Photo ID: 111466 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, December 15, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Colorado Springs Palmer Lake, CO 117 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF 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. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 111465 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, December 15, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Colorado Springs Palmer Lake, CO 66 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) Union Pacific, BNSF 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. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 111464 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, December 15, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Colorado Springs Colorado Springs, CO 124 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF BNSF 6339 and train have just crossed over the Royer Street grade crossing and are now approaching a clear (green) signal at the south end of Colorado Springs. This is one of the higher priority trains on the Joint Line, so BNSF's Denver South dispatcher is going to do what he can to keep the train moving. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 111463 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, December 15, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Colorado Springs Colorado Springs, CO 90 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF A northbound BNSF Q-Train, coming from Alliance, TX and headed for Portland, OR is approaching the south end of the Colorado Springs siding. The tracks here parallel Las Vegas Street on the south side of Colorado Springs. The train is all doublestacks up front, but actually has some general mixed freight cars at the back. A practice that has becoming more common on railroads in the last decade or so. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 111462 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, December 15, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Colorado Springs Colorado Springs, CO 89 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) Union Pacific After dropping off a trio of lumber cars in the yard at Colorado Springs, UP 2692 is now pulling out of the yard on the siding. Once clear of the yard switch, the train will back up and put its train together before continuing south. The train is right at the Cimarron crossover, a little less than a mile from the south end of the siding. BNSF's Denver South dispatcher will inform the train that they will be at Colorado Springs for one northbound before it is their turn to continue south. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 111461 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, December 15, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Colorado Springs Colorado Springs, CO 99 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) Union Pacific UP 2692 has come to a stop on the siding, just barely across Las Animas Street in Colorado Springs. The train is dropping off three cars in the Colorado Springs yard. The conductor is working on throwing a switch and, in just a moment, the train will back off the crossing and into the yard. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 111460 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, December 15, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Colorado Springs Colorado Springs, CO 110 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) Union Pacific UP 2692 and train roll by the old Colorado Springs depot. No passenger trains have used this depot in decades, but the structure still stand and now, among other things, is home to Brakeman's Smashed Burger Bar. There is a push in the Colorado government to add rail along the Front Range between Fort Collins, CO and Pueblo, CO. Perhaps, one day, passengers will again use this depot. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 111458 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, December 15, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Colorado Springs Colorado Springs, CO 131 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) Union Pacific, Rio Grande It is only a little past 2pm, yet it feels as though we are only minutes away from sunset, even though sunset is still several hours off. The short days of December along with the high Colorado Rockies to the west result in very short days. Basking in the afternoon sunlight is the UP Colorado Springs yard job, sitting just north of the Colorado Springs depot. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 111457 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, December 15, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Colorado Springs Colorado Springs, CO 81 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) Rio Grande, Union Pacific A former Rio Grande caboose sits in the Colorado Springs yard, awaiting the next yard job and/or local assignment. I refer to this as a "former" caboose because it is now referred to on the railroad as a "shoving platform". The doors have been bolted and all the windows inside have been blacked out. Crews are not allowed inside. It is strictly used as a place for brakemen to ride when making switches moves so they do not have to hang off the sides of freight cars. This shoving platform has been assigned to Colorado Springs for over a decade. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 111456 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, December 15, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Colorado Springs Colorado Springs, CO 80 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) Union Pacific BNSF by far runs the most trains over the Joint Line. Indeed, BNSF dispatches the single track mainline through Colorado Springs. However, the track is actually owned by Union Pacific. And UP handles the local switching of industries out of the yard in Colorado Springs. For decades, UP has consistently kept a single geep in the yard for switching. More often than not, it seems that unit has been of Rio Grande heritage! This day is no exception as UP 1359, formerly DRGW 3118, is sitting and idling in the yard. There are no yard jobs or locals on the weekends. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 111455 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, December 15, 2024 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Colorado Springs Colorado Springs, CO 75 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF This BNSF Q-Train is rolling by a completely empty yard in Colorado Springs. It is also passing by the US Olympic and Paralympic Museum, located right in the downtown area. Construction on the museum started in 2018 and it officially open at the end of July in 2020. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 104627 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, March 8, 2014 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Colorado Springs Colorado Springs, CO 2018 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF A busy morning in Colorado Springs on this Saturday! UP's Drake coal train is on the Drake Lead to the left, slowly pulling in to the power plant to deliver the "black gold" that helps power Colorado Springs. A UP crew van drive by, just coming back from the switch to the Drake Lead. A crew member in the van realigned the switch for the main track. While all this happens, a BNSF manifest passes the action (and the Colorado Springs depot) on the siding. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 104626 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, March 8, 2014 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Colorado Springs Colorado Springs, CO 1869 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF The second BNSF manifest for the morning passes slowly through Colorado Springs on the siding. At the time the train was approaching the Springs, UP's Drake coal train was still hanging off the Drake Lead on the main track. Consequently, the dispatcher aligned this southbound through the siding. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 104625 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, March 8, 2014 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Colorado Springs Colorado Springs, CO 2194 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) Union Pacific, Rio Grande More often than not, the engine assigned as the Colorado Springs switcher is a GP40-2. Indeed, a lot of the time, it is not only a GP40-2, but a former Rio Grande GP40-2! Such is the case on this day as UP 1349 (ex-DRGW 3128) sits idling near the Colorado Springs depot. I'm not sure where the time goes, but it has been nearly seven years since UP 1349 received a full repaint! UP's Drake coal train, with "CSUX" hoppers, slowly enters the grounds of the power plant in the distance. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 104624 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, March 8, 2014 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Colorado Springs Colorado Springs, CO 2048 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) Rio Grande UP runs a local out of Colorado Springs and the local will take a "shoving platform" (as it is known on the railroad these days...also known as a boarded up caboose!) with it. The shoving platform in the Springs used to be this nicely maintained Rio Grande caboose. However, it has since been retired by UP and time will tell where it will end up. Hopefully, not beneath a cutting torch! Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture.

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