Photo ID: 108388 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, July 19, 2020 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed South of Castle Rock Douglas County, CO 905 (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: 108387 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, July 19, 2020 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed South of Castle Rock Douglas County, CO 804 (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: 108386 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, July 19, 2020 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed North of Larkspur Douglas County, CO 972 (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: 108385 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, July 19, 2020 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed South of Sedalia Douglas County, CO 1027 (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: 108384 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, July 19, 2020 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed North of Sedalia Douglas County, CO 1044 (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: 108383 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, July 19, 2020 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Big Lift Douglas County, CO 1064 (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: 108382 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, July 19, 2020 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed North of Walnut Street Denver, CO 933 (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: 108381 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, July 19, 2020 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Walnut Street Denver, CO 943 (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: 108380 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, July 19, 2020 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Walnut Street Denver, CO 979 (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: 108064 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, May 23, 2020 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed South of Littleton Highlands Ranch, CO 973 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF A pair of GEs shoves hard on the tail end of a southbound coal load on Main 1. The train is crossing over CO-85 not far south of the end of triple track at Littleton. For decades, Main 1 here had been dispatched by Rio Grande and then Union Pacific and Main 2 here had been dispatched by Santa Fe and then BNSF. That all changed 18 months ago when the railroads swapped duties. BNSF now dispatches Main 1 - which also happens to be CTC now - and UP now dispatches Main 2 - which is still operated using Track Warrants and ABS. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 108063 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, May 23, 2020 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed South of Littleton Highlands Ranch, CO 889 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF A southbound coal train is about to hit the start of the grade on its climb to the top of Palmer Divide at Palmer Lake. Northbounds, going down hill, make the trip in about an hour. Southbound loads often can take anywhere from 1-4 hours to make the climb! The train is crossing C-470 just south of the end of triple track at Littleton. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 108062 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, May 23, 2020 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed South of Littleton Highlands Ranch, CO 956 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF, Kansas City Southern The area around Santa Fe Drive (US-85) and C-470 has become quite the busy, urban scene in recent years. CDOT is working on adding a toll lane to C-470. The Joint Line - both Mains 1 and 2 - cross over C-470. An on-ramp from southbound Santa Fe to eastbound C-470 now crosses over the mains. A coal empty glides by on Main 2, approaching the CTC limits of the triple main track at Littleton. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 108061 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, May 23, 2020 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Sedalia Sedalia, CO 942 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF, Kansas City Southern Much to my delight, a Kansas City Southern ES44AC was bringing up the rear of this coal empty at Sedalia under cloudy skies. The unit was also facing the "right way" for a nice shot. Main 1 currently sits empty in the foreground, waiting for the next southbound to come grinding through south. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 108060 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, May 23, 2020 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Sedalia Sedalia, CO 795 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF If you've ever traveled on Hwy 85 around Sedalia, then you know you can pretty easily see Main 2 from the highway. However, you cannot see the rails for Main 1. That is because they are slightly lower than Main 2, hiding them from the highway. This is a location where Rio Grande and Santa Fe once crossed paths via a grade separation. Today, it is one of only two places between Littleton and Palmer Lake (the other being Big Lift) where there is a means of crossing over between the two mains. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 108059 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, May 23, 2020 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed North of Larkspur Douglas County, CO 821 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF Main 2 north of Larkspur moves along the base of some lush hills, across the way from I-25 and Main 1. There is no real great way to access Main 2 from the ground, but I always though there could be a great shot of it if it could be accessed. Fortunately, modern technology finally made that possible as this elephant-style coal empty makes its way north. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture.

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