It is very fascinating to me how some brush fires can actually leave quite a bit of unburned foliage behind. That appears to be the case here, as BNSF's fire train sprays water along the right-of-way. Although there are clouds building up, there would not be any rain to offer relief from the heat today.
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You can very clearly see the areas where a brush far has burned away foliage on both sides of Main 1 along the Joint Line. High temperatures this July have contributed to the fires, as all but three days (so far) have been 90ºF (33ºC).
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BNSF's "fire train" is making a reverse move on Main 1 (in CTC limits) as firefights unleash water on a few smoldering hot spots from a small brush fire that started earlier in the day.
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Several firefighters spray water, pumped through these special tank cars, on hot spots from a brush fire that started alongside the tracks. The train is actually making a slow reverse move here, making multiple applications to the hotspots.
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Did you know that BNSF actually has a firefighting train that is based in Denver? I've seen it many, many times, sitting at the yard in Denver. However, this is the first time I've actually seen it in action! A few small brush fires along Main 1 south of Littleton.
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This is a spot that I have thought about shooting at, but I never got around to it until today! Love the wall of trees that this southbound unit coal train is passing as it cuts into the 1.2% grade. Uncountable thousands of coal trains have passed this way since the Powder River Basin really started mining in the mid-to-late 1980s.
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A southbound coal load parallels I-25 just north of Larkspur. Main 1 sticks pretty close to I-25 from Castle Rock to the I-25 exit for Larkspur. There, the highway continues over the ridge to Greenland, while the tracks cut through Larkspur, keeping the grade to roughly 1.2%.
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As this southbound manifest approaches Palmer Lake on Main 1, take not of the abandoned track to the right. Back in the days of cabooses and manned helpers on coal trains, the manned helpers would sometimes be cut in ahead of the caboose. In those situations, the helpers would cut off the train and enter this track, leaving the caboose on Main 1 for the coal train to back up to, connect to, and continue south.
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Three GEs lead this southbound manifest on Main 1, just north of Palmer Lake. The train has a clear (green) signal and is ready to head onto the single main track between Palmer Lake at Crews.
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Although there are a few other cars on this Denver-Amarillo manifest, most of the train is composed of alternating strings of tank cars and covered hoppers. The train has a clear (green) signal at the top of the hill at Palmer Lake to continue south onto the single main track.
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A pair of SD70ACes lead an empty oil train on Main 2 at Greenland. The mountain peak furthest off in the distance toward the left, is Pikes Peak. One of the 53 mountain peaks in Colorado that exceed 14,000-feet (4,268-meters) in elevation.
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Two GE units, the second of which still sports the original Heritage paint scheme as this Denver to Amarillo manifest approaches Titan Road south of Littleton.
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While this is technically south of Greenland, CO, the months of May and June are typically the only time of year when this area actually lives up to the name of being a green land. A CN-led grain train is currently stopped in The Sag, waiting for its turn to head south at Palmer Lake. A northbound is visible in the distance on Main 2.
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After the coal load ahead got a signal to continue south into the single track territory of the Joint Line south of Palmer Lake, this CN-led train train is now sitting in The Sag, waiting for its turn to continue south. After several hours of thunderstorms, there was a 10 minute break in the clouds, allowing for some fantastic sunlight to break through.
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Two units lead a northbound Q-Train on Main 2 a few miles north of Palmer Lake. You can see the train is passing an intermediate signal. The train is currently operating under a track warrant as Main 2 of the Joint Line has not had CTC added to it like Main 1 has. The Boeing 737 fuselage is a nice find on the train.
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