Photo ID: 105380 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, July 21, 2015 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed The Sag (MP 50) Palmer Lake, CO 1775 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF Hard to believe that it has now been ten years since BNSF changed its name from "Burlington Northern Santa Fe" to simply "BNSF" and introduced the "New Image" scheme. In that same time period, a new GE model caught wild fire with BNSF management. That model, seen here on the point of this southbound manifest, is the ES44C4. As of this photo, it is unique to BNSF. The center axle on both trucks is not powered, making this an A1A-A1A unit. BNSF first started testing this model toward the beginning of 2009. Six year later, they have over 1,100 on the roster! Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 105379 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, July 21, 2015 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed The Sag (MP 50) Palmer Lake, CO 2018 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF A major summer thunderstorm passed through the area about an hour earlier. You can see the dark clouds now moving off to the east as a southbound BNSF manifest pulls through "The Sag" on Main 1, about two miles north of Palmer Lake. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 105378 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, July 21, 2015 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed The Sag (MP 50) Palmer Lake, CO 2222 (1 Comment Posted) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF This southbound BNSF manifest is just starting to pull south from "The Sag", about two miles north of Palmer Lake. While some coal trains stop here to cool off their traction motors after the climb from Denver, that was not the case with this train. No trains ran through Colorado Springs on this day due to a large maintenance window. This southbound had actually been tied down here for much of the day. The new crew is now on and is starting the pull toward Palmer Lake. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 104640 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, March 8, 2014 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Sedalia Sedalia, CO 2062 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF North Peterson Road winds lazily north along Main 2 just north of Sedalia. The far-busier highway US-85 is located off to the right, hidden by this northbound empty. When the train eventually returns to Colorado, it'll like have a pair of manned helpers added to the end to help up the climb to Palmer Lake. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 104639 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, March 8, 2014 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Sedalia Sedalia, CO 1892 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF A northbound rounds the curve on the west side of Sedalia, along the 3,200-foot-long Sedalia siding. The siding is too short to be of much use beyond the temporary storage of cars...as is the case on this afternoon. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 104638 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, March 8, 2014 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Sedalia Sedalia, CO 1879 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF About a month earlier, a northbound (empty) BNSF manifest derailed in Sedalia. All the cars remained upright, although the wheelset from one of the cars became dislodged and actually rolled down the main street in Sedalia and crashed in to the stone pillar at a gas station. Here, one of the tank cars involved in the derailment sits on the siding at Sedalia. If you look closely, you can see a dent in the end of the car (on the left side of the picture). Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 104637 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, March 8, 2014 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Upper Gulch Road Larkspur, CO 2000 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF On the north edge of Larkspur, Main 2 crosses underneath I-25. It turns out that this spot works very well for northbounds in the afternoon, once the sun has moved far enough to the west! Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 104636 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, March 8, 2014 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Upper Gulch Road Larkspur, CO 2131 (1 Comment Posted) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF This is a shot that I had eyed on my way south earlier in the day. I made a mental note that it might work well for northbounds in the afternoon once the sun was on the west side of the tracks. Since I wound up hanging out along the Joint Line into the afternoon, I decided to stop and try the shot out. I am quite pleased with the results! Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 104635 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, March 8, 2014 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Upper Gulch Road Larkspur, CO 1940 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF A northbound BNSF coal empty approaches the grade crossing at Upper Gulch Road in Larkspur. Due to the lighting, it is always easier to shoot southbounds on the Joint Line than northbounds. But I am glad I took the time to find some nice shots of northbounds as I think this angle worked well. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 104634 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, March 8, 2014 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed The Sag Spruce, CO 2008 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF This location, just north of Palmer Lake at Spruce, is where the Santa Fe once crossed over the Rio Grande. During World War 1, when the Federal Government took over the railroads, it was decided it would be more efficient to "combine" the two railroad lines into direction tracks between Denver and Pueblo. The crossovers were all removed and the two competing lines connection. The arrangement remains today as this BNSF coal empty crosses from BNSF-owned rails to UP-owned rails on Main 2. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 104633 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, March 8, 2014 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Palmer Lake Palmer Lake, CO 2042 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF Even when BNSF started buying exclusively from GE, they still had a fleet of nearly 800 SD70MACs that could be found on every coal train on the Joint Line. Then, over time, GE started moving in a bit with the ES44AC. For this EMD fan, it is great to catch a pair of SD70MACs on the point of a coal train every once in awhile! Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 104632 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, March 8, 2014 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Palmer Lake Palmer Lake, CO 2006 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF The sun has shifted to the western sky, offering up some great light on the S-Curve just south of Palmer Lake for this northbound. The temperature is 46 degrees Fahrenheit but somehow feels warmer! The pine tree to the right is threatening to encroach on this shot in the future. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 104631 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, March 8, 2014 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Palmer Lake Palmer Lake, CO 1813 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) Union Pacific At elevation just under 7,300 ft, there is still plenty of snow on the ground at Palmer Lake after a blizzard the night before! In addition to the snow, there is also some coal on the ground from a minor derailment. A UP crew has a "Form B" and red boards in place, allowing them to occupy the track between trains. The truck they are using is essentially a gigantic vacuum cleaner! Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 104630 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, March 8, 2014 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Winding Oaks Drive Colorado Springs, CO 2014 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF Tucked away at the north end of Colorado Springs is a very pleasant, quiet neighborhood. The serenity being disturbed briefly for the passing of a southbound coal train. Fortunately, since it is headed downgrade, it is in dynamics and thus not nearly as loud as it could otherwise be. On the other side of the train is the "New Santa Fe Hiking Trail", a public trail open to anyone that wishes to hike along it. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 104629 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, March 8, 2014 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Winding Oaks Drive Colorado Springs, CO 1825 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF This coal train is not too far south of the southern border to the grounds of the Air Force Academy. One of the sidings along the single track main, aptly named "Academy", is entirely located on the grounds of the Air Force Academy itself. I'm not sure if crews have to go through any headaches if they have to get to the siding for a crew change! Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture.

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