Photo ID: 107947 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, December 31, 2019 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed North of Palmer Lake Douglas County, CO 934 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF It is a rather light day, traffic wise, on the Joint Line on this New Year's Eve. This southbound coal train is nearing the top of the hill at Palmer Lake and has a clear signal on to the single track and all the way through Colorado Springs. Much of the landscape is still covered in snow from a storm that hit three days earlier. Cold temperatures has kept the snow on the ground. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 105382 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, July 21, 2015 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Palmer Lake Palmer Lake, CO 1936 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF I don't generally get the opportunity to be in Palmer Lake in the evening as I'm usually headed back home on days I chase on the Joint Line. On this particularly day, however, I was driving home from Colorado Springs after a short business trip. So, I decided to set up for a shot on the west side of Palmer Lake as this southbound BNSF manifest was coming through town. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 105381 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, July 21, 2015 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Palmer Lake Palmer Lake, CO 2155 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF The top of the hill! Southbounds leaving Denver on the Joint Line have a steady climb on a grade averaging between 1% and 1.4% up to Palmer Lake at the top of the Palmer Divide. At roughly 7,300 feet above sea level, the Palmer Divide separates runoff between the Arkansas River (to the south) and the South Platte River (to the north). It is also where double track (and directional running) ends and the single track begins (when headed south). This southbound manifest is just about to hit the switch, entering the single track main. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 104633 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, March 8, 2014 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Palmer Lake Palmer Lake, CO 2114 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF Even when BNSF started buying exclusively from GE, they still had a fleet of nearly 800 SD70MACs that could be found on every coal train on the Joint Line. Then, over time, GE started moving in a bit with the ES44AC. For this EMD fan, it is great to catch a pair of SD70MACs on the point of a coal train every once in awhile! Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 104632 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, March 8, 2014 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Palmer Lake Palmer Lake, CO 2075 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF The sun has shifted to the western sky, offering up some great light on the S-Curve just south of Palmer Lake for this northbound. The temperature is 46 degrees Fahrenheit but somehow feels warmer! The pine tree to the right is threatening to encroach on this shot in the future. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 104631 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, March 8, 2014 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Palmer Lake Palmer Lake, CO 1873 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) Union Pacific At elevation just under 7,300 ft, there is still plenty of snow on the ground at Palmer Lake after a blizzard the night before! In addition to the snow, there is also some coal on the ground from a minor derailment. A UP crew has a "Form B" and red boards in place, allowing them to occupy the track between trains. The truck they are using is essentially a gigantic vacuum cleaner! Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 104621 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, March 8, 2014 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Palmer Lake Palmer Lake, CO 2158 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF With the explosion in oil lately, BNSF has been suffering from a bit of a power shortage. As a result, they have been leasing a lot of power as well as activating power that has been in storage. Such is the case with the Warbonnet-painted SD75Ms. To make space on the roster, BNSF has moved the units from their 8200-series numbers back to their ATSF-original 200-series numbers. As you can see, it has been done a bit hastily, too! Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 104620 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, March 8, 2014 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Palmer Lake Palmer Lake, CO 2197 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF At Palmer Lake, this southbound has left the double track behind. It is now on the UP-owned, BNSF-dispatched single main track. The single track runs for roughly 30 miles through Colorado Springs. At Crews (near Fountain, CO), double track starts again. There are only four sidings over this 30 mile stretch, so it can become something of a bottleneck for the dispatcher! Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 104619 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, March 8, 2014 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Palmer Lake Palmer Lake, CO 1958 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF We are at the "top of the hill" as this manifest makes its way around the west side of Palmer Lake. The shiny ES44C4 makes a fantastic contrast against the snow that fell the previous night. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 103344 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, March 28, 2010 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed MP 52 (Palmer Lake) Palmer Lake, CO 1754 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF This manifest was running right on the yellow blocks of the coal load ahead of it, so I didn't have enough time to get north of Palmer Lake and back into the light (note the house and hillside in the distance). Instead, I settled for this shot at the grade crossing at Palmer Lake. This is BNSF's daily Denver to Pueblo manifest. When I first saw it, I thought it was a baretable train as I only saw the empty well cars initially! Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 103342 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, March 28, 2010 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed MP 52 (Palmer Lake) Palmer Lake, CO 2099 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF A southbound coal load makes the final effort to get over the top of Palmer Divide, about 7,200 feet above sea level. Here, the double track ends and the single track CTC begins. The single track runs for 32 miles between Palmer Lake and Crews, and there are four sidings along the way to facilitate train meets. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 102340 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, September 6, 2008 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Palmer Lake (MP 52) Palmer Lake, CO 2064 (1 Comment Posted) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF A view of Palmer Lake that you don't typically see when view train pictures from the area! For awhile, I've wanted to climb the mountain to the west of the lake and see how the view looks. Well, here it is! Not too bad...of course BNSF had to have the last unit on this loaded southbound facing the wrong way! Note the head end of the train way off in the distance on the upper left side of the picture. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 102339 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, September 6, 2008 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Palmer Lake (MP 52) Palmer Lake, CO 2043 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF Three and a half hours after receiving its track warrant (while sitting in Rennicks Yard in Denver), this BNSF coal load is finally approaching the top of the hill at Palmer Lake. A classic Rio Grande signal (controlling southbound movement on Main Two) stands in the foreground. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 102337 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, September 6, 2008 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Palmer Lake (MP 52) Palmer Lake, CO 1766 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF At Palmer Lake, ABS and Track Warrants end, as do two tracks. This coal load is wrapping around the sound end of Palmer Lake on the single track (CTC) main. It is now 32 miles of single track (with four sidings) until double track starts again at Crews. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 102245 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, August 12, 2008 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Palmer Lake Palmer Lake, CO 2171 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF There is a lot of green to be found at the "top of the hill" at Palmer Lake along the Joint Line in Colorado. BNSF's Denver to Kansas City (HDENKCK) has an elephant-style lash-up (including a Warbonnet) as the train enter the single track CTC. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture.

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