Photo ID: 108377 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, July 19, 2020 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed CP DS003 (Utah Junction) Denver, CO 909 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak At the beginning of its journey west of Denver, the daily California Zephyr passes underneath the sole-remaining Rio Grande era signal bridge at the west (geographic north) end of North Yard. The train is on the main, running alongside the North Yard siding and the yard lead. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 108378 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, July 19, 2020 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed CP DS004 (Pecos X-Over) Denver, CO 842 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Amtrak As the head end of the morning westbound Zephyr knocks down an approach signal at Pecos Crossover, the tail end of the Zephyr just passed by the old water tower, still standing near Utah Junction. To the right, the MNYNP sits on Bypass 2, waiting to come in to the yard. A blade train from Vestas is also waiting for new power to head south on the Joint Line to Texas. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 108379 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, July 19, 2020 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed CP DS004 (Pecos X-Over) Denver, CO 657 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) Union Pacific It is not always apparent from the ground, but the blades for wind turbines have a pretty significant curve to them! Each blade actually spans two flat cars. From top to bottom, the tracks here are the North Yard Siding, Main 3, Bypass 2, and Bypass 1. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 108380 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, July 19, 2020 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Walnut Street Denver, CO 975 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) Union Pacific It is pretty rare these days to catch a UP train on the Joint Line. Other than the almost-daily MNYPU and MPUNY manifest trains that run between North Yard and Pueblo, there isn't usually much Armour Yellow to be found. The MNYPU and MPUNY typically run overnight. However, I got a tip that a loaded coal train was making a daytime appearance! So, we start here at Walnut Street in Denver as the train approaches a clear signal at Walnut Street on Main 1. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 108381 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, July 19, 2020 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Walnut Street Denver, CO 940 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) Union Pacific The home of the Denver Broncos is now Empower Field at Mile High, a name it has had for just over a year. The stadium has gone through multiple names since opening in 2001. It started as Invesco Field at Mile High. Ten years later, in 2011, the named changed to Sports Authority Field at Mile High. When Sports Authority went bankrupt, the name ended up changing to Broncos Field at Mile High for about 18 months prior to Empower taking the naming rights. In the foreground, a pair of mid-train swing helpers shove on a southbound UP coal load as an RTD Light Rail W-Line train heads for Union Station. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 108382 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, July 19, 2020 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed North of Walnut Street Denver, CO 928 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF, Union Pacific A single BNSF ES44DC brings up the tail end of this southbound UP coal load as the train passes by the last bit of Elitch Gardens. Due to Denver's climate, the amusement park is only open on a seasonable basis. Alas, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the park remains closed over halfway through July with no open date in sight. The white roller coaster is known as the Mister Twister 2. A classic wood-built roller coaster. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 108383 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, July 19, 2020 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Big Lift Douglas County, CO 1057 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) Union Pacific A southbound UP coal load on Main 1 grinds past Big Lift a few miles south of Littleton. Big Lift was originally built by Santa Fe to server as an intermodal facility. The intermodal trains ran between Denver (well, here at Big Lift) and La Junta, CO and vice versa starting in the late 1980s. The intermodal trains did not last, and the facility has been repurposed as an auto facility for BNSF. If you buy a car in the Denver-Metro area, there is a chance your car arrived via train and Big Lift! Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 108384 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, July 19, 2020 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed North of Sedalia Douglas County, CO 1037 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) Union Pacific In between Louviers and Sedalia, UP 8837 and UP 7221 have this southbound coal load moving along well. The train is set up in a 2x2x1 configuration, actually giving it more horsepower than BNSF coal load on the Joint Line, which run 2x0x2. The extra unit makes a significant difference, and the train is making 20 MPH whereas BNSF trains are usually limited to 12-15 MPH. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 108385 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, July 19, 2020 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed South of Sedalia Douglas County, CO 1022 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) Union Pacific Even if you are familiar with the Joint Line, the location of this spot may not immediately jump out at you! This bridge at MP 26.5 is a bit secluded and hard to see from US-85. The bridge crosses over East Plumb Creek and a pair of UP units bring a loaded coal train across the bridge. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 108386 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, July 19, 2020 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed North of Larkspur Douglas County, CO 968 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF As storms start to build in the late morning, a northbound BNSF "blade train" clips along at track speed on Main 2 in between Larkspur and Castle Rock. While I knew a northbound was coming, the blade train was unexpected and a welcome surprise rather than the typical coal empty. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 108387 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, July 19, 2020 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed South of Castle Rock Douglas County, CO 802 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF A long line of wind generator blades snake their way north on this unit blade train, heading north on Main 2 on the east side of I-25. If you look very closely in the distance near the top-right part of the frame, you may notice the headlight of a southbound UP coal train coming this was on Main 1. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 108388 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, July 19, 2020 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed South of Castle Rock Douglas County, CO 901 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) Union Pacific After a brief stop at the Hold Signal at MP 36.3 for a reason that I did not hear, this southbound UP coal load is on the move again on Main 1, parallel both I-25 and the I-25 frontage road. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 108389 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, July 19, 2020 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Larkspur Larkspur, CO 1015 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) Union Pacific Crossing on the of the more iconic bridges on the Joint Line, UP 8837 is making about 20 MPH as it continues the climb up toward Palmer Lake. This part of the Joint Line was, of course, once owned by Santa Fe. The slightly better track alignment was Rio Grande, now Main 2, further back in the distance, following along East Plumb Creek. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 108390 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, July 19, 2020 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed South of Greenland Greenland, CO 865 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) Union Pacific Some rain is coming down a few miles to the northeast as a UP coal load makes its way south out of Greenland on Main 1. The train is just a few miles away from the "top of the hill" at Palmer Lake. Once it crests the divide at about 7,300 feet, it will enter dynamic braking mode for the decent toward Pueblo. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 108391 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, July 19, 2020 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed The Sag Douglas County, CO 845 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF As UP 8837 comes up to "The Sag" on Main 1, it passes by BNSF's protection unit. BNSF only has four units on their coal trains there here, set up 2x0x2. That is the bare minimum for a 120-car coal train going over Palmer Divide. In the event that one of the four units fails, BNSF keeps this unit here for easy retrieval to rescue any such stalled coal load. Before they started keeping a unit here, they had to call one out of Denver, or steal one off of another train. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture.

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