CSX 938 leads a southbound UP unit ethanol train into "The Sag" on Main 1, just north of Palmer Lake. Prior to the creation of the joint line, Santa Fe crossed over Rio Grande here. You can still see the abutment of the old bridge in the lower right. Now, Main 1 has a definite downhill grade as it descends from the original Santa Fe grade down the original Rio Grande grade.
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CSX 938, CSX 4742, CSX 313, and CP 8006 are some very colorful units leading a unit ethanol train south on the Joint Line. The train is just south of Blakeland, a few miles north of Palmer Lake and the top of Palmer Divide. There are a couple tiny ponds on the east side of Main 2, which offer up some nice scenery in the area. The ethanol train itself is on Main 1.
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A unit ethanol train crosses over East Plum Creek on Main 1 of the Joint Line just south of Sedalia. The trees here are slowly starting to transform in to their fall colors.
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I remember seeing pictures of southbound coal train with solid sets of Oakway SD60s in the 1980s from this location. 40 years later, three CSX units (in two different schemes) and a Canadian Pacific unit lead a (UP) ethanol train southbound at the same location.
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The lighting at 9:30am at the start of October is about as good as you can get along Main 1 just south of Acequia on the Joint Line. A very unique variety of colors, all very unusual in Colorado, on the point of this ethanol train.
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Fall colors are starting to show up on the trees in the Denver area. A very colorful (and unusual) consist leads a unit UP ethanol train south on Main 1, just south of Acequia. The train will be interchanged with the Colorado Pacific at NA Junction southeast of Pueblo.
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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.
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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!
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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