A northbound BNSF rail train has an unexpected leader! UP 7354 is leading the loaded train on this Sunday afternoon. At some point in the future - not entire clear on when that will be - there will be commuter rail tracks in this shot too.
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A pair of Warbonnets, both sporting a couple of orange components (unfortunately), leads a southbound baretable just south of Broomfield. The train is about to pass underneath US-36 near Church Ranch Lake.
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It is a bit of a brisk morning out as this BNSF double stack starts pulling north along Church Ranch Lake. The train had been waiting here so as not to block any grade crossing until the southbound they were going to meet reached Broomfield. Now that said southbound had reached Broomfield, it is time to go!
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BNSF has repaired the flooding damage done to the St Joseph Subdivision in the Omaha area. However, the Napier and Omaha Subdivisions are still out of service, so coal empties will likely continue on the Front Range Sub throughout September. Here, one such reroute is stopped near Church Ranch Lake waiting for a southbound at Broomfield.
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For a few months, the Valmont coal train loaded exclusively on BNSF in the Powder River Basin in Wyoming. That has changed, however, as the train is now loading in western Colorado (on UP) once again. As a result, the power on the Front Range Sub is once again mixed between BNSF and UP as the Valmont train wraps around Church Ranch Lake.
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BNSF's daily Laurel, MT to Denver, CO manifest wraps around the curve leading under the bridge of US-36, which I was standing on for the shot. This is almost the exact spot where two Burlington Northern trains hit head-on in a collision in 1985.
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Had this Valmont coal train been headed south, the lighting would have been far better! Here is a look at the two Warbonnets leading up the northbound coal load, currently stopped to wait for a southbound currently in Boulder.
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Temperatures on this day had warmed up to close to 30 degrees...a downright heat wave from the 5 degree high the day before! The crew on this stopped Valmont coal load seem to be taking advantage of the "nice" weather by opening the nose door on the lead unit.
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A Valmont coal load hold near MP 12 (and Church Ranch Lake) on the Front Range Sub. The train will be meeting a southbound at Broomfield and the crew is holding here so as not to block Nickel Street.
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In Westminster, the northbound Longmont Turns passes by Church Ranch Lake. The train is just about to pass under US-36. This was the exact site of a head-on collision that occurred in August 1985 between two BN trains. The fireball from that collision was so hot, the I-Beams for the overpass literally melted!
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The southbound HPASSAG passes by Church Ranch Lake on a beautiful (albeit cold) morning. In tow are two DIC (Dead-In-Consist) Alaska Railroad GP49's. The units were built in May 1985 and were retired by Alaska in 2006. Now, they are headed for a very different climate in Houston, TX. There, they will work for Specialized Rail Transport.
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Power from the HPASSAG heads north by Church Ranch Lake, leaving the Valmont coal load behind after helping the train up Westminster Hill. The power will clear up on the main at Broomfield, allowing the coal train to get a warrant into the siding at Broomfield.
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With a little help on the point, the Valmont coal train comes to a stop near Church Ranch Lake. Here, two units that helped pull the train up Westminster Hill will cut off the train and return to Broomfield. There, their train is waiting in the siding.
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The Valmont coal load stalled out on Westminster Hill. To lend a helping hand, the power from the HPASSAG (Pasco, WA to Saginaw, TX) cut away from its train and is heading south here around Church Ranch Lake.
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A quick "grab" shot of a snoot-nose BNSF SD40-2. The unit behind the Dash 2 is EMDX 9099. This was the last of 100 SD60s leased to BNSF through Oakway Leasing. A beautiful fall morning in Colorado near Church Ranch Road and US-36.
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