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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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!
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The "newest of the new" leads this southbound manifest on Main 1 at Castle Rock. BNSF 3881 is a Tier-4 compliant ET44C4. A pair of ES44C4s follow up behind. Fourth out is a Utah Railway MK50-3 which is Dead In Consist (DIC), being transported to the KYLE Railroad by BNSF.
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This scene has changed somewhat in the last seven years or so. As Castle Rock has continued to grow, the city wanted to connect the west side with the east side. The solution was to build Plum Creek Parkway. Prior to 2010, the bridge in this shot did not exist. It was simply hillside!
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A southbound BNSF manifest pulls up the grade on Main 1 over Plum Creek Parkway. The fourth unit is Utah Railway 5005, an MK50-3, which is being sent to the KYLE Railroad in eastern Colorado.
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It's pretty unusual to catch a UP coal train on the Joint Line these days. UP puts sufficient power on its coal trains to make descent speed up the hill to Palmer Lake. Which is why it was fortunate that this train was on the tail of a BNSF load that was dragging up the hill.
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The symmetry of a Unit Grain train is one of the things that makes it a lot of fun to shoot! With the sun finally coming out from behind the clouds, this grain empty passes south past milepost 35.40 on Main 1.
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A southbound "Earthworm" is heading south along I-25 just south of Castle Rock. I caught two trains on the Joint Line on this day and, to my amazement, neither was a coal train! Crazy how much Castle Rock has grown in the past decade.
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The sun is playing hide and seek behind the clouds as BNSF's Denver, CO to Amarillo, TX manifest comes around the curve south of Castle Rock. The train had some interesting power with a pair of Norfolk Southern units on the point. The second unit was (obviously) Conrail, but is now on Norfolk Southern's roster!
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