Photo ID: 108055 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, May 23, 2020 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed The Sag Spruce, CO 826 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF The valley leading to Palmer Lake looks fantastic and green as the end of May is approaching. Amidst the spring foliage is a southbound coal load, resting in the sag on Main 1, and a covered hopper grain train heading north on Main 2. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 108054 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, May 23, 2020 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Greenland Greenland, CO 764 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF If you are familiar with the Joint Line in Colorado, then its a good bet you'll recognize the red barn in Greenland! This view offers a slightly elevated perspective, including a southbound manifest waiting patiently at a red intermediate in the background on Main 1. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 108053 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, May 23, 2020 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Greenland Greenland, CO 856 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF BNSF 7926 leads a southbound manifest on the Main 1 of the Joint Line. The train is actually stopped at the moment, facing a red intermediate signal. There is a coal train stopped in the block ahead, giving this manifest nowhere to go. The train could proceed at restricted speed beyond the red intermediate, but it would then risk blocking the East Noe Road a few hundred feet ahead. So, here at the intermediate it shall wait. The coal train is waiting on two northbounds. The joys of having to deal with single track through Colorado Springs... Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 108052 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, May 23, 2020 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed North of Palmer Lake Douglas County, CO 744 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF This coal load is sitting stopped at an Approach (yellow) signal at MP 50.5 on Main 1. The dispatcher has some northbound trains aligned through the single track and on to Main 2 ahead at Palmer Lake. Coal trains will often sit at this signal when they know they cannot proceed beyond Palmer Lake. The train is straddling "the sag", which allows the traction motors on the units to cool after the long and hard climb up from Denver. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 108051 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, May 23, 2020 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed The Sag Spruce, CO 891 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF BNSF 9233 is making its way through "the sag" on Main 1 a few miles north of Palmer Lake. Over 100 years ago, tracks of competing railroads (Rio Grande and Santa Fe) crossed here. Specifically, Santa Fe crossed over Rio Grande. You can still clearly see the embankment from the old bridge. In World War 1, the US government took over the railroads and ordered Rio Grande and Santa Fe to connect their respective tracks and run the Joint Line as directional, with southbounds on Main 1 and northbounds on Main 2. A tradition that is largely still the case, although Main 1 now is CTC between Littleton and Palmer Lake. Main 2 still operates using Track Warrants and ABS. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 108050 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, May 23, 2020 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Spruce Spruce, CO 829 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF Not far north of Palmer Lake, and just north of "the sag", a southbound coal load passes by a sole ES44AC sitting in a stub track as a protection unit. Where this coal train to stall out getting over Palmer Lake, this unit would be called to the rescue. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 108049 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, May 23, 2020 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Spruce Spruce, CO 762 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF For several years now, BNSF has stored a "protection unit" in a short stub track off of Main 1 just north of "the sag" around Spruce. On occasion, a southbound coal load will stall out at the top of hill at Palmer Lake. If this happens, the unit can be retrieved and used to add some extra shoving power on the train. Prior to this, another unit would have to be borrowed from a following train. If there was no immediate following train, an engine might have to be called from Denver to come and save the day. On this particular day, the ES44AC would not be needed. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 108048 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, May 23, 2020 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Larkspur Larkspur, CO 839 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF As we continue to push toward the summer solstice, the longer days mean the sun stays on the north side of the bridge south of Larkspur for more of the day. Such is the case here as a southbound coal train crosses the bridge (and both West Fox Farm Road and Spruce Mountain Road) on its continued journey south. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 108047 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, May 23, 2020 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed North of Larkspur Douglas County, CO 879 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF A different perspective of a southbound at Skyview Lane, north of Larkspur. I-25 fairly closely parallels Main 1 between Castle Rock and Skyview Lane, whereas Main 2 is much farther to the east, and much harder to get pictures of! No northbounds at the moment, but you can see the rails of Main 2 in the foreground. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 108046 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, May 23, 2020 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed South of Castle Rock Douglas County, CO 785 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF From a slightly elevated perch, the rock from which the town of Castle Rock gets its name is clearly visible to the right. Construction on adding a new toll lane in both directions of I-25 continue to progress. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 108045 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, May 23, 2020 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed South of Castle Rock Douglas County, CO 770 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF The minor changes in grade are apparent on Main 1, south of Castle Rock. However, the predominate grade is still a step one, meaning the four units on this southbound coal load (two on the point, two on the rear) are all in Run 8 and working as hard as they can to keep the 124-car coal train rolling south. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 108044 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, May 23, 2020 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Sedalia Sedalia, CO 846 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF An SD70ACe leads a southbound coal around the bend on Main 1 toward downtown Sedalia. The town of Sedalia would be a grea one to live in as a railfan as downtown is sandwiched by the Joint Line. Main 1 on the south side of downtown and Main 2 on the north side. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 108043 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, May 23, 2020 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed North of Louviers Louviers, CO 779 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF On the northern edge of the town of Louviers, which is located between Littleton and Sedalia, a southbound BNSF coal load grinds its way south on Main 1 on a beautiful May morning. 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. Photo ID: 107949 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, December 31, 2019 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Palmer Lake Palmer Lake, CO 852 (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.

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