The Cimarron Street overpass offers up a nice view of the tracks...although both sides of the bridge have tight chain link fencing, making it difficult to shoot through! I decided to use the chain link to frame this shot of UP's Drake coal train heading directly for the power plant.
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I was out chasing for about seven hours along the Joint Line on this Saturday and this ended up being the only UP train that I saw! UP supplies the coal for both the Drake power plant in Colorado Springs and the Nixon power plant just south of Colorado Springs. Here, the Drake train has left the mainline (concrete ties to the right) and is now on the Drake lead. The switch to the lead is back near the crossover at Bijou, just around the corner in the distance.
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A southbound coal load passes by the Colorado Springs depot as seen from the Colorado Avenue overpass. Note UP's Colorado Springs switcher sitting idle, awaiting its next assignment later in the week.
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A northbound coal empty is on the siding in Colorado Springs. It will meet a coal load at the north end of the siding. In the distance, you can see the Drake Power Plant as well Cheyenne Mountain, which houses NORAD.
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When it is not out on the road, you can always count on finding Union Pacific's Colorado Springs switch sitting just north of the depot on the east side of the siding in the Spring. Here, a patch Cotton Belt GP40-2 and a freshly repainted Rio Grande caboose (01513) sit waiting for their next assignment.
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SPSF!? A patched former Espee GP40-2 is currently assigned to Colorado Springs switcher duties while a northbound unit tank train - led by a warbonnet C44-9W - flies by on the main line.
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Here's a train that I would usually shoot on the Front Range Sub. This GATBNV is an empty Sulfur Train headed for Bonneville, WY. Upon arriving in Denver, it will get a quick crew change and head north on the Front Range Sub.
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Running on clear signals, BNSF's "Den-Kick" (HDENKCK-20, Denver to Kansas City) passes through the Springs with an interesting mix of new and old power. The train is relatively short on this particular day, with boxcars dominating the train.
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Just outside the Colorado Springs depot, UP 1350 idles away, partly in the shade. This is UP's Colorado Springs switcher, which is used each weekday. Until January 2006, this GP40-2 was DRGW 3100 - the last four-axle Rio Grande unit to be patched!
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The Colorado Springs local appears to be staged and ready to roll at Colorado Springs. I thought it was interesting to find a caboose cut into the consist two cars back! UP 1350 was DRGW 3100 until January 2006. It was one of the last GP40-2's to get patched.
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UP 1358 (ex-DRGW 3105) is the currented slated for switch duties in Colorado Springs. On the weekends, you can reliably find the Springs switcher parked near the depot waiting for action the following week.
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After meeting two coal empties at Colorado Springs (both of which are visible on the right), BNSF 5656 south approaches Bijou on a clear signal.
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Creeping forward on a restrictive signal, BNSF 5645 passes the crossover at Bijou, following another northbound coal empty ahead of it in the siding. The signal on the main looks as though it is "dark" over red, but it is actually flashing yellow over red (Advanced Approach). I caught this picture in mid-flash!
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Cheyenne Mountain stands tall in the background as BNSF 9844 moves slowly through the siding at Colorado Springs.
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In the late 1980's, Santa Fe ran a hot intermodal train between Big Lift (south of Denver) and La Juanta. It was called DVLJ (and LJDV). One common source of power were GP39-2's like this one! Nearly 20 years later, this unit is being used as the Colorado Springs switcher.
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