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Tuesday, March 18, 2014
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Kevin Morgan
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Ridge Road
Arvada, CO
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1495 (Add a Comment)
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Golden (BNSF)
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BNSF
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This unit started life as an SD45-2 (note the length of the long hood). Not long ago, it went through a rebuild program and is now designated as an SD45-2R. The unit is essentially an SD40-2 (20-cylinder prime mover has been replaced with a 16-cylinder prime mover). Mote that the radiator fans have been replaced and no longer have the tell-tale gaps of the SD45-2. The radiator grill sill maintains its original length, giving the back of the unit a bit of an interesting look.
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Tuesday, March 18, 2014
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Kevin Morgan
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Ridge Road
Arvada, CO
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1560 (Add a Comment)
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Golden (BNSF)
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BNSF
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Depending on who you ask, you can definitely hear a lot of different opinions regarding BNSF's "New Image" or "Swoosh" scheme. Some will say they love. Others will say they hate it. Personally, while it isn't my favorite scheme by a long shot, it has grown on me over the last ten years. I can at least say that I do prefer it to the Heritage 2 scheme. Here, a sharp looking SD40-2, which has been repainted in the New Image scheme, crosses Miller Street along Ridge Road. The grade crossing here was just installed about eight months earlier. Prior to that, the crossing only had cross bucks!
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Tuesday, March 18, 2014
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Kevin Morgan
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Ridge Road
Arvada, CO
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1955 (2 Comments Posted)
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Golden (BNSF)
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BNSF
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BNSF's Golden Switch sits just west of Miller Street, waiting for clearance to proceed east through a Form B. Two new bridges are being constructed over Kipling Pkwy as part of the RTD Gold Line Commuter Rail project. In fact, you may notice the train swing to the right in the distance (toward the left side of the frame). The train is temporarily using a future commuter track while BNSFs tracks are shifted.
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Sunday, February 23, 2014
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Kevin Morgan
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Golden
Golden, CO
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1483 (Add a Comment)
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Golden (BNSF)
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BNSF
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I have always been a fan of both the GP30 and the GP35. The smaller center radiator fan always made both of them a little different and fun to shoot. Ironically, GP35s seemed to disappear faster than GP30s (from the Class 1's). BNSF rebuilt a lot of them, creating GP30u's and GP35u's. One such example is GP35u 2572, sitting in the upper yard at Golden.
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Tuesday, February 18, 2014
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Kevin Morgan
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Ridge Road
Arvada, CO
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1480 (Add a Comment)
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Golden (BNSF)
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BNSF
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With its switching duties for the day complete, the Golden Switch wobbles west down the Golden Sub back toward Golden at the foot of the Colorado Rockies. You can clearly see in this picture that the branch line has jointed rail and the max speed on the line is 20 MPH. If you are a beer drinker and enjoy Coors' products, then there is a pretty good chance your beer once rolled down these exact rails!
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Tuesday, February 18, 2014
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Kevin Morgan
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Ridge Road
Arvada, CO
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1453 (Add a Comment)
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Golden (BNSF)
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BNSF
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For many years now, the Golden Switch has always utilized a pair of SD40-2s to perform all its switching duties. About three weeks ago, that changed as on of the SD40-2s was swapped for BNSF 2572, a GP35u. While it has been rebuilt, it still retains the standard GP35 car body, complete with a smaller center radiator fan!
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Tuesday, February 18, 2014
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Kevin Morgan
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Ridge Road
Arvada, CO
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1950 (1 Comment Posted)
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Golden (BNSF)
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BNSF
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Considering the fact that it is a branch line, the Golden Sub is still fairly busy during the course of a 24 hour period. There are four "Beer Run" trains: two from Denver to Golden and two from Golden to Denver. The Beer Run primarily serves the Coors Brewing plant in Golden. However, the westbound Beer Run also brings cars for industries along the line. Those cars are dropped and sorted in a small yard in Golden. Then, five days a week, BNSF's Golden Switch runs east out of the yard in Golden and switches industries all along the track. In this scene, the Golden Switch is headed back for the yard in Golden. Its switching duties done for the day.
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Tuesday, February 18, 2014
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Kevin Morgan
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Ridge Road
Arvada, CO
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1849 (2 Comments Posted)
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Golden (BNSF)
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BNSF
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On the way home after work, I was driving on Ridge Road and spied headlights on an approaching westbound on BNSF's Golden Sub. The headlights belonged to the Golden Switch, a local headed back to the yard at Golden. Note the tracks to the left. These tracks will ultimately serve as the commuter rail for the "Gold Line". This is a part of the FasTracks project that was started after a voter-approved tax increase in 2004. The line is scheduled to open in 2016. Tracks are being laid early here as BNSF will actually use the tracks temporarily (as a shoofly) so the existing tracks the local is on can be moved south (to the right). BNSF requires 25 feet of separation between their tracks and the commuter tracks. Otherwise, a retaining wall must be built (to protect the BNSF tracks from a possible commuter train derailment). To avoid that expense, BNSFs tracks will be shifted.
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Friday, May 11, 2012
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Kevin Morgan
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Arvada, CO
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1813 (Add a Comment)
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Golden (BNSF)
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BNSF
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Looking underneath the Sheridan Blvd overpass, we see this eastbound Beer Run on the Golden Sub headed toward C&S Junction. Next to the Golden Sub is the new Arvada Siding. Further to the left is Main 2 (with the coal empty on it) and Main 1 beyond that.
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Sunday, April 1, 2012
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Kevin Morgan
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Arvada, CO
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1755 (Add a Comment)
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Golden (BNSF)
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BNSF, Union Pacific
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With the UP work zone (Form B) behind, this BNSF Beer Run can continue on to Golden. Here at the Sheridan Blvd overpass, the UP track foreman in charge sits in his truck talking to an eastbound train that will be coming on the Moffat. That train has to get talked past a red board (think stop sign) into the track limits. Why? So the foreman can ensure all the track workers (seen to the right) are in the clear, know about the train, and won't get hit.
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