A final look at this Amtrak special as it rolls south on the single track main between Palmer Lake and Monument. I had to get back up to Denver, so I was unable to chase the special any further south.
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On the south side of Palmer Lake, AMTK 22 and AMTK 134 are leading this Amtrak special south on the now-single track mainline on the Joint Line. The train is headed for the Transportation Technology Center just east of Pueblo, CO.
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At the "top of the hill", a reference to the highest point on the Palmer Divide at 7,297 feet (2,225 meters) above sea level, this Amtrak special is now on the single main track as it passes by Palmer Lake. As you can see, many people are out and enjoying the beautiful clear skies on this Friday morning, most likely unaware of the rare move passing by them.
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Cresting the top the Palmer Divide at Palmer Lake, BNSF 6574 heads south on the single track main. Numerous people are enjoying the warm day, taking paddle boards out onto Palmer Lake itself.
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This oil empty received a diverging clear (red over green) signal at Palmer Lake and is continuing north on Main 2. If you look very closely, you might notice a grass-covered filled to the left of the train. That is part of the north leg of a wye that once existed on Main 2, decades ago.
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There's not that many originally-painted Heritage units left on BNSF's roster. BNSF 1100 is one such example. This C44-9W was one of the first units delivered to BNSF after the BN/ATSF merger in 1995.
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Love this view of the open fields surrounding the Joint Line between Greenland and Palmer Lake. Two units sit on Main 1, leading a manifest southbound.
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BNSF's Denver to Amarillo works its way through "The Sag" on Main 1, about two miles north of Palmer Lake. There is an oil train sitting on the single track just south of Palmer Lake, getting ready to proceed north on Main 2. This manifest will wait here until it gets a light to proceed south on the single track main.
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A northbound empty oil train is stopped, looking at a double red signal at Palmer Lake. The train is getting a track warrant from the Union Pacific dispatcher to head north on Main 2.
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We are deep into "blue hour" as the light is quickly fading after sunset. The weather has been quite nice and it is still around 40°F (4°C) here at Palmer Lake as a northbound BNSF Q-Train leaves the single track behind and enters into the Track Warrant Control (TWC) limits of Main 2, dispatched by UP.
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BNSF's Q-Train that runs from Alliance, TX to Portland, OR is approaching Palmer Lake and the top of Palmer Divide. The sun has set and the light is fading rapidly here at 4:35pm, ten days before Christmas. The first half of the train consists of doublestacks, the second half of the train is essentially a general manifest.
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Official sunset is still about 20 minutes off, but the sun is well-hidden by the mountains on the west side of Palmer Lake. As we look north, we see a diverging clear signal, indicating a northbound is coming and will take the usual route onto Main 2.
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A trio of GEs has the duty of handling UP's MNYPU this afternoon as the train rounds Palmer Lake on the single track at the top of the Palmer Divide. This train is almost always a "night owl", running over the Joint Line in the dark. It was a rare opportunity to be able to get shots of a UP manifest on the Joint Line in daylight!
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UP 2692 and train have reach "the top of the hill". Palmer Lake marks the top of the Palmer Divide for trains at an elevation of 7,297 feet (2,224 meters) above sea level. This southbound has left directional running and two mains behind in favor of the single mainline that runs between Palmer Lake and Crews through Colorado Springs.
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At just shy of 7,200 feet above sea level, this colorful southbound unit ethanol train has reached the top of Palmer Divide. The CSX/CP mix of power rolls by several folks out fishing in Palmer Lake while enjoying the absolutely beautiful October morning.
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