you can see Pikes Peak. It is the tallest peak off in the distance. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109634 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, October 15, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed South of Castle Rock Castle Rock, CO 342 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) Union Pacific Just south of Castle Rock, a northbound military train has passed through a couple of slow orders and is back up to track speed. But not for much longer. The crew only has 11 minutes left to work before hitting their 12 hour limit. They'll stop ahead near the Safeway in Castle Rock to await a recrew. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109569 Date Shot Photo By Monday, October 2, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed CP 363 Castle Rock, CO 290 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF When BNSF installed CTC on Main 1 on the Joint Line a few years ago, they included two "control points" absolute signals between Sedalia and Palmer Lake. CP 363, seen here, is one of those control points. This was done so track and time could be issued to maintenance, allowing trains to still run on opposite sides of the control points. Pro Tip: How can you know this is an "absolute" signal (dispatcher controlled) and not an "intermediate" signal? The lack of milepost plates on the signal masts are dead giveaways. Intermediate signals have milepost plates, while absolute signals do not. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109568 Date Shot Photo By Monday, October 2, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Castle Rock Castle Rock, CO 313 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF Just south of Castle Rock and we find a lot going on! As a southbound BNSF coal load approaches, it parallels the west Frontage Range road which runs alongside the (significantly busier) I-25. There is also an east Frontage Road on the opposite side of I-25. The rock which is the namesake of the city of Castle Rock stands tall in the background. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109559 Date Shot Photo By Monday, October 2, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Orsa Castle Rock, CO 282 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF The town of Castle Rock, like all towns along the Front Range, continues to grow. New commercial buildings have been built (and continue to be built) along Main 1, one of which is ready to lease! Meanwhile, yet another coal train rolls south. An act that has been repeated tens of thousands of times over the years. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 107943 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, December 31, 2019 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed South of Castle Rock Castle Rock, CO 1013 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF An AC4400CW and an ES44AC bring up the tail end of this southbound coal load rolling along at about 15 MPH on Main 1. The train is climbing toward the top of the hill at Palmer Lake, and all four units on the train are in Run 8. In the distance, you can see one of Colorado's "14ers", Pikes Peak. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 107942 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, December 31, 2019 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed South of Castle Rock Castle Rock, CO 1124 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF Just south of Castle Rock (visible near the top left corner of the shot), a southbound BNSF coal load rumbles slowly along on Main 1, parallel to I-25. The Colorado Department of Transportation is undergoing a major project to add toll lanes to I-25 between Castle Rock and Monument. Main 2, currently unoccupied, is visible in the distance toward the top right of the shot. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 107941 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, December 31, 2019 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Castle Rock Castle Rock, CO 991 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF The SD70ACe was a pretty large success for EMD, at least up through the Tier 3 model. The Tier 4 model, known as the SD70ACe-T4, has not yet found much success. UP ordered 100 units, but those have largely been kept in storage so far, allegedly due to some technical difficulties. These BNSF SD70ACes are leading a southbound coal load in Castle Rock. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 107940 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, December 31, 2019 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Castle Rock Castle Rock, CO 1128 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF On the north edge of Castle Rock, a pair of SD70ACes lead a southbound coal load on Main 1 along the seldom-used siding of Orsa. The train is approaches the relatively new North Meadows Drive underpass and will also pass by Castle View High School. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106545 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, April 2, 2017 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed South of Castle Rock Castle Rock, CO 1835 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF A southbound BNSF manifest heads south on Main 1 on the Joint Line, running on yellow signals. The train is following a slow-moving coal train just a few miles ahead. On the far right is I-25, with two crowded lanes of traffic in both directions. To left of that is the I-25 Frontage Road, which many cars utilize between Tomah Road and Castle Rock. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106544 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, April 2, 2017 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Castle Rock Castle Rock, CO 2107 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) Utah Railway I shot UTAH 5005 several times on various trips over to Utah. It was great seeing it and its five siblings running on coal trains on Soldier Summit. Alas, after a century of hauling coal, Utah Railway lost their last coal contract at the end of 2016. They now serve businesses primarily between Provo and Ogden, largely interchanging traffic with BNSF. I never thought I'd see one of these MK50-3s on the Joint Line! Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture.

Previous Page     Next Page