As this coal loads continues to pull east onto the plains, the mountains slowly sink down into the horizon. This curve here is just a few miles west of the town of Watkins, CO.
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Cresting the hill! The east switch of Mesa is a fantastic place to get some telephoto shots of eastbounds. The snow-capped Rocky Mountains make a wonderful background as the power works hard to pull the train over the grade.
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A few miles west of UP's 36th Street Yard, a "rocket train" passes by one of the smaller yards used on the Limon Sub to spot cars set for industries. The rocket train has a fresh crew and is headed for the Greeley Sub, the Overland Route, and eventually, Clearfield, UT.
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This "rocket train" is headed west to Utah in order to get a new solid rocket booster for NASA. These ten cars are sufficient for transporting two boosters.
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Need a boost? This is a specially designed car used to transport the solid rocket boosters used by NASA on the space shuttle! The cars on this train are not loaded with boosters; they are returning to Utah to pick up a new load.
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How's this for an interesting looking car? The roll bars that have been welded to the car are used to determine clearance. This is part of the "rocket train", which is used to transports the solid rocket boosters used by NASA. This car ensures the train has the proper clearance.
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What kind of train is this you ask? It is a special train designed to carry the solid rocket boosters used by NASA on the space shuttle! The train came from Florida and is on its way to Clearfield, UT.
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Union Pacific runs a daily manifest between Denver and Salina, KS over the Limon Sub. This is the only regularly scheduled non-coal train that runs on the KP. Here, the westbound MSIDV is less than a mile away from UP's 36th Street Yard.
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Just outside of UP's 36th Street Yard, UP 844 and train use a bit of the Limon Subdivision to wye the train. This will allow the train to back through the yard and into Union Station.
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A military train on route from Yermo, CA to Fort Riley, KS heads east on the Limon Subdivision with an SD70ACe on the point. The crew on the train has been on since Speer, WY and is headed for Sable where a relief crew will take the train to Sharon Springs, KS.
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With light almost gone in the western sky, this unit pipe train is entering the siding at Mesa to clear up for an eastbound coal load. Even though the Limon Sub operates under track warrants, there is an ABS island at both ends of Mesa, allowing the dispatcher to throw the switch, saving the crew quite a bit of time.
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Light is fading quickly and the ISO on the camera is getting bumped up just as fast! This UP unit pipe train is being led by an all-BNSF consist. The BNSF units would ultimately be removed in Denver before the train continued west to Empire, CO on the Craig Branch.
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Just west of Bennett, a unit UP pipe train is led by a good looking BNSF SD75I Warbonnet. A bit of pink is still holding on to the north as this shot was taken during the same minute as the sunset. The train is moving along US-36 near track speed, around 45 MPH.
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Some of the recent rains are evident in a few pools on the ground as a unit pipe train rolls through Strasburg as the sun sets behind a large thundercloud.
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A Union Pacific unit pipe train is being led by an all-BNSF consist (an SD75I, and SD75M and an ES44AC). The 49 flat cars of pipe are being taken to Empire, CO where an underground gas line is being built. The train is approaching the Wagner Street overpass in Strasburg.
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