Photo ID: 109573 Date Shot Photo By Monday, October 2, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed South of Littleton Littleton, CO 379 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF BNSF's Denver to Amarillo manifest (HDENAMS) parallels US-85 and crosses over an overflow outlet for the nearby (man-made) McLellen Reservoir. Construction along US-85 is the name of the game this summer and fall! Incidentally, the lead unit, BNSF 6610, is one of the first 25 ES44C4s delivered to BNSF as part of a pilot program. The program was successful, as over 1,200 subsequent units have been delivered. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109572 Date Shot Photo By Monday, October 2, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed South of Littleton Littleton, CO 397 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF For several miles south of Denver, through Englewood and Littleton, RTD's Light Rail (D-Line) parallels the Joint Line. This stop at Mineral Avenue is the last one for Light Rail to the south. Incidentally, one this that is quite remarkable about the Joint Line between here and South Denver is the elimination of grade crossing in the past 40 years. Every single grade crossing that once existed in this five miles of track is now gone! Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109571 Date Shot Photo By Monday, October 2, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Littleton Littleton, CO 431 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF A BNSF manifest headed for Amarillo, TX officially starts the climb to Palmer Lake, passing through the control point at Littleton. Here, the CTC triple track ends and it is Main 1 (now CTC and under the control of BNSF) all the way to Palmer Lake. While manifest generally make better speeds than coal loads on the Joint Line, this manifest will be encountering yellow signals soon enough as it trails a coal load just a few miles ahead. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109570 Date Shot Photo By Monday, October 2, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Acequia Douglas County, CO 320 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF Near the north end of the Joint Line, a southbound BNSF coal train is taking on the ruling grade for the climb to Palmer Lake. The second unit on the head end, an SD70MAC, is burping up a bit more (visible) exhaust than is normal. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109569 Date Shot Photo By Monday, October 2, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed CP 363 Castle Rock, CO 354 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF When BNSF installed CTC on Main 1 on the Joint Line a few years ago, they included two "control points" absolute signals between Sedalia and Palmer Lake. CP 363, seen here, is one of those control points. This was done so track and time could be issued to maintenance, allowing trains to still run on opposite sides of the control points. Pro Tip: How can you know this is an "absolute" signal (dispatcher controlled) and not an "intermediate" signal? The lack of milepost plates on the signal masts are dead giveaways. Intermediate signals have milepost plates, while absolute signals do not. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109568 Date Shot Photo By Monday, October 2, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Castle Rock Castle Rock, CO 374 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF Just south of Castle Rock and we find a lot going on! As a southbound BNSF coal load approaches, it parallels the west Frontage Range road which runs alongside the (significantly busier) I-25. There is also an east Frontage Road on the opposite side of I-25. The rock which is the namesake of the city of Castle Rock stands tall in the background. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109565 Date Shot Photo By Monday, October 2, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Larkspur Larkspur, CO 330 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF Moving away from the camera, this southbound coal load has passed an intermediate signal (now red) in the distance on its way to Greenland and Palmer Lake. Note the black and yellow "35" sign, tilted at a roughly 45° angle. This indicates there is a speed change to 35 MPH maximum coming up. Not that such a speed limit is of any concern to this coal load, which is barely making 10 MPH with all units throttled to the max in run 8. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109564 Date Shot Photo By Monday, October 2, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Larkspur Larkspur, CO 434 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF A slightly different view of a very commonly photographed bridge on the south edge of Larkspur. This Santa Fe bridge spans West Fox Farm Road (closer), East Plum Creek, and Spruce Mountain Road (distant). As is quite common on BNSF coal loads, a pair of DPUs, an SD70ACe and an ES44AC, bring up the tail end of this southbound. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109563 Date Shot Photo By Monday, October 2, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Larkspur Larkspur, CO 385 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF At the famous Santa Fe bridge on the south edge of Larkspur, a southbound BNSF coal load, with an ES44AC and an SD70ACe, grind slowly up the grade. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109559 Date Shot Photo By Monday, October 2, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Orsa Castle Rock, CO 339 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF The town of Castle Rock, like all towns along the Front Range, continues to grow. New commercial buildings have been built (and continue to be built) along Main 1, one of which is ready to lease! Meanwhile, yet another coal train rolls south. An act that has been repeated tens of thousands of times over the years. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109558 Date Shot Photo By Monday, October 2, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Orsa Douglas County, CO 384 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF Even though the Joint Line has two tracks and directional running, there is still one siding along Main 1 between Sedalia and Castle Rock. It is the siding of Orsa. Even with the addition of CTC to the Joint Line, the siding is still just has hand throws at either end and likely hasn't been used in years. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109557 Date Shot Photo By Monday, October 2, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Sedalia Sedalia, CO 428 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF This shot really highlights the location where the original Santa Fe grade crossed over (on a bridge) the original Rio Grande grade. With the creation of the Joint Line in World War 1, the bridge was removed and the tracks now run parallel through here, with a crossover between Main 1 and Main 2. The head end of this train is technically on track owned by BNSF while the back of the train is technically on track owned by UP. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109556 Date Shot Photo By Monday, October 2, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Sedalia Sedalia, CO 347 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF A southbound BNSF coal load runs through an S-Curve on the south side of "downtown" Sedalia on the Joint Line. Main 1 is generally used for southbound traffic, has CTC (Centralized Traffic Control), and is controlled/dispatched by BNSF in Fort Worth. Main 2, which is located in the foreground, has TWC/ABS (Track Warrant Control with Automatic Block Signals), and is controlled/dispatched by UP in Omaha. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109552 Date Shot Photo By Monday, October 2, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed CP DS050 (West East Portal) Gilpin County, CO 367 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) BNSF An AC4400CW, still in Heritage 2 paint, brings up the tail end of a westbound loaded coal train as it dives into the 6.2 mile long Moffat Tunnel. 100 years ago, construction on the tunnel had started! Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 109551 Date Shot Photo By Monday, October 2, 2023 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed CP DS050 (West East Portal) Gilpin County, CO 448 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Moffat Tunnel (UP) BNSF At 7:22am, the sun has just started to light the valley in which the Moffat Tunnel is located. While this looks like it could possibly be an eastbound BNSF coal load, it is actually a westbound load with a trio of DPUs bringing up the rear. The train is diving in to the Moffat Tunnel, ultimately headed for Valmy, NV. The dawning sun also illuminates the fall colors, still showing bright on October 2. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture.

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