Photo ID: 114308 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, August 16, 2026 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Jireh to Lost Springs Converse County, WY 75 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Powder River (UP) Union Pacific Once coal loads reach Bridger Junction at the south end of the Orin Sub, BNSF trains head for the Canyon Sub and UP trains head for the Powder River Sub. That is where the joint operation ends. Here on the Powder River Sub, east of Lost Springs, you'll only find UP trains, such as this eastbound load. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 114307 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, August 16, 2026 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Jireh to Lost Springs Converse County, WY 64 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Powder River (UP) Union Pacific UP 6254 is working up the grade of Myles Hill on UP's Powder River Sub, east of Shawnee. The train is headed for Nebraska, and then points beyond (likely Missouri). Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 114306 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, August 16, 2026 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Jireh to Lost Springs Converse County, WY 79 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Powder River (UP) Union Pacific At the height of the coal in the mid-2000s, UP added roughly 15 miles of triple track over Myles Hill on the Powder River Sub. With the drop off in coal, UP decided the maintenance costs of the third main no longer made sense, and in 2024, UP started lifting the rails on Main 1. As you can see in this overhead shot, the rails are completely gone from Main 1. The only stretch of Main 1 that is still in tact is between Lost Springs and Shawnee, and that section of Main 1 is being used for car storage. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 114305 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, August 16, 2026 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Jireh to Lost Springs Converse County, WY 72 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Powder River (UP) Union Pacific An intermediate signal at MP 255.8 on Main 3 shows an Advanced Approach (flashing yellow), which will soon promote to a green signal for an approaching eastbound coal load. You might notice something a little odd about Main 1 to the left. UP is actively in the process of removing the track! The rails have already been pulled up, and the ties will likely be coming soon. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 114304 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, August 16, 2026 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Crossover 110.6 to Crossover 95.5 Converse County, WY 74 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Orin (BNSF) Union Pacific The last shot I would take on the Orin Sub on this particular trip to the Powder River Basin. A westbound (geographic northbound) empty that is headed for the mines on Main 2. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 114303 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, August 16, 2026 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Crossover 110.6 to Crossover 95.5 Converse County, WY 77 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Orin (BNSF) Union Pacific This westbound UP coal empty had been running on Main 1, but it had to briefly stop at Crossover 110.6, visible in the distance. It met an eastbound load, and the Orin Sub dispatcher crossed it over from Main 1 to Main 2. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 114301 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, August 16, 2026 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Crossover 110.6 to Crossover 95.5 Converse County, WY 81 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Orin (BNSF) Union Pacific A track regulator sits in a house track off of Main 3 as UP 6254 leads a coal load east on Main 2. The train is about to pass under Flat Top Road, just about 15 miles from the south end of the sub. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 114300 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, August 16, 2026 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Crossover 110.6 to Crossover 95.5 Converse County, WY 83 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Orin (BNSF) Union Pacific While Logan Hill is the steepest part of the Orin Sub (1% ruling grade), there are some other hills that coal trains do have to conquer. After making it over one such hill, this eastbound UP coal load is starting to pick up some speed. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 114299 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, August 16, 2026 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Crossover 95.5 Converse County, WY 74 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Orin (BNSF) Union Pacific Just south of Crossover 95.5, this eastbound UP coal load crosses over Highland Loop Road on Main 2 under partly cloudy skies. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 114298 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, August 16, 2026 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Crossover 95.5 Converse County, WY 82 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Orin (BNSF) Union Pacific BNSF's Orin Sub dispatcher, located in Fort Worth, TX, crossed over from Main 1 to Main 2 at Crossover 91.0. It is now passing through Crossover 95.5 on it way east (geographically south) out of the Powder River Basin. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 114293 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, August 16, 2026 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed West Bill Converse County, WY 67 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Orin (BNSF) Union Pacific Under partly cloudy skies, a loaded eastbound coal train is rolling along on Main 1 on the west edge of Bill. The train will not need a crew change at Bill, and will continue the remaining 40-ish miles out of the Orin Sub. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 114292 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, August 16, 2026 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed West Bill Converse County, WY 71 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Orin (BNSF) Union Pacific Here at the crossover at West Bill, an eastbound UP coal load is passing through on Main 1. It is here at West Bill that Main 4 starts for the 20 mile trip over Logan Hill. You can see hoppers tied down on Main 4 in the distance, in storage. The fourth track (left side, in the foreground) is the lead to the UP holding yard at Bill. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 114291 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, August 16, 2026 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed West Bill to Crossover 74.0 Converse County, WY 82 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Orin (BNSF) Union Pacific UP 6254 passes underneath WY-59 on its way east (geographically south) on Main 1. The crew on this train was at the Travelodge in Bill, WY last night. Today, they were taken to the mine and got on this train. As a result, the train will pass right by Bill and continue out of the Basin. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 114290 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, August 16, 2026 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed West Bill to Crossover 74.0 Converse County, WY 69 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Orin (BNSF) Union Pacific As an eastbound UP coal load approaches on Main 1, descending from Logan Hill, let's talk a bit about coal production in the Powder River Basin. UP and BNSF invested $100 million between 2006 and 2008 to add a fourth main track over Logan Hill. 2008 holds the record for high point of coal production, with roughly 496 million short tons of coal taken out of the basin. That translated to somewhere around 100 trains per 24 hours. With the reduction in demand for coal, output has steadily been decreasing. In 2024, roughly 191 million short tons were taken out. That comes out to about 36 trains per 24 hours. It is no wonder that Main 4 is now being used for storage of cars! Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 114288 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, August 16, 2026 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Black Thunder Mine Campbell County, WY 72 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Orin (BNSF) Union Pacific An ET44AC and an SD70ACe bring up the the rear of a Union Pacific coal train that is waiting for its turn to load at the Black Thunder Mine. Union Pacific has 170 ET44ACs on the roster, so it is cool to see one show up every so often. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture.

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