Photo ID: 104048 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, January 14, 2012 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed "The Sag" (MP 50) Spruce, CO 233 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF Two miles north of Palmer Lake, this southbound coal load is entering "The Sag". It is so-named because of the relatively rapid descent southbounds make. Track ownership changes here and while most of the load is still on BNSF property, the head end is now on UP property! Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 103524 Date Shot Photo By Friday, June 18, 2010 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed MP 48 Spruce, CO 599 (1 Comment Posted) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) Union Pacific It has literally been years since I had last shot a non-coal UP train on the Joint Line. While I do love BNSF, it is always nice to catch a break from the norm! These auto racks are being sent to Arlington, TX for their next assignment. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 103523 Date Shot Photo By Friday, June 18, 2010 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed MP 48 Spruce, CO 552 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF Hey! Quit tailing me! Because BNSF tends to under power their coal trains, they can only go 10-15 MPH up the Palmer Divide. Consequently, manifests frequently get stuck behind the slow moving coal drags. Here, a UP auto rack train has caught up to a slow-rolling coal load. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 103324 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, March 28, 2010 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed MP 49 Spruce, CO 480 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF Just south of Spruce, southbounds drop into what is known as "the sag". This is so named because trains briefly descend down a 1% grade. This is the former location of a crossover when Rio Grande and Santa Fe each had their own tracks. When the crossover were removed and the lines connected (to operate as the Joint Line), the southbound Santa Fe track descended down the embankment to connect with the Rio Grande track below. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 103238 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, December 27, 2009 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed MP 49 Spruce, CO 469 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF Just a couple miles north of Palmer Lake and we catch a meeting between a southbound manifest and a northbound coal empty. The manifest is headed for Kansas City while the coal empty is headed for the Antelope Mine in the Powder River Basin. The last spec of light from the day shines on the ES44ACs leading the coal empty. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 103237 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, December 27, 2009 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed MP 48 Spruce, CO 390 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF Literally minutes before the sun set behind the mountains, this BNSF manifest is nearing the top of the hill on the Joint Line at Palmer Lake. The train is on Main 1...you can see Main 2 in the background. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 102342 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, September 6, 2008 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed MP 49 Spruce, CO 370 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF After meeting a parade of southbounds at Academy and Monument, this BNSF manifest is finally on Main Two and has a track warrant all the way to Littleton. While southbounds have to work hard to climb the 1.2% ruling grade, northbounds get to glide down the same grade into Denver. As a result, Main Two tends to move a bit faster then Main One! Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 102341 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, September 6, 2008 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed MP 50 Spruce, CO 433 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF Two miles north of Palmer Lake and this BNSF manifest has an approach (yellow) signal as it heads south on Main One. In addition to the two C44-9Ws, the train as a GP60B in the consist. The GP60B's were produced in the early 1990s for Santa Fe and originally wore the Warbonnet scheme. All have since been repainted, but they are very likely the last cabless ("B") units that either EMD or GE will ever produce! Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 102336 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, September 6, 2008 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed MP 50 Spruce, CO 344 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF This BNSF coal load has reached the sag, about two miles north of Palmer Lake. This was once the location of a railroad crossover when the Santa Fe crossed the Rio Grande. This was prior to the Joint Line roughly 90 years ago! Now, with the formation of the Joint Line, southbounds on Main One descend down a grade from BNSF track to UP track. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 102335 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, September 6, 2008 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed MP 47 Spruce, CO 367 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Colorado Springs (UP)/Pikes Peak (BNSF) BNSF Much of the terrain along the Joint Line between Castle Rock and Palmer Lake is very mountain-like. Lots of pine trees and hills. One possible exception is the open plains region near Spruce. Here, there is a large open valley with a few rolling hills and lots of open land. A BNSF coal train cuts through the middle on Main One as its trek to the "top of the hill" at Palmer Lake is almost complete. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture.