Amtrak Cascade's AIRO train set rolls by Carpenter Creek on Main 1, just north of "The Sag" on the Joint Line. The train is about four miles away from the top of Palmer Divide at Palmer Lake. The train set is headed for the Transportation Technology Center near Pueblo, CO for testing.
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AMTK 22 and AMTK 134 lead an Amtrak Special southbound on Main 1 on the Joint Line, passes by a small pond that is part of Carpenter Creek, just a few miles north of Palmer Lake. Amtrak running on the Joint Line is exceptionally rare. Indeed, I believe this is the first time I've ever shot Amtrak equipment on the Joint Line.
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Amtrak's P42DCs belch out a bit of exhaust as they throttle up to continue rolling south on Main 1 at Greenland. The train has been running on yellow (technically, flashing yellow, or Advance Approach) signals since just north of Larkspur, as the Amtrak special is following a southbound BNSF coal load.
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Amtrak Cascades AIRO train set crosses over the classic Santa Fe bridge on Main 1, just on the south edge of Larkspur. The bridge crosses over West Fox Farm Road (out of view below the shot), East Plum Creek, and Spruce Mountain Road.
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Amtrak's AIRO special crosses over the classic Santa Fe bridge on the south side of Larkspur on Main 1. Being summer, the sun is high and and the lighting is not great, but it is still pretty cool to see Amtrak equipment crossing the bridge. An extremely rare site to see, to be sure.
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Amtrak's AIRO special crosses over East Plum Creek on Main 1 of the Joint Line. A very rare site indeed, an Amtrak train set on the Joint Line. The AIRO train set, for Amtrak Cascades, is being taken to the Transportation Technology Center (TTC) near Pueblo.
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AMTK 22 and AMTK 134 heads south on Main 1 of the Joint Line, just south of Acequia. Unfortunately, a few traffic lights through Littleton hemmed me up long enough to prevent the shot I wanted to get...but this one isn't too bad with the Front Range visible in the background.
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Amtrak AIRO train set heads south on the Joint Line on Main 2, running alongside I-25. As you can probably infer from the pictures, I-25 is an extremely busy freeway. Indeed, it is the busiest freeway in the state of Colorado, with congestion throughout the Denver Metro area a regular fixture to the freeway on a daily basis.
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This is not something you see particularly often! A pair of Amtrak P42DCs leading an Amtrak Special train south on Main 1 by the siding of Hogan's Alley.
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Amtrak AIRO train set, a special that is going to head south on the Joint Line, is back up across the wye bridge toward BNSF's 31st Street Yard. The train will depart south on Main 2after it crosses over a few tracks.
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Most cabooses that you see these days are actually "shoving platforms", with their doors and windows bolted or welded closed. BNSF 999015, however, is still a legitimate caboose. It sports "BNSF HAZ MAT" on the side, and is currently assigned to the fire train based in Denver.
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BNSF 933014 is one of three special tank cars that contain (non potable) water. The tank cars are interconnected with hoses, and this third tank car is equipped with pumps that allows the water to be sprayed out. The hoses between cars allows all the water to flow between the three cars.
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The exact cause of the fire here alongside Big Lift (and further south) is not known for sure, but it seems fairly likely that a passing train was throwing up some sparks and accidentally start a few brush fires. Here, BNSF's fire train is working to make sure the flames are done.
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BNSF's fire train spent several minutes at this particular spot, spraying water. Not sure if there was a specific concern of fire flaring up here, or if there was some other reason for the focus.
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It is very fascinating to me how some brush fires can actually leave quite a bit of unburned foliage behind. That appears to be the case here, as BNSF's fire train sprays water along the right-of-way. Although there are clouds building up, there would not be any rain to offer relief from the heat today.
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