This southbound coal load on Main One crosses over Iowa Avenue just south of Denver along Santa Fe Drive (US-85). The train has just entered the triple track main that will take the train down to Littleton where it will enter track warrant territory for the trip to points south.
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To make sure the Governor's Special made the best time possible, the train was run south on Main 2 between Littleton and Palmer Lake. The train was making great time just south of Castle Rock as it was about to pass underneath Plum Creek Parkway.
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Just a few miles out of Union Station, UP 4898 leads the Governor's Special south on Main 1 near 8th Avenue. In the distance, the observation tower at Elitch Gardens stands high in the sky line.
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As the sun gets very low in the western sky, UP 1989 and the MPUNY-06 head north at track speed near Tomah Road. The train would arrive at North Yard about an hour later, nearly 24 hours after departing the yard in Pueblo. High traffic volumes were the cause of the delay. The single track through Colorado Springs is a huge bottle neck on the Joint Line.
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Normally, UP 1989 would make the run from Pueblo to Denver in the pitch black. The manifest usually passes through the community of Palmer Lake sometime between 1:00am and 2:00am. High levels of traffic delayed the train enough the prior day that it passed through Palmer Lake in daylight on this particular Sunday.
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UP 1989 wraps around the snowy south end of Palmer Lake on its way north. The train departed Pueblo (about 65 miles south) the previous night at 7:30pm. High levels of train traffic on the Joint resulted in the train being tied down on the siding at Kelker until 1:30pm the next day (the day this picture was shot). At the time of the picture, it was about 4:00pm.
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UP 1989 and two SD70M's lead a whole whopping 11 cars on the MPUNY-06 just north of Colorado Springs siding. The train is approaching the underpass at Fillmore Street. Cheyenne mountain is clearly visible in the background.
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Two southbound coal loads (one stopped, one passing) have high-class lofts as a back drop at 20th Street. The train on the right has two ES44AC's on the point. The train on the left (tied down in the Lodo Siding) has two ES44AC's DPU's on the back. All four units wear the latest BNSF scheme.
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UP 1358 (ex-DRGW 3105) is the currented slated for switch duties in Colorado Springs. On the weekends, you can reliably find the Springs switcher parked near the depot waiting for action the following week.
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This 64 car manifest is on the final approach to the top of the hill at Palmer Lake. The second generation power makes this picture appear as though it could have been taken twenty years ago - save for the paint schemes, of course.
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Just miles north of Palmer Lake, the southbound HDENKCK-07 powered by two green and white SD40-2's, a Heritage I SD40-2, and an MRL SD40 heads south in "the sag".
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About two miles north of Palmer Lake, The southbound HDENKCK-07 decends through the curves into "the sag". Prior to the Joint Line being operated as the Joint Line (before World War I), the Rio Grande main and the Santa Fe main crossed over one another at this location. Now, ownership of the tracks change, but the tracks no longer switch sides.
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BNSF 6816 leads the HDENKCK-07 south across the old Santa Fe bridge just south of Larkspur. With four SD40's (three being Daah 2's) for power, the 64 car train is moving along at about 18 MPH.
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Just north of Larkspur, CO along the I-25 frontage road, the southbound HDENKCK-07 is powered by four SD40/SD40-2's. The tank cars on the front of the train are all filled to the brim with beer which came out of Coors Brewing in Golden, CO.
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The town of Castle Rock is preparing to widen I-25 through the town from four lanes (two each way) to six lanes. It has been rumored that one of the results of the project may be the relcation of the southbound main through a portion of the town. This nice curve (south west of the town itself) may not be there with the completion of the highway project!
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