Photo ID: 109720 Date Shot Photo By Thursday, November 2, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Little Ten Curve (MP 18.7 to MP 18.9) Arvada, CO 207 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) BNSF 15 years ago, coal trains on the Moffat were ubiquitous and as common as leaves on a tree. However, today, they have become intermittent at best. Even more unusual is an empty westbound BNSF coal train. However, here one sits in the siding in the late morning on a somewhat windy Thursday. The train will be sitting for a few hours to wait for a maintenance window to close ahead in the Tunnel District. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109719 Date Shot Photo By Thursday, November 2, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Little Ten Curve (MP 18.7 to MP 18.9) Arvada, CO 143 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) BNSF A quartet of orange BNSF units are cut in half by a red Canadian Pacific putting in some power sharing miles on BNSF. The train is stopped on the siding at Rocky, waiting for a maintenance window ahead to clear up. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109718 Date Shot Photo By Thursday, November 2, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Little Ten Curve (MP 18.7 to MP 18.9) Arvada, CO 163 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) BNSF Five units lead a westbound BNSF coal empty, wrapped through the curves at Little Ten Curve near West Rocky. The train is currently stopped on the siding as there is maintenance ahead in the Tunnel District. The train will have to sit here for a few hours, waiting for the maintenance window to be over. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109666 Date Shot Photo By Thursday, October 19, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed CP DS025 (West Plain) Jefferson County, CO 160 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) BNSF A New Image SD70MAC makes a somewhat rare appears on the Moffat, together with the far-more-common SD70ACe that bring up the tail end of this eastbound Provo-Denver at the west switch of Plain. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109665 Date Shot Photo By Thursday, October 19, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Tunnel 2 (MP 25.4, 516 ft) Jefferson County, CO 170 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) BNSF BNSF 5781 pops out of Tunnel 2 while the rest of the train is still within Tunnel 2...and Tunnel 3...and Tunnel 4! Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109664 Date Shot Photo By Thursday, October 19, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Tunnel 4 (MP 26.0, 174 ft) Jefferson County, CO 175 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) BNSF An eastbound BNSF Provo-Denver emerges from the east portal of Tunnel 4. The train is setup in a typical (for BNSF) 3x2 configuration. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109651 Date Shot Photo By Wednesday, October 18, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Rocky (7,330ft) Arvada, CO 160 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) BNSF An eastbound BNSF manifest sits in the siding, tied down at Rocky. It arrived a few hours earlier and is currently waiting for a relief crew to take it the rest of the way in to Denver. The view is out the pilot's window of a Cessna 172R. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109650 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, October 15, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Castle Rock Castle Rock, CO 182 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF At first glance, this might appear to be a southbound on Main 2 on the Joint Line, just south of Castle Rock. However, it is in fact a northbound that has three DPUs on the tail end. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109649 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, October 15, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Castle Rock Castle Rock, CO 150 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF BNSF 9798 still sports the "green and cream" paint scheme that Burlington Northern adopted in the early 1990s, shortly before the BNSF merger. If you look at the nose, you'll see a slight discoloration. This is where the "BN" herald was once located. After the merger, it was covered up. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109648 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, October 15, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Castle Rock Castle Rock, CO 148 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF Northbounds are stacking up on the Joint Line at Castle Rock! The crew on this military train "died" (not literally...they reached 12 hours on the clock and can no longer operate their train) at 12:30pm. 2 1/2 hours later and there is no relief crew on the horizon just yet. The BNSF coal empty is stuck, and four additional trains further south also have nowhere to go until the military train can start rolling again. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109647 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, October 15, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Castle Rock Castle Rock, CO 172 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF A northbound BNSF coal empty has stopped 200 feet from the back of a northbound military train on Main 2 alongside the Plum Creek golf course in Castle Rock. Unfortunately, the UP crew on the military train reached their hours of service at 12:30pm, forcing them to stop their train. They are legally prohibited from operating it any further. Another crew will not show for a few hours, bringing northbound traffic on the Joint Line to a complete hault. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109646 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, October 15, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed South of Castle Rock Douglas County, CO 137 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF For two decades, SD70MACs ruled coal trains on the Joint Line. Now in 2023, they have largely been replaced by SD70ACes and ES44ACs. However, it is still great to catch one now and then. Such is the case with BNSF 8948, the second unit on the head end of this southbound coal load. It is still sporting an aging Heritage 2 paint scheme. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109645 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, October 15, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed CP 363 Castle Rock, CO 208 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF BNSF 8561 splits the signals at the control point at CP 363. A few years ago, BNSF installed CTC on Main 1 between Littleton and Palmer Lake. Two "hold" signals were installed on Main 1. These are absolutely (dispatcher-controlled) signals. They allow for track and time to be given to MOW while trains from the north can still approach. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109644 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, October 15, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed South of Castle Rock Castle Rock, CO 149 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF BNSF coal trains are, by far, the most dominating type of train you'll find running on the Joint Line. These trains originate in the Powder River Basin in Wyoming and are destined for power plants in the south. The approaching train is no exception as it parallels the I-25 frontage road and I-25 itself, just south of Castle Rock, which is visible in the distance. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109643 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, October 15, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Palmer Lake Palmer Lake, CO 143 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF Three units bring up the end of this southbound coal load, which is now on the single track main at Palmer Lake. The train is sadly less than two hours away from disaster. Right around 3:30pm, the train will derail when crossing I-25 just south of Bragdon. No injuries to the crew, but sadly, a semitruck driver caught up in the derailment beneath the bridge will parish. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture.

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