Photo ID: 114238 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, August 15, 2026 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Reno Junction Campbell County, WY 16 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Orin (BNSF) Union Pacific After several hours of overcast and rainy conditions, the storms have moved east and the sun is shining on a beautiful scene here at Reno Junction. The UP empty is headed toward the Belle Ayr Mine. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 114239 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, August 15, 2026 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Crossover 42.1 to Crossover 33.0 Campbell County, WY 15 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Orin (BNSF) Union Pacific West of Reno Junction, a UP coal empty is on Main 2 and headed for the Belle Ayr mine at MP 16.4. It is one of the mines further north on the Orin Sub. It is worth mentioning that while BNSF can access the Orin Sub from the North and South end of the 127-mile sub, UP only accesses from the south end. So all westbound (geographic north) UP coal trains are empty, and all eastbound (geographic south) UP coal trains are loaded. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 114240 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, August 15, 2026 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Antelope Mine Converse County, WY 18 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Orin (BNSF) Montana Rail Link, BNSF I came across a second MRL SD70ACe for the day, this one the rear DPU on a coal empty that is waiting to load at the Antelope Mine. Since MRL SD70ACes do not have PTC installed, they likely will not lead any trains again on BNSF until they are repainted BNSF orange (and have PTC installed). Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 114241 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, August 15, 2026 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Antelope Mine Converse County, WY 19 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Orin (BNSF) BNSF Two empty coal trains are waiting to head to the load out at Antelope Mine as one train comes out, currently still in the process of loading and moving along at about 2 MPH. Another load is waiting for a crew to take it eastbound over Logan Hill. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 114242 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, August 15, 2026 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Nacco Wye Junction Converse County, WY 13 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Orin (BNSF) BNSF A pair of fairly new ES44AC Tier-4 credit units lead a westbound coal train on Main 2 through Nacco Wye Junction. This Junction leads to North Antelope Mine, owned by Peabody Energy. It is consistently the mine that produces the most coal on an annual basis in the Powder River Basin. In 2025, it produced roughly 59 million short tons of coal. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 114243 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, August 15, 2026 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Logan Hill Converse County, WY 16 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Orin (BNSF) BNSF As we getting closer to the end of the day, we find BNSF 8463 slowly making its way up the 1% grade of Logan Hill on Main 3. The empty hoppers you see on Main 4 are just in storage. Construction on Main 4, which is roughly 20 miles long, was started in 2006 and completed in 2008. The fourth main was a $100 million investment by both UP and BNSF. Coal output was so great at that point that the fourth main was justified due to the grade on Logan Hill and the slow moving loads. However, with the substantial decrease in coal demand, three mains is sufficient for Logan Hill, and Main 4 has been used to store multiple coal train sets for over a decade now. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 114244 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, August 15, 2026 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Logan Hill Converse County, WY 14 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Orin (BNSF) BNSF While coal is certainly the main industry in the Powder River Basin, there is some oil (or natural gas) in the area too, so you will see some wells in operation, such as the few in the background here. A single DPU helps this 125 car coal train up and over the 1% grade of Logan Hill. A decade ago, all coal trains has 2x2 power in the basin. However, probably thanks to Precision Scheduled Railroading, many now run 2x1. They occasionally stall on Logan Hill and need manned helpers to get over the top. Fortunately, that was not the case with this one. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 114245 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, August 15, 2026 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Logan Hill Converse County, WY 16 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Orin (BNSF) BNSF With Logan Hill now conquered, this eastbound coal load descends the 1% grade on Main 3. Intermediate signals on Mains 1 and 2 both show Approach indications, likely meaning nothing is currently aligned in either direction on those mains. Off in the distance, you can see another of the many full train sets currently being stored on Main 4. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture.

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