Photo ID: 113662 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, April 7, 2026 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Palmer Lake Palmer Lake, CO 28 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) Union Pacific Close to five hours after departing Fraser, CO, this Union Pacific passenger special has made it to Palmer Lake. A distance of about roughly 115 miles. Just to change things up a bit, I decided to get an elevated shot here, including the entire lake that shares a name with the town. The train has another 20-ish miles to go before arriving at Colorado Springs, where its VIP passengers (including UP CEO Jim Vena) will get off the train. The train would then continue to Pueblo to turn around and then return north, deadheading back to Council Bluffs, IA (home base for UP's passenger equipment). Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 113661 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, April 7, 2026 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Greenland to Palmer Lake Douglas County, CO 28 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) Union Pacific Broken clouds gliding through the sky is resulting in the landscape transitioning from bright sunlight to dim shade. A southbound UP passenger special on Main 1 is just south of "The Sag" and is approaching an area of shade along Spruce Mountain Road. Main 2 is visible in the distance to the top-right of the shot. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 113660 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, April 7, 2026 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Larkspur Larkspur, CO 36 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) Union Pacific This shot of this UP passenger special crossing over the classic Santa Fe bridge on the south side of Larkspur might have turned out to be my favorite shot of the day. Alas, the low light resulted in the focus slipping briefly. Consequently, the shot came out slightly blurry. Not horrible, but still, not quite the shot I was hoping for. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 113659 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, April 7, 2026 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Castle Rock Castle Rock, CO 32 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) Union Pacific This perspective is a very classic view from the Joint Line on Main 1, which wraps through a long S-Curve here and sets up a great afternoon shot with the actual rock for which the city is named in the background. A 12-car Union Pacific passenger special is headed south to Colorado Springs, where its passengers will detrain and (according to rumors) head to the world-famous Broadmoor hotel. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 113658 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, April 7, 2026 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Sedalia Sedalia, CO 25 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) Union Pacific UP 6001 and train moved quickly south on the north end of the Joint Line. With afternoon traffic in Denver, it was not possible to get far enough ahead of the train to get a shot until here in Sedalia. This Union Pacific passenger special is coming around the bend at the north end of Sedalia under some interesting skies. Skies started overcast this morning, then cleared up for several hours. This afternoon, clouds are starting to build up again. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 113657 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, April 7, 2026 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Sedalia Sedalia, CO 32 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) Union Pacific In photography, you may or may not have heard of a "sucker hole". A term sometimes used to describe when a hole opens up in the clouds to provide some direct sunlight in an otherwise overcast scene. This was a bit larger than just a hole, but it works well as this Union Pacific passenger special moves from the shade into the sun at the north end of Sedalia on Main 1. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 113656 Date Shot Photo By Tuesday, April 7, 2026 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed 20th Street Denver, CO 29 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) Union Pacific This UP passenger special departed Fraser, CO just before 10am. The train left with two crews on board. One was a Moffat crew and one was a Joint Line crew. UP crews for the Moffat are based out of Denver, and Joint Line crews are based out of Pueblo. After arriving at Prospect Jct, the train stopped for about 10 minutes and the Moffat crew detrained and the Pueblo crew took over. UP did this to keep the train moving as quickly as possible. UP CEO Jim Vena is on board, so UP is going to keep the train moving! Here, the train is departing Prospect Jct, crossing the South Platte River, and approaching 20th Street. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 113428 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, November 30, 2025 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Bragdon to Pueblo Pueblo County, CO 127 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF Roughly 110 miles south of Denver, three DPUs bring up the tail end of a southbound loaded grain train. BNSF 5213 is sporting some pretty serious radiator burn, with the paint largely gone on the long hood. The train is headed for Barstow, CA and, once upon a time, probably would have run over Raton Pass. However, no traffic...other than Amtrak's Southwest Chief...has run over Raton Pass in years. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 113427 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, November 30, 2025 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Bragdon to Pueblo Pueblo County, CO 132 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF On Sunday, October 15, 2023, the east half of this bridge carrying BNSF's Pikes Peak Sub over I-25 collapsed due to a broken rail. A loaded coal train derailed as a result of the broken rail, striking the bridge support. The highway was closed for four days for cleanup and repairs. BNSF trains ran on UP's mainline further to the east during the closure. Over two years later, a loaded grain train headed for Barstow, CA crosses over the bridge and I-25 on its way south toward Pueblo and points beyond. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 113426 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, November 30, 2025 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Nixon to Bragdon Pueblo County, CO 96 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF Just south of the Pinon Road grade crossing between Nixon and Bragdon, a southbound BNSF coal load, led by a pair of SD70ACes, head quickly south on Main 1 on the downhill grade. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 113425 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, November 30, 2025 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Bragdon Pueblo County, CO 128 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF Here at Bragdon, roughly eight miles north of Pueblo, is where the Joint Line officially comes to an end. From here, BNSF trains use BNSF track both directions and UP trains use UP tracks both directions. There are crossovers between the mains so trains can use the appropriate track. A southbound BNSF coal load comes through the OS at Bragdon as a little sun breaks through an mostly overcast afternoon. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 113424 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, November 30, 2025 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Nixon to Bragdon Fountain, CO 117 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF After sitting for roughly an hour near the Nixon Power Plant for a crew change, BNSF 3297 has a new crew and is rolling south again on Main 1, crossing a small creek that feeds into Fountain Creek. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 113423 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, November 30, 2025 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Nixon Fountain, CO 110 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF The crew that departed with this coal load south out of Denver had already been on the clock for awhile, and at this point have less than two hours to work. Concerned that the crew might not make it to Pueblo, the train has come to a stop on Main 1 near the Nixon power plant. A relief crew has been called out of Pueblo to come and board the train to take it south to La Junta. The crew on the train will get on the crew van and be taken to Trinidad, CO for rest and to wait for a northbound to take back to Denver. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 113422 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, November 30, 2025 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Nixon Fountain, CO 111 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF Just north of the Hidden Valley Road grade crossing near the Nixon Power Plant, we catch a little bit of sun lighting up two fairly new ES44ACHs (or ES44AHs) on a southbound BNSF coal load. BNSF 3297 was delivered in September 2023 and BNSF 3329 was delivered in 2024. Both are Tier 4 credit units, part of a 50-unit order from GE (Wabtec). Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 113421 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, November 30, 2025 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Fountain Fountain, CO 98 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF Here at Fountain, south of Crews, the Santa Fe mainline once flew over the Rio Grande mainline via an artificial incline and a bridge. Rio Grande beat Santa Fe through the area, and as a result got the preferred grade and alignment between Denver and Pueblo. The tire tracks on the hill on the right used to carry the Santa Fe main up and over the Rio Grande tracks (behind the camera). That hasn't been the case in over 100 years. Now, a pair of DPUs bring up the rear of a southbound coal train on Main 1. Here at Fountain, technical ownership of Main 1 changes from Union Pacific to BNSF as trains continue south. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture.

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