Photo ID: 110166 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, January 21, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed South of Sedalia Douglas County, CO 123 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF Between Castle Rock and Sedalia, a BNSF northbound snakes its way along on Main 2, parallel to CO-85. The train has a straight shot the rest of the way in to Denver, where it will terminate. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 110165 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, January 21, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed MP 22.68 Douglas County, CO 123 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) Union Pacific, Rio Grande Union Pacific installed a new signal here (on the left) about a decade ago, but still has yet to activate it. Instead, an old Rio Grande signal displays a green signal, indicating the next three blocks are unoccupied. This signal is visible for US-85, and I have specific memories of looking at this signal when I would go out train chasing with my dad when I was a kid. This old signal is specifically is very nostalgic for me! Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 110164 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, January 21, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed North of Larkspur Douglas County, CO 114 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF Just north of Larkspur, BNSF's Slaton, TX to Denver, CO manifest passes underneath I-25 as it heads north on Main 2. Two ES44C4 with a C44-9W in between lead the train. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 110163 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, January 21, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed The Sag Douglas County, CO 161 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF After getting a fresh crew, a southbound BNSF intermodal train is starting to pull south through the Sag and toward Palmer Lake on Main 1. Meanwhile, a northbound BNSF manifest from Slaton, TX rolls by on Main 2. The manifest is headed for Denver, where it will terminate. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 110162 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, January 21, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed The Sag Douglas County, CO 119 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF A southbound BNSF intermodal train is stopped on Main 1 (and is getting a crew change) as a Slaton, TX to Denver, CO manifest heads north on Main 2. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 110161 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, January 21, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed The Sag Douglas County, CO 129 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF A southbound BNSF baretable train snakes its way through The Sag, just north of Palmer Lake. All of the trailer and containers you see on the train - FedEx, JB Hunt, Amazon Prime, etc - are empty. They are being repositioned from Denver, CO to San Bernardino, CA. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 110160 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, January 21, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed The Sag Douglas County, CO 113 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF A southbound BNSF intermodal train wraps its way through "The Sag", just north of Palmer Lake. Here, ownership of Main 1 changes from BNSF to UP as you travel southbound. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 110159 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, January 21, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Spruce Douglas County, CO 109 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF Between Greenland and Palmer Lake on the Joint Line is the location of Spruce. A southbound BNSF intermodal train is passing by the Spruce trackside sign on its journey toward Palmer Lake and points south. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 110157 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, January 21, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed South of Castle Rock Douglas County, CO 116 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF Even with the reduction in the demand for coal, coal trains still dominate the Joint Line. So, it is nice to come across a non-coal train! Such is the case with this baretable intermodal train. You'd typically think of a string of empty well cars when referring to a baretable. But in this case, all of the trailers and containers on this train are empty. Just be repositioned to San Bernardino, CA. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109917 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, December 17, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed The Sag Douglas County, CO 137 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF Just north of Palmer Lake is a location now known as "The Sag". Over 100 years ago, Santa Fe's mainline crossed over Rio Grande's mainline right here. You can clearly see the abutment from the bridge that has long since been removed. When the Joint Line was formed, the tracks of the Grande the Santa Fe were connected in places where the mainlines previously crossed each other. Here, the ownership of the track changes right here from BNSF to UP as the train moves south. Regardless of ownership, BNSF dispatches the track, which has been CTC for the past few years. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109916 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, December 17, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Spruce Douglas County, CO 127 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF A southbound BNSF manifest on Main 1 is about to pass an SD70ACe that BNSF keeps on a sub track at Spruce, just north of Palmer Lake. The unit can be used as a helper for any southbound that needs it on the climb to Palmer Lake. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109915 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, December 17, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Greenland Douglas County, CO 130 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF In the past decade or so, it has become far more common to find certain trains that have a mix of general manifest (box cars, covered hoppers, lumber, etc) along with intermodal. BNSF's QSPOALT, which runs from Spokane, WA to Alliance, TX, is an example of such a train. The front half of the train is general manifest, but the second half is mixed TOFC and COFC. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109913 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, December 17, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed South of Castle Rock Douglas County, CO 128 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF A C44-9W in Heritage 2 paint leads a southbound Q-train (which happens to be a mixed freight and intermodal combined) runs south parallel to I-25 south of Castle Rock. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109910 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, December 17, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Big Lift Douglas County, CO 148 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF BNSF's has a couple of run-through freights that come through Denver (and do not break up in the yard). This is one such train. This is the QSPOALT, which runs from Spokane, WA to Alliance, TX. It just on Main 1 on the Joint Line, running alongside Big Lift just south of Littleton. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109646 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, October 15, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed South of Castle Rock Douglas County, CO 134 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF For two decades, SD70MACs ruled coal trains on the Joint Line. Now in 2023, they have largely been replaced by SD70ACes and ES44ACs. However, it is still great to catch one now and then. Such is the case with BNSF 8948, the second unit on the head end of this southbound coal load. It is still sporting an aging Heritage 2 paint scheme. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture.

Next Page