Photo ID: 109918 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, December 17, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed North of Monument Monument, CO 183 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF Not too far north of Monument, a southbound BNSF manifest is on the move on the single track mainline. Directional running (on two tracks) ended at Palmer Lake, and it is single track running (with a few sidings) between Palmer Lake and Crews, south of Colorado Springs. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109917 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, December 17, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed The Sag Douglas County, CO 138 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF Just north of Palmer Lake is a location now known as "The Sag". Over 100 years ago, Santa Fe's mainline crossed over Rio Grande's mainline right here. You can clearly see the abutment from the bridge that has long since been removed. When the Joint Line was formed, the tracks of the Grande the Santa Fe were connected in places where the mainlines previously crossed each other. Here, the ownership of the track changes right here from BNSF to UP as the train moves south. Regardless of ownership, BNSF dispatches the track, which has been CTC for the past few years. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109916 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, December 17, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Spruce Douglas County, CO 128 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF A southbound BNSF manifest on Main 1 is about to pass an SD70ACe that BNSF keeps on a sub track at Spruce, just north of Palmer Lake. The unit can be used as a helper for any southbound that needs it on the climb to Palmer Lake. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109915 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, December 17, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Greenland Douglas County, CO 130 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF In the past decade or so, it has become far more common to find certain trains that have a mix of general manifest (box cars, covered hoppers, lumber, etc) along with intermodal. BNSF's QSPOALT, which runs from Spokane, WA to Alliance, TX, is an example of such a train. The front half of the train is general manifest, but the second half is mixed TOFC and COFC. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109914 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, December 17, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Larkspur Larkspur, CO 212 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF BNSF 4992 and BNSF 8247 lead southbound over the classic Santa Fe bridge on the south side of Larkspur. The train is BNSF's Spokane, WA to Alliance, TX Q-train. Notes quite a few loads of lumber from the Pacific Northwest. The second half of the train is TOFC and COFC intermodal. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109913 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, December 17, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed South of Castle Rock Douglas County, CO 129 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF A C44-9W in Heritage 2 paint leads a southbound Q-train (which happens to be a mixed freight and intermodal combined) runs south parallel to I-25 south of Castle Rock. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109912 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, December 17, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Sedalia Sedalia, CO 167 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF Sedalia is an unincorporated town along the Joint Line between Littleton and Castle Rock. As of the 2020 census, there were 177 residents in the town. Much of the town, including the "downtown" area, is actually located between Main 1 and Main 2 on the Joint Line. When there is a northbound and southbound passing through town simultaneously, the center part of town is cutoff (by car)! Here, a southbound crossing Manhart Avenue near the southeast side of town. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109911 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, December 17, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Sedalia Sedalia, CO 131 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF On Main 1 at Sedalia, a southbound Q-train pulls up the grade with a pair of GEs on the point. The telephoto helps pull in the foothills of the Rockies in the distance. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109910 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, December 17, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Big Lift Douglas County, CO 148 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF BNSF's has a couple of run-through freights that come through Denver (and do not break up in the yard). This is one such train. This is the QSPOALT, which runs from Spokane, WA to Alliance, TX. It just on Main 1 on the Joint Line, running alongside Big Lift just south of Littleton. 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 181 (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 148 (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 147 (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 171 (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 134 (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 207 (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.

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