Photo ID: 107939 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, December 31, 2019 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed North of Sedalia Sedalia, CO 926 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF Just north of Sedalia, a southbound BNSF coal load makes its way south on Main 1 of the Joint Line. Main 1 is now entirely CTC and is dispatched by BNSF. Main 2 is still ABS with track warrants and is dispatched by UP. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 107940 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, December 31, 2019 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Castle Rock Castle Rock, CO 975 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF On the north edge of Castle Rock, a pair of SD70ACes lead a southbound coal load on Main 1 along the seldom-used siding of Orsa. The train is approaches the relatively new North Meadows Drive underpass and will also pass by Castle View High School. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 107941 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, December 31, 2019 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Castle Rock Castle Rock, CO 848 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF The SD70ACe was a pretty large success for EMD, at least up through the Tier 3 model. The Tier 4 model, known as the SD70ACe-T4, has not yet found much success. UP ordered 100 units, but those have largely been kept in storage so far, allegedly due to some technical difficulties. These BNSF SD70ACes are leading a southbound coal load in Castle Rock. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 107942 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, December 31, 2019 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed South of Castle Rock Castle Rock, CO 973 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF Just south of Castle Rock (visible near the top left corner of the shot), a southbound BNSF coal load rumbles slowly along on Main 1, parallel to I-25. The Colorado Department of Transportation is undergoing a major project to add toll lanes to I-25 between Castle Rock and Monument. Main 2, currently unoccupied, is visible in the distance toward the top right of the shot. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 107943 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, December 31, 2019 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed South of Castle Rock Castle Rock, CO 893 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF An AC4400CW and an ES44AC bring up the tail end of this southbound coal load rolling along at about 15 MPH on Main 1. The train is climbing toward the top of the hill at Palmer Lake, and all four units on the train are in Run 8. In the distance, you can see one of Colorado's "14ers", Pikes Peak. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 107944 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, December 31, 2019 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed North of Larkspur Douglas County, CO 979 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF You could not ask for better lighting for this southbound coal train as it approaches the Sky View Lane grade crossing just a few miles north of Larkspur. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 107945 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, December 31, 2019 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Larkspur Larkspur, CO 909 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF Long have I wanted to be able to get a good vantage point of the old Santa Fe bridge on Main 1 on the south edge of Larkspur. Thanks to the advent of drone photography, it was finally possible on New Year's Eve 2019! A pair of BNSF SD70ACes lead a coal train south across the impressive bridge. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 107946 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, December 31, 2019 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Larkspur Larkspur, CO 939 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF A slightly different perspective on a classic bridge on the Joint Line. This old Santa Fe bridge spans both West Fox Farm Road (closer) and Spruce Mountain Road (further) on the south edge of Larkspur. These two units are the tail end DPUs bringing up the back of this southbound coal train in wonderful afternoon light. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 107947 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, December 31, 2019 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed North of Palmer Lake Douglas County, CO 865 (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: 107948 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, December 31, 2019 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Palmer Lake Palmer Lake, CO 945 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF A slightly different perspective from Palmer Lake! A southbound coal load starts to pick up a little speed as it comes over the top of the hill. Decades ago, when there were still two tracks through Colorado Springs (Rio Grande and Santa Fe), the Santa Fe main (Main 2) would have been visible toward the top right of the picture, on the opposite side of the lake. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 107949 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, December 31, 2019 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Palmer Lake Palmer Lake, CO 849 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF A timeless, classic shot of a southbound coming around the south edge of Palmer Lake on the single track. For the 108 miles of the Joint Line between Denver and Bragdon, roughly 76 miles has 2+ main tracks. However, the roughly 32 miles through Colorado Springs only has a single track with four sidings. The single track is frequently something of a bottleneck for trains. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 107950 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, December 31, 2019 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Palmer Lake Palmer Lake, CO 879 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF A pair of DPUs bring up the tail end of this southbound coal load, which is now in dynamic braking mode as the train is descending downhill. The head end of the train is not far off from the first of the four sidings the train will pass by on the single track, Monument. The three others beyond Monument are Academy, Colorado Springs, and Kelker. The last, Kelker, is generally not too useful for meets as it is too short to accommodate most of the trains on the Joint Line. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture.