Photo ID: 106538 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, April 1, 2017 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Union Morgan County, CO 1273 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Julesburg (UP) Union Pacific, BNSF Once upon a time (about 30 years ago), there would have been a switch in this shot. This is where the UP Julesburg Sub continue on to La Salle and the BN line (now the BNSF Brush Sub) broke away to head to Brush and Denver. Now, there is simply a signal on their side. The track beyond the signal is in TWC/ABS limits and is owned by Union Pacific (although dispatched by BNSF). The track on the photographer's side of the signal is in CTC limits and is owned by BNSF. There is no train currently coming from behind the photographer. The signal is green because it is an automatic block signal. Since there is no track occupancy beyond the signal (or in the block beyond that), the signal is green. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106536 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, April 1, 2017 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Merino Merino, CO 1252 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Julesburg (UP) BNSF Just southwest of Merino, CO, US-6 crosses over from the north side of the tracks to the south side. A little elevation offers a nice shot of this westbound BNSF coal train, running at close to track speed (50 MPH). Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106535 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, April 1, 2017 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed MP 65.2 Atwood, CO 1324 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Julesburg (UP) BNSF BNSF's operation in northeast Colorado is something of an interesting one. BNSF's tracks stop in Sterling with the end of the Angora Sub to the north. BNSF's tracks do not start again until Union, CO, roughly 23 miles southwest of Sterling. Between Sterling and Union, BNSF trains operate on UP's Julesburg Sub. This UP line once ran from the Overland Route in Julesburg, CO to La Salle, CO. However, UP abandoned the tracks between Union and Greeley about 30 years ago. As a result, UP has no traffic at all between Sterling and Union. So even though UP owns the track, BNSF dispatches it! The 23 miles of track is governed by Track Warrants and Automatic Block Signals (ABS). There is a single siding over that 23 mile stretch...the siding of Messex which is 6,910 feet long. But because it is Track Warrants (and, thus, hand throws), very few meets actually take place there. Here, a westbound BNSF coal load passes by classic UP signals at Atwood. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 106534 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, April 1, 2017 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed MP 65.2 Atwood, CO 1228 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Julesburg (UP) BNSF After leaving Sterling, I was able to get quite a ways ahead of this westbound BNSF coal train. I had some time to kill on the shoulder of US-6 and decided to setup for an "artsy" shot utilizing the rearview mirror! Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 103367 Date Shot Photo By Friday, April 2, 2010 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed MP 57 Sterling, CO 1678 (1 Comment Posted) Subdivision Railroad Julesburg (UP) Union Pacific While there are no trains in this shot, I thought it would be worth including. This is looking northeast down UP's Julesburg Subdivision. This line connects in with the Overland route in Juleburg. Prior to being abandoned in the 1990's, this line continued southwest from Union, CO to Greeley, CO. It offered a more direct route from the midwest (North Platte, NE, etc) to Denver. However, today the line typically only sees a local that runs from Julesburg to Sterling and back. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 103222 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, December 12, 2009 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed MP 59 Sterling, CO 1536 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Julesburg (UP) BNSF This eastbound BNSF coal empty is slowly pulling into the yard in Sterling where it will wait for a fresh crew to take it north into Nebraska and eventually the Coal Creek Mine in the Powder River Basin in Wyoming. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 103221 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, December 12, 2009 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed MP 58 Sterling, CO 1536 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Julesburg (UP) BNSF After coming to a rest in the yard in Sterling, this BNSF manifest will now wait for a few hours for a fresh crew to take the train the remaining 120 miles into Denver. It's only 3:30pm, but it is getting late in the afternoon on this December day. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 103220 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, December 12, 2009 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed MP 58 Sterling, CO 1638 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Julesburg (UP) BNSF A BNSF train (with no crew) sits in the yard in Sterling as the Edgemont, SD to Denver, CO manifest slowly pulls into the yard as well. Here, the train will receive a crew change before continuing west to Denver. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 103217 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, December 12, 2009 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed MP 59 Sterling, CO 1624 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Julesburg (UP) Union Pacific While BNSF runs tens of trains through Sterling, CO each day, UP has a very limited presence. UP runs a local out of North Platte, NE that goes to Sydney, NE, then Julesburg, CO and finally, Sterling. Here, the local sits with three tank cars of molasses. The cars will be delivered to their destination later in the week. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 103005 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, June 27, 2009 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed MP 76 Balzac, CO 1819 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Julesburg (UP) BNSF There is some fairly scenic spots to be found along the west end of UP's Julesburg Sub between Messex and Union. The tracks follow the South Platte River closely and there is a lot of vegetation in the area. A BNSF coal load passes by the lush plants about a mile away from Union. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 103003 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, June 27, 2009 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed MP 58 Sterling, CO 1742 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Julesburg (UP) BNSF My very first time ever in the town of Sterling, CO. This is a crew change point on BNSF and marks the change from the Angora Sub (to the northeast) and the UP Julesburg Sub (to the southwest). The train seen here has a fresh crew and is preparing to depart for Denver and points beyond. In the distance, the next train is rolling into town. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 103002 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, June 27, 2009 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed MP 69 Merino, CO 1461 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Julesburg (UP) BNSF The sunflowers are in full bloom in northeast Colorado just outside the town of Merino. Here, a westbound BNSF coal load is running on a track warrant along UP's Julesburg Sub between Sterling and Union. BNSF uses this track almost exclusively (and dispatches it as well), but the track is indeed owned by Union Pacific. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 102080 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, May 17, 2008 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Union Hillrose, CO 1675 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Julesburg (UP) BNSF UP once ran trains between Julesburg, NE and La Salle, CO along the Julesburg Sub. At Union, BNSF's Brush Sub connected with the Julesburg Sub and BNSF coal train had trackage rights on the Julesburg Sub for 25 miles to Sterling. In 1993, UP abandoned the Julesburg Sub from Union to Kersey (near La Salle) and ripped the track out. Now, at Union, operations switch from CTC to TWC/ABS and ownership changes from BNSF to UP. However, BNSF dispatches the line between Union and Sterling as they have the only trains that run on the tracks! Here, a BNSF coal load enters CTC and moves from UP tracks on the Julesburg Sub to BNSF tracks on the Brush Sub at Union. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 102079 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, May 17, 2008 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Union Hillrose, CO 1765 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Julesburg (UP) BNSF A few miles north of Hillrose, CO is the rail location of Union. This is where the BNSF Brush Sub connected with the UP Julesburg Sub. In 1993, UP abandoned and ripped up the Julesburg Sub between Union and Kersey (near La Salle). In this shot, I would have been standing in the middle of the UP tracks. Now, the switch is gone and the line just curves to the BNSF Brush Sub. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture.