Photo ID: 106116 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, July 23, 2016 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed CP W517 (Speer Jct) Laramie County, WY 1490 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Laramie (UP) Union Pacific UP 844 gets a free ride (in reverse) as a pair of diesel units pull the Frontier Days trains down Main 4 at Speer Jct. At the far end of the wye, UP 844 will again take control and pull through one leg of the wye. Then, the diesels will pull for the return trip to Cheyenne. Note the clear signal on Main 3 for a Z-Train that is coming out of Cheyenne. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106115 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, July 23, 2016 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed East of Speer Jct Laramie County, WY 1338 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Laramie (UP) Union Pacific In order for the Cheyenne Frontier Days train to make the return trip from Cheyenne to Denver, the train has to be wyed (turned around). The nearest wye to Cheyenne is over six miles away at Speer Jct. UP 844 making that reverse move would take hours! So, UP has a better solution. A pair of engines simply hook on to the tail end of the train and pull it to Speer Jct. By doing this, there are no speed restrictions. Here, a pair of units pulls the train on Main 4 toward the first leg of the wye at CP W517. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106114 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, July 23, 2016 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed CP W517 (Speer Jct) Laramie County, WY 1345 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Laramie (UP) Union Pacific, Southern Pacific A pair of AC4400CWs, one of Southern Pacific ancestry, push on the tail end of a load coal train up through Speer Jct. The head end of the train is now on the Greeley Sub and pulling toward Denver. The train is ultimately headed for the Nixon power plant in Colorado Springs. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106113 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, July 23, 2016 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed East of Speer Jct Laramie County, WY 1482 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Laramie (UP) Union Pacific A southbound coal load pulls toward Speer Jct on Main 4 with a trio of elephant-style GEs on the point. This train loaded at the North Antelope Mine in the Powder River Basin and is actually headed for the Nixon power plant in Colorado Springs! Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106112 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, July 23, 2016 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed CP W517 (Speer Jct) Laramie County, WY 1330 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Laramie (UP) Union Pacific UP's tracks west of Cheyenne offer an interesting configuration. Mains 1 and 2 head directly west toward Hermosa Tunnel and Laramie. Mains 3 and 4 curve south and run to Speer Jct. At Speer Jct, the Greeley Sub (toward Denver) breaks off and Mains 3 and 4 curve west. Then, the mains converge into a single main track. This track (Main 3) also runs to Hermosa, but as a single track on a completely different grade from Mains 1 and 2. The grade on Main 3 isn't nearly as steep as on Main 1 and 2, so heavy westbounds, such as the grain train in this shot, are frequently routed over Main 3 to Hermosa. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 105377 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, July 18, 2015 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Swan Ranch Industrial Park Laramie County, WY 1816 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Yard Shots WAMX A colorful pair of units being used by the Swan Ranch Railroad south of Cheyenne. WAMX 4200 was originally an SD40, but has been upgraded (internally) to an SD40-2. The Wisconsin & Southern unit is an SD40-2 without dynamic brakes. They are both working at the Swan Ranch Industrial Park, switching out cars and interchanging with UP and BNSF as needed. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 105376 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, July 18, 2015 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Swan Ranch Industrial Park Laramie County, WY 1856 (2 Comments Posted) Subdivision Railroad Yard Shots WAMX A new industrial park, called "Swan Ranch Industrial Park", opened south of Cheyenne in 2011. The industrial park has access to both UP and BNSF, as well as I-25 and I-80. The industrial park will have its own shortline railroad, called the Swan Ranch Railroad. Currently, they have a couple of leased units. This SD40T-2 is one of the leasors. The shortened fuel tank indicates that it was clearly, at one point, a Rio Grande Tunnel Motor! Indeed that is correct. This was originally DRGW 5395. It went to UP 4018 on March 26, 1999. Just over a year later, it then was renumbered UP 8588 on April 10, 2000. Next up, on January 30, 2007, it went to UP 9869. This occurred shortly before being retired by UP. Good to see it has found new life in leasing service. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 105375 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, July 18, 2015 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed CP W098 (Speer Junction) Laramie County, WY 2307 (1 Comment Posted) Subdivision Railroad Greeley (UP) Union Pacific Now that the Cheyenne Frontier Days special has been wyed (turned around), it is headed back to Cheyenne from Speer Jct. A classic water tower from steam days stands tall in the distance. Perhaps a bit of irony, considering the fact that there is no steam engine on the Frontier Days trains this year. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 105374 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, July 18, 2015 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed CP W098 (Speer Junction) Laramie County, WY 1905 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Greeley (UP) Union Pacific At Speer Junction, BNSF's Front Range Sub passes under UP's Greeley Subdivision. While a northbound BNSF train would have been perfect here (right to left on the lower track), I had no such luck. But UP 2525, pulling the Cheyenne Frontier Days special back toward Cheyenne, looks mighty fine as it comes across the Front Range Sub. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 105373 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, July 18, 2015 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed CP W098 (Speer Junction) Laramie County, WY 1920 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Greeley (UP) Union Pacific UP 2525 is one of the newest units on UP's roster. Even though Tier 4 environmental regulations took effect on January 1, 2015, some Tier 3 units, such as this ES44AC, are still being delivered in 2015 as some railroads built up some environmental credits, allowing them to continue to get some new power while GE and EMD continue to work on a viable Tier 4 product. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 105372 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, July 18, 2015 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Speer Laramie County, WY 1330 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Limon (UP) Union Pacific Speer Jct is a pretty cool place and can have quite a bit of action. At Speer Jct, Mains 3 and 4 of the Laramie Sub meet with the Greeley Sub. Trains coming off the Greeley Sub can head either east or west on the Laramie Sub, creating a wye. In this shot, the Cheyenne Frontier Days special (in the process of being wyed) comes down the west leg of the wye toward the Greeley Sub. In the distance, a westbound manifest has clear signals as it hurries west on Main 3. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 105371 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, July 18, 2015 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Speer Laramie County, WY 1544 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Laramie (UP) Union Pacific I should preface this shot by stating that I love UP's DDA40X. I think it is great that, in 2015, it is still operational. However, I like that you can barely see the DD40AX in this particular shot, because the E-units and the UP passenger cars are so streamlined and are a perfect match for each other. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 105370 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, July 18, 2015 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed UP 951 Laramie County, WY 1506 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Laramie (UP) Union Pacific The process of wying the Cheyenne Frontier Days special is roughly halfway complete. The train is at Speer Jct, about eight miles outside Cheyenne. Here, the train is coming down one leg of the wye. This leg connects Mains 3 and 4 with the Greeley Subdivision toward Denver. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 105369 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, July 18, 2015 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Speer Laramie County, WY 1501 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Laramie (UP) Union Pacific Once the Cheyenne Frontier Days special arrives in Cheyenne and its passengers detrain, the train needs to be wyed (turned around) in preparation for the return trip to Denver. The nearest why is at Speer, which is actually about eight miles away from Cheyenne. Rather than make a long (and slow) reverse move, the Granite switcher hooks on to the rear of the train. This allows the train to move at track speed. Here, UP 2525 (a fantastically shiny and new ES44AC) pulls the train through the curve, approaching the signals at Speer on Main 4. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 105367 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, July 18, 2015 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Borie (CP W519) Laramie County, WY 1395 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Laramie (UP) Union Pacific An eastbound grain train comes around the bend at Borie on Main 1. If you look closely, you'll notice a track running across the picture coming out left from the near the signals. This is the "Borie Cutoff", which runs from Mains 1 and 2 over to Speer and Mains 3 and 4. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture.

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