Photo ID: 108477 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, September 5, 2020 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Englewood Englewood, CO 897 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF BNSF 6017 is slowing to a stop on Main 2 just north of the signal at Englewood. Here, it will wait for the outbound (relief) crew to show up and take over the train for the trip south to La Junta. The tracks cross Dartmouth Ave and Little Dry Creek, parallel to Santa Fe Drive here. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 108476 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, September 5, 2020 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Walnut Street Denver, CO 883 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF Typically, westbound/southbound trains running through Denver (across the Brush and Joint Line) will change crews in the yard. However, the two tracks in the yard where this happens - Coal 1 and Coal 2 - were both plugged with trains when BNSF 6017 rolled through. So, the train is headed down to Englewood. There, a new outbound crew will relieve the current crew that brought the train west from Sterling. Here, the train approaches Walnut Street with Empower Field at Mile High in the background beyond I-25. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 108398 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, July 19, 2020 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Larkspur Larkspur, CO 771 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF A pair of pre-preduction ES44DCs, an ES44C4, and an SD40-2 lead BNSF's Denver-Provo manifest at Larkspur with a major summer thunderstorm developing as the backdrop. I assume the SD40-2 is returning to Pueblo after a 92-day inspection in Denver. The unit was online and loading, which was somewhat unexpected, but cool to see (and hear) nonetheless. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 108397 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, July 19, 2020 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Larkspur Larkspur, CO 871 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF BNSF's southbound Denver-Pueblo manifest rolls past a yellow signal at MP 41.5 on the north edge of Larkspur. The train is following on the heals of a slow-moving BNSF coal load, hence the reason for the yellow signal. A severe July thunderstorm is making its way east, starting to encroach on the scene. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 108396 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, July 19, 2020 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed North of Monument Monument, CO 794 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF, Union Pacific Although this southbound coal load is in fact a UP coal train, there is a single BNSF ES44DC bringing up the tail end. It is rather interesting that it is a DC unit, as it is pretty uncommon to find DC units in service on coal trains these days. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 108395 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, July 19, 2020 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed North of Monument Monument, CO 860 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) Union Pacific It is always fun to find little relics of years past when out taking pictures. Case-in-point is the bridge that carries the tracks over CO-105 in Monument, which just happens to still be lettered Rio Grande! A pair of mid-train helpers glides over the bridge in dynamics, heading down grade southbound. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 108394 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, July 19, 2020 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed North of Monument Monument, CO 853 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) Union Pacific Just north of the the siding of Monument, this UP coal load crosses over CO-105, the primary road connecting Palmer Lake and Monument. The coal load has clear signals all the way through the single track mainline down to Crews, where it will continue on Main 1 south. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 108393 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, July 19, 2020 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Palmer Lake Palmer Lake, CO 987 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) Union Pacific Southbound coal train will often stop in "The Sag", just north of Palmer Lake, in order to cool their traction motors after the long climb up from Denver. However, with no opposing northbound traffic, this coal load got the green signal to continue snaking right through The Sag and head past Palmer Lake on to the single track main through Colorado Springs. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 108392 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, July 19, 2020 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Palmer Lake Palmer Lake, CO 885 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) Union Pacific Southbound coal train will often stop in "The Sag", just north of Palmer Lake, in order to cool their traction motors after the long climb up from Denver. However, with no opposing northbound traffic, this coal load got the green signal to continue snaking right through The Sag and head past Palmer Lake on to the single track main through Colorado Springs. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 108391 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, July 19, 2020 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed The Sag Douglas County, CO 793 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF As UP 8837 comes up to "The Sag" on Main 1, it passes by BNSF's protection unit. BNSF only has four units on their coal trains there here, set up 2x0x2. That is the bare minimum for a 120-car coal train going over Palmer Divide. In the event that one of the four units fails, BNSF keeps this unit here for easy retrieval to rescue any such stalled coal load. Before they started keeping a unit here, they had to call one out of Denver, or steal one off of another train. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 108390 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, July 19, 2020 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed South of Greenland Greenland, CO 803 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) Union Pacific Some rain is coming down a few miles to the northeast as a UP coal load makes its way south out of Greenland on Main 1. The train is just a few miles away from the "top of the hill" at Palmer Lake. Once it crests the divide at about 7,300 feet, it will enter dynamic braking mode for the decent toward Pueblo. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 108389 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, July 19, 2020 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Larkspur Larkspur, CO 940 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) Union Pacific Crossing on the of the more iconic bridges on the Joint Line, UP 8837 is making about 20 MPH as it continues the climb up toward Palmer Lake. This part of the Joint Line was, of course, once owned by Santa Fe. The slightly better track alignment was Rio Grande, now Main 2, further back in the distance, following along East Plumb Creek. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 108388 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, July 19, 2020 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed South of Castle Rock Douglas County, CO 824 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) Union Pacific After a brief stop at the Hold Signal at MP 36.3 for a reason that I did not hear, this southbound UP coal load is on the move again on Main 1, parallel both I-25 and the I-25 frontage road. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 108387 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, July 19, 2020 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed South of Castle Rock Douglas County, CO 741 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF A long line of wind generator blades snake their way north on this unit blade train, heading north on Main 2 on the east side of I-25. If you look very closely in the distance near the top-right part of the frame, you may notice the headlight of a southbound UP coal train coming this was on Main 1. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 108386 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, July 19, 2020 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed North of Larkspur Douglas County, CO 896 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF As storms start to build in the late morning, a northbound BNSF "blade train" clips along at track speed on Main 2 in between Larkspur and Castle Rock. While I knew a northbound was coming, the blade train was unexpected and a welcome surprise rather than the typical coal empty. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture.

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