An interesting mix of power, not the least of which is a badly faded Warbonnet, sits near the depot in Longmont.
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The recent flooding wreaked havoc not only on the tracks, but on wayside equipment too, such as crossing signals. Here, a pair of BNSF workers (or, perhaps, contractors) wait to cross US-287 after working on the electronics in the crossing signal.
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BNSF is totally prepared for the task of getting the tracks ready for trains once again. Here, a tamper sits on the rails, ready to work on the ballast and verify the gauge of the track.
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A stretch of tracks probably a quarter of a mile long got rocked by flood waters in Longmont. The track was either completely washed out, or stuck and twisted within thick mud.
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A look at a stretch of track where the ties are merely dangling from the bottoms of the rails.
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The BNSF Front Range Sub is washed out and covered in thick mud here in Longmont where flood water destroyed a lot. You can see the trailer in the distance, fallen at an angle after the ground beneath partially washed away.
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A closeup look at the rail diving down in to the mud left behind from the flood. A lot of digging out will clearly be required to restore the tracks to service.
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A ballast regulator rests on a portion of the rails that are presently sticking out of the mud. You can see the earth sank a bit (or, perhaps more accurately, was washed away) here as the rails sink down a bit.
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The rails are almost difficult to find in this shot as they are largely buried and well-camouflaged in the still-very-wet mud.
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The tracks are nearly completely buried in the mud here in Longmont. You can clearly see some of the damage done to surrounding businesses too. The CAP trailer in the background collapsed (or rather, the ground beneath it). The garage door is also bent out and damaged.
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It is amazing how quickly crews work to get a rail line reopened. While there is still a long way to go, you can clearly see that crews have been working to reshape the fill - using mud - along the right-of-way here.
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The tracks have been uncovered and, for the most part, leveled out along this stretch. Ballast will be the next thing laid, followed by the process of tamping and regulating.
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The tracks twist, curve and dive in to the mud at the south end of the Longmont washout. It appeared that crews were starting more or less in the middle of the washout and working north and south from the center. Obviously, they hadn't yet reached this stretch of track.
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The BNSF Lyons Branch runs from the Front Range Sub in Longmont eight miles west to a cement plant in Lyons, CO. This branch only sees two or three trains per week, but it really suffered significant damage. Most estimates say at least three weeks before the line will be open again.
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Major washing out of the Lyons Branch can be see here right near milepost 39. For safety, a temporary fence has even been erected across the tracks.
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