BNSF has a handful of blue CEFX AC4400CW leasers on the system. They seem to run primarily between the Powder River Basin and Texas. Which means we see a lot of them on the Joint Line in Colorado!
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Just south of Chatfield Reservoir is Acequia. The tracks diverge from US-85 along here, but the High Line Canal Trail follows the tracks, offering shots like this one. This southbound coal load has just started on the double track portion of the Joint Line and is in Run 8 for the trip to Palmer Lake.
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It took crews about 48 hours to cleanup, repair and reopen the tracks through the Littleton Trench after the derailment on January 17, 2009. A little over a week later, a coal load heads south on Main 3, leaving the trench behind. A couple sets of Herzog trains work on Main 1 in the distance.
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A UP work train consisting of gondolas (for debris), ballast and track panels heads south (as seen at the Broadway Light Rail station). The train will assist in the rebuilding of the tracks through the Littleton trench after the BNSF derailment about 36 hours earlier.
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Five of the derailed tank cars from BNSF's molten sulfur train are tied down just north of Evans Avenue in Englewood. The cars are pretty badly banged up!
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How many tractors can you count in this shot!? Note the clearly missing retaining wall on the right side of the picture. Going to be awhile before Light Rail service is restored!
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Debris is being dumped into the gondola on Main 3. If you look closely at Main 1, you can see a gap in the rail. I believe everything south of this gap will be ripped up and replaced with new track.
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A look south toward the derailment site. You can see where Main 2 has clearly been removed so work crews can cleanup the mess. Main 3 appears to be mostly intact. A bit of tamping and regulating will no doubt be necessary!
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The work train being used to haul away scrap (and replace track with track panels) sits on Main 3. Tractors run up and down Main 2 and Main 1, dumping debris into the gondola in the distance.
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Along the Littleton Light Rail station, debris consisting of broken concrete ties is being loaded into this tractor. The tractor will haul the ties away and dump them into one of the gondolas on the work train in the foreground.
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Some more loading going on. I'm not sure if the derailment took out the retaining wall (to this degree), or if it was damaged beyond repair and the crews ripped it down...
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I took this shot looking down on Main 2 and Main 3 just so you could not the debris scattered everywhere. Notice the broken wheel laying next the rail head of Main 3. For those curious, molten sulfur (which is what the derailed train was carrying) is used in producing sulfuric acid, matches, detergents, insecticides and a few other things.
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One tractor picks up debris from the retaining wall and load it into another. That tractor will then take the debris down to a work train (gondolas) and dump it in there to be hauled away.
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A look down into the trench where the derailment of the molten sulfur train occurred about 36 hours earlier. Molten sulfur isn't toxic, just a bit smelly and very hot! "Molten" sulfur is really just heated elemental sulfur. Over 200 degrees, sulfur becomes "molten". It is dark red in color and had a consistency similar to lava.
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This shot wasn't accessible the day before as Littleton's finest had the area blocked off. Note that Main 1 has been removed as well as the northbound track for Light Rail!
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