Photo ID: 109630 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, October 15, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Spruce Douglas County, CO 239 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) Union Pacific Some US military tanks and other vehicles are being transported by rail from Fort Carson in Colorado Springs to Yermo, CA. They are being shipped on Union Pacific and, due to UP's network, the train will go north to Cheyenne before turning west and eventually south after reaching Salt Lake City. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109629 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, October 15, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Spruce Douglas County, CO 226 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF A southbound BNSF coal load slowly climbs the grade on Main 1 as a northbound military train sits stopped on Main 2. The military train departed Fort Carson a few hours earlier, and unfortunately tripped a dragging equipment detector. The conductor is currently walking the train to find the culprit. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109628 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, October 15, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Spruce Douglas County, CO 223 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF An ES44AC and an SD70ACe lead this coal train south on Main 1, just south of Greenland. As we get deeper in to fall and closer to winter, the landscape loses more and more color, turning to a relatively flat yellow-brown color. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109627 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, October 15, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed South of Larkspur Douglas County, CO 224 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF Just south of Larkspur, a southbound BNSF coal load navigates the curves on Main 1 as the train continues toward Greenland, Palmer Lake, and beyond. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109570 Date Shot Photo By Monday, October 2, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Acequia Douglas County, CO 222 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF Near the north end of the Joint Line, a southbound BNSF coal train is taking on the ruling grade for the climb to Palmer Lake. The second unit on the head end, an SD70MAC, is burping up a bit more (visible) exhaust than is normal. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109558 Date Shot Photo By Monday, October 2, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Orsa Douglas County, CO 276 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF Even though the Joint Line has two tracks and directional running, there is still one siding along Main 1 between Sedalia and Castle Rock. It is the siding of Orsa. Even with the addition of CTC to the Joint Line, the siding is still just has hand throws at either end and likely hasn't been used in years. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 108391 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, July 19, 2020 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed The Sag Douglas County, CO 871 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF As UP 8837 comes up to "The Sag" on Main 1, it passes by BNSF's protection unit. BNSF only has four units on their coal trains there here, set up 2x0x2. That is the bare minimum for a 120-car coal train going over Palmer Divide. In the event that one of the four units fails, BNSF keeps this unit here for easy retrieval to rescue any such stalled coal load. Before they started keeping a unit here, they had to call one out of Denver, or steal one off of another train. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 108388 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, July 19, 2020 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed South of Castle Rock Douglas County, CO 940 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) Union Pacific After a brief stop at the Hold Signal at MP 36.3 for a reason that I did not hear, this southbound UP coal load is on the move again on Main 1, parallel both I-25 and the I-25 frontage road. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 108387 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, July 19, 2020 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed South of Castle Rock Douglas County, CO 829 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF A long line of wind generator blades snake their way north on this unit blade train, heading north on Main 2 on the east side of I-25. If you look very closely in the distance near the top-right part of the frame, you may notice the headlight of a southbound UP coal train coming this was on Main 1. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 108386 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, July 19, 2020 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed North of Larkspur Douglas County, CO 1002 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF As storms start to build in the late morning, a northbound BNSF "blade train" clips along at track speed on Main 2 in between Larkspur and Castle Rock. While I knew a northbound was coming, the blade train was unexpected and a welcome surprise rather than the typical coal empty. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 108385 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, July 19, 2020 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed South of Sedalia Douglas County, CO 1070 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) Union Pacific Even if you are familiar with the Joint Line, the location of this spot may not immediately jump out at you! This bridge at MP 26.5 is a bit secluded and hard to see from US-85. The bridge crosses over East Plumb Creek and a pair of UP units bring a loaded coal train across the bridge. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 108384 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, July 19, 2020 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed North of Sedalia Douglas County, CO 1076 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) Union Pacific In between Louviers and Sedalia, UP 8837 and UP 7221 have this southbound coal load moving along well. The train is set up in a 2x2x1 configuration, actually giving it more horsepower than BNSF coal load on the Joint Line, which run 2x0x2. The extra unit makes a significant difference, and the train is making 20 MPH whereas BNSF trains are usually limited to 12-15 MPH. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 108383 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, July 19, 2020 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Big Lift Douglas County, CO 1107 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) Union Pacific A southbound UP coal load on Main 1 grinds past Big Lift a few miles south of Littleton. Big Lift was originally built by Santa Fe to server as an intermodal facility. The intermodal trains ran between Denver (well, here at Big Lift) and La Junta, CO and vice versa starting in the late 1980s. The intermodal trains did not last, and the facility has been repurposed as an auto facility for BNSF. If you buy a car in the Denver-Metro area, there is a chance your car arrived via train and Big Lift! Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 108059 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, May 23, 2020 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed North of Larkspur Douglas County, CO 847 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF Main 2 north of Larkspur moves along the base of some lush hills, across the way from I-25 and Main 1. There is no real great way to access Main 2 from the ground, but I always though there could be a great shot of it if it could be accessed. Fortunately, modern technology finally made that possible as this elephant-style coal empty makes its way north. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 108052 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, May 23, 2020 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed North of Palmer Lake Douglas County, CO 821 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF This coal load is sitting stopped at an Approach (yellow) signal at MP 50.5 on Main 1. The dispatcher has some northbound trains aligned through the single track and on to Main 2 ahead at Palmer Lake. Coal trains will often sit at this signal when they know they cannot proceed beyond Palmer Lake. The train is straddling "the sag", which allows the traction motors on the units to cool after the long and hard climb up from Denver. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture.

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