The dispatcher has thrown the switch to the west leg of the wye and given a signal to UP 844. It is kicking up some smoke as it start pulling up the grade.
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With the Wyoming flag unfurled on the front of UP 844, the engine (and train) roll backward on the east leg of the wye at Speer Jct. It is, of course, necessary to turn the train around for the evening trip back to Denver. The nearest wye is at Speer, roughly eight miles away from the depot in Cheyenne.
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BNSF's Laurel to Denver manifest has a track warrant to head south from Cheyenne to Owl Canyon. In the foreground, one of UP's signals at Speer Junction is visible. This signal protects the east leg of wye where the Greeley Sub starts.
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Even though this shot did not have the best lighting of the day, overall I believe it was my favorite shot. UP 844 and UP 1943 are leading the Cheyenne Frontier Days train toward the Terry Ranch Road overpass just south of Speer Junction.
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The grade from Greeley, CO to Speer Jct, WY is a consist climb northbound. However, the grade increases from an average of 1% to 1.2% north of Carr. The Cheyenne Frontier Days train slows down a bit for the climb as UP 844 has work hard to pull the passenger train. Here, the train is rounding the curve toward Terry Ranch Road.
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Archer Curve is a fantastic spot for checking out both eastbounds and westbounds with decent light for most of the day. In this shot, an eastbound manifest (with an interesting single DPU cut into the middle of the train) climbs the grade on Main 2.
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Even though it is only shortly after 2pm, it feels much later as the sun is already getting low in the western November sky. The winter season is a time for short days and rich light!
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After spending some time switching in the yard at Cheyenne, this eastbound is now on the move on Main 2 at Archer Curve. The train is sporting an all-EMD (all-SD70) consist on the head end.
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A single SD70ACe brings up the tail end of an eastbound double stack train on Main 2 east of Cheyenne. Even though there are (at least) two main tracks all the way from Cheyenne, WY to North Platte, NE, there are still a few sidings from time to time. The track in the foreground here is a 6,045 foot long siding off of Main 2.
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An eastbound double stack on Main 2 rolls toward the I-80 Business Loop overpass east of Cheyenne on the Sidney Sub. The (new) crew on this train will take the train east to Bailey Yard in North Platte, NE.
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UP 844 gets a free ride (backward) from Speer Jct to Cheyenne. The train has just been wyed (turned around) and is headed back to the depot to await the arrival of passengers in a few hours. A UP manager in a white pickup parallels the train, keeping an eye on the move.
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A GE AC4400CW and an EMD SD70ACe work together to pull the Cheyenne Frontier Days train back to Cheyenne after being wyed at Speer Jct. If you look above UP 7143 and off in the distance, you can see the head end of a westbound double stack train!
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The rear DPU of a westbound double stack pushes on Main 3 as a pair of diesel engines pull the Cheyenne Frontier Days train back toward Cheyenne on Main 4. Very different duties for the sister units. Note how close they are in number! UP 7143 on Frontier Days and UP 7146 on the double stack.
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A westbound double stack intermodal train pulls up the grade on Main 3 toward Speer Jct. Since UP's Overland Route (which connects the east end of UP with the west end) runs through Cheyenne, you can often expect to see a lot of trains running on the UP in Cheyenne.
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It is just after noon as UP 844 and train roll slowly toward the Greeley Sub from south leg of the wye at Speer Jct. In addition to carrying fuel (oil), the black tender also stores some water. the second (yellow) tender carries nothing but water for the 844 and is referred to as the "water bottle".
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