Photo ID: 108117 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, May 30, 2020 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Donkey Creek Jct Gillette, WY 651 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Orin (BNSF) BNSF This BNSF rail train, while on Main 1 of the Orin Sub at the north end of the Powder River Basin, looks to be heading south in to the basin, it actually is not. It was working on the BNSF Black Hills Sub to the west. It is now going to park in Donkey Creek Yard to the east, but is first being wyed (turned around) to face west. You can see the train has an approach signal in the distance. Soon, it will back off the Orin Sub and in to a yard track in the yard. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 108116 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, May 30, 2020 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Donkey Creek Jct Gillette, WY 662 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Orin (BNSF) BNSF At the far west (geographic north) end of the Powder River Basin, we find a rail train on Main 1. You are only going to find BNSF trains on this part of the Orin Sub as UP's ownership stops about 14 miles to the south at Caballo Jct, location of the northern most mine. The north end of Powder River connects in to BNSF's Black Hills Sub. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 108115 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, May 30, 2020 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Donkey Creek Yard Gillette, WY 718 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Yard Shots BNSF To help illustrate how (relatively) slow things are for the railroads right now, only of these yard tracks has something on it that is actually being used at the moment! The cars to the left are all in storage. The engines to the right are also all in storage. The hoppers to the left of the power are actually part of a current train that is waiting for a recrew to depart the yard for the Powder River Basin to load. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 108114 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, May 30, 2020 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Donkey Creek Yard Gillette, WY 841 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Yard Shots BNSF While SD70MACs and C44-9Ws dominate the stored power in Donkey Creek yard, there are a few other units that can be found here. Such is the case for BNSF 2324, a GP38-2, buried in the middle of a string of units. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 108113 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, May 30, 2020 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Donkey Creek Yard Gillette, WY 789 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Yard Shots BNSF This telephoto shot helps bring in to perspective just how many units BNSF currently has stored in Donkey Creek Yard. There are about 100 units on each of five different yard tracks. You can clearly see the vast numbers of Grinstein SD70MACs in storage here. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 108112 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, May 30, 2020 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Donkey Creek Yard Gillette, WY 746 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Yard Shots BNSF There were quite a few C44-9Ws in storage in Donkey Creek Yard in Gillette, WY at the time of this photo. Those included a smattering of Warbonnets, or "Pink-bonnets", as some refer to the now-faded classic ATSF scheme. BNSF 649 is one such example, sitting at the head of a string of 100+ units stored on one of the yard tracks. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 108111 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, May 30, 2020 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Donkey Creek Yard Gillette, WY 845 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Yard Shots BNSF Got Power? With the decline in coal and downturn in the economy thanks to COVID-19, a lot of power is now in storage on Class 1 railroads. Case-in-point is Donkey Creek Yard. BNSF has roughly 500 units stored here. Mostly SD70MACs and C44-9Ws, but some others thrown in to the mix as well. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 108110 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, May 30, 2020 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Gillette Energy Park Gillette, WY 755 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Yard Shots Burlington Northern If only this engine could talk! A throw back to older times, and a tribute to Burlington Northern. This GE U30C was built in January 1972 and spent many years as a work horse for BN. Unlike most old units that end up scrapped and turned in to tomorrows razor blades, this unit was spared the torch and is now on display for all to see in Gillette Energy Park. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 103806 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, July 23, 2011 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed MP 0.4 (Donkey Creek Jct) Gillette, WY 1472 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Orin (BNSF) BNSF At Donkey Creek Junction, this BNSF southbound is headed around the east leg of the wye toward the Power River Basin. Due to the way the timetable is setup, this train is about to change from a westbound (heading geographically west on the Black Hills Sub) to an eastbound (heading geographically south on the Orin Sub)! Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 103804 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, July 23, 2011 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed MP 586.4 (East Donkey Creek) Gillette, WY 1507 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Black Hills (BNSF) EMD Leasing, BNSF East Donkey Creek is an impressive junction where two tracks from the Orin Sub (Power River Basin) come up from the south and meet with three tracks on the Black Hills Sub. This rail train is proceeding west toward Gillette. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 103802 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, July 23, 2011 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed MP 0.4 (Donkey Creek Jct) Gillette, WY 1449 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Orin (BNSF) BNSF A look at Donkey Creek Junction at the north end of the Powder River Basin. There are crossovers between the three mains here and then two tracks head east toward the Black Hills Sub and one heads west toward the Big Horn Sub. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 103801 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, July 23, 2011 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed MP 0.4 (Donkey Creek Jct) Gillette, WY 1504 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Orin (BNSF) BNSF It doesn't get much better than this! There are clear, blue skies and it is 85 degrees out at Donkey Creek Junction just east of Gillette, WY. Here, this coal load (with a fresh crew) will turn east on the Black Hills Subdivision and head for Crawford Hill in Nebraska and points beyond. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 103800 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, July 23, 2011 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed MP 1 Gillette, WY 1560 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Orin (BNSF) BNSF We are at the far north end of the Orin Subdivision (where all three tracks are own exclusively by BNSF and UP trains don't tread) and a westbound (geographic northbound) coal load approaches Donkey Creek Junction on Main 2. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 102237 Date Shot Photo By Monday, August 11, 2008 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Reno Jct Gillette, WY 2370 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Orin (BNSF) Union Pacific Reno Junction is the location of the entrance to the Black Thunder Mine along the Orin Subdivision. A new tipple is being constructed here and a major accident occurred in May 2008. A large crane working on the construction of the conveyor belt actually collapsed. Fortunately, nobody was killed, although the three main tracks were all blocked temporarily. Here, a UP coal load coming from the Caballo Mine passes the new tipple, still under construction. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 102236 Date Shot Photo By Monday, August 11, 2008 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Converse Jct Gillette, WY 2258 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Orin (BNSF) Union Pacific A UP coal load just entered Main One a few miles north from the North Antelope Mine. It is not proceeding east on a clear signal as it approaching Converse Jct, the location where the Antelope Mine leads meet with the main tracks. In the distance, a maintenance vehicle drives along an access road, kicking up some dust. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture.