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News & Current Events
This page shows interesting railroad happenings as well as breaking railroad news. Check it often as you may learn the location or schedule of some interesting equipment in time to go out and get some great photographs! If you do go photo 'fanning, please share your pictures with and contact News Page Webmaster Wally Weart.
Photo specs: 800 X 600, max of 1024 X 800 72 dpi or ppi is standard for the web. GIF or TIF is preferred as these are considered lossless versus lossy (A lossy compression (JPG) method is one where compressing data and then decompressing it retrieves data that may well be different from the original). I reduce some pictures to 559 x 380 if I put them side by side.
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On the Moffat Sub
Monday, October 26, 2020 still under a Winter Storm
Warning brought the Fall season to a close at Plainview. Just a slight remnant
of the Fall colors remained along the Moffat Road at milepost 23. The MGJNY was
running early today without the usual Amtrak 5 now no longer scheduled on
Mondays to slow them down. Just a kiss of the warm light of the morning sun was
breaking through the clearing snow storm in the 14 degree temperatures.
©2020 Erik Lindgren
On the Joint LIne
On 4 Oct., 2020 UP 7830 leads a northbound Nixon
coal empty through the Greenland Open Space as it leaves Palmer Lake, CO. ©2020 Chris Paulhamus
The BNSF Heritage unit visits Denver
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| Another one of the 25th Anniversary units from BNSF came through Denver on October 12. This Provo-bound manifest train was led by BNSF 6163 on the UP Moffat subdivision. ©2020 Dave Schaaf | |
In Eastern Colorado
On October7, I drove along the Colorado Pacific to
check what was happening. The line just east of NA Jct. is still out of service
in that they are replacing several large culverts. The rest of the line looks
like it is up and running. The only cars I saw were PPEX coal gondolas stored at
Haswell and Eads. The photos was looking east at Haswell.
On another note, the BNSF is busy replacing lots of ties east of Boone and beyond NA Jct. toward La Junta. There were a lot of tie machines, ballast machine and tampers working. ©2020 Larry D. Dilts
A BNSF Geometry train on the Front Range Sub
A BNSF Geometry train is south of Cheyenne at the
I-80 overpass on the Front Range Sub. The car is BNSF 91, MofW Equipment M530 PS
Geometry #91, unmanned track geometry car, ex-RPCX 52 seat chair-snack bar #3921
SILVER CHAIR, exx-AMTK #3921, exxx-BN #6143.
©2020 Pete West
On the Moffat Sub
Still near peak deep in the valley west of
Rollinsville, Amtrak 1105 acting for 5 The California Zephyr is rolling along
the fill into groves of Aspen Trees along South Boulder Creek. The calming
sounds of the rushing river is briefly interrupted by the burble and rush of the
passing train. Now for the walk back. October 8, 2020.
©2020 Erik Lindgren
A new pedestrian bridge in Colorado Springs.
Crews placed a new pedestrian bridge Monday (5
October 2020) to connect America the Beautiful Park to the southwest part of
downtown.
The 250-foot-long bridge was hoisted into the air, driven across the railroad,
and put in place near the Olympic and Paralympic Museum. The bridge weighs about
1.1 million pounds and is planning to open to the public early 2021, depending
on weather and construction.
“Sitting right here beside I-25, everyone that drives through town is going to see the new Olympic museum, they’re going to see this giant bridge that projects out, and it’s going to draw visitors to say, ‘Hey, come visit Colorado Springs,’" said senior engineer Ryan Phipps.
The vision for this project has been established for decades, but really got momentum five years ago. The bridge was built in Houston and delivered to Colorado Springs in June 2020. ©2020 Chip
On the Moffat Sub
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| ©2020 Erik Lindgren | Sept 2020 East Portal ©2020 Erik Lindgren |
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| Sunday October, 4 the Spirit 1943 special led the Manifest from Grand Junction to North Yard. Made for a long ride for the crew called Yampa 22:15 and the crew died on the main at Arvada, CO, before Tennyson. Beautiful morning Fall light illuminates South Boulder Peak and the amazing geology on the Goshawk Ridge on the Flatirons. ©2020 Erik Lindgren |
Along the D&SL route
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| On Sept 17, Denny Leonard drove the old Denver & Salt Lake grade. The Loop where In real life the railroad Coming down from Corona made a left turn and went through a tunnel underneath the trestle | |
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| Corona “Top of the World” Once covered with snowsheds | Yankee Doodle lake is still magnificently circled by the railroad grade. 4 pictures ©2020 Denny Leonard |
On the Moffat Sub
Above Tunnel 7 ©2020 Erik Lindgren
Disappearing semaphore signals in New Mexico
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| BNSF semaphores model T2 upper quadrant were being replaced with new tri-light signals at Colmor, New Mexico, September 17, 2020. BNSF’s Raton Subdivision normally only sees Amtrak’s Southwest Chief, trains 3 and 4, every day of the week (daily service-!). Amtrak long distance trains were planned to be reduced to only three times a week (tri-weekly service) effective October 1, 2020 due in part to the COVID-19 pandemic reducing rail passenger travel. ©2020 Chip |
Casey (pointing) had job briefing with
fellow signal maintainer as new signals were undergoing tests at
Colmor, NM. ©2020 Chip
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On the Joint Line
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| BNSF 6993 leads a Warbonnet and a long string of wind power flats south through Larkspur, CO. Note the Warbonnet trailing, too bad it wasn't leading. ©2020 Chris Paulhamus | BNSF 5433 rolls through the Greenland Open Space in Greenland, CO with a northbound rolling ethanol pipeline. ©2020 Chris Paulhamus |
An FRA Inspection train
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| Bob Thiele found the Inspection train on the Joint line near Palmer Lake. ©2020 Bob Thiele | |
Snow on the Moffat Sub.
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| Winter's early arrival on September 8 left a glorious scene near Crescent on the Moffat Road. On the 7th temps were close to 80 here and smoky from the forest fires, this snow is a blessing. Wednesday September 9, 2020. ©2020 Erik Lindgren | An early Winter storm ravaged the front range for 2 days between September 7-9. A pleasant surprise on the morning of the 10th both that the large amounts of sticky snow stuck around for an amazing 24 more hours; but also to have a beautiful Amtrak heritage unit lead the California Zephyr through this winter wonderland high above the picturesque Eldorado Canyon State Park. The revenants of the storm can be seen with the low ceiling still in place and just clear. With an hour as I write this the is rapidly evaporating the snow from all the trees. ©2020 Erik Lindgren |
On the Joint Line
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| Last Wednesday ( Sept 2) Chris was heading home on I-25N and saw at the PPL 2 returning to Pueblo. ©2020 Chris Paulhamus | BNSF 9156 leads a southbound coal train down the Palmer Divide as it accelerates out of Palmer Lake, CO ©2020 Chris Paulhamus |
BNSF's heritage locomotive along the Front Range
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| Tim Tonge caught the BNSF Heritage locomotive at Spruce and Lark Spur ©2020 Tim Tonge | |
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| BNSF #6017 is hustling across the Larkspur ATSF with BKMSLP110B which proudly still wearing the logo, with the new heritage 25th Anniversary motor up front ©2020 Erik Lindgren | BNSF #6017 is leading the CBKMSLP110 west of Roggen, CO in the early morning sun. ©2020 Erik Lindgren |
A UP Local
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| Mike Harriman took these pictures and confirms that this is the local which switches a scrap yard and lumber reload just west of Santa Fe.a remnant of the Ft. Logan spur. ©2020 Mike Harriman | |
On the Moffat Sub
On Friday 4 Sept., Erik Lindgren caught the Zephyr
at Tunnel 6. Erik Lindgren ©2020
Video of Cheyenne Steam Shop Tour with Ed Dickens
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tw50srOCai0&feature=youtu.be
On the KP
Union Pacific 7448 handled westbound Vestas empty wind
support cars at Strasburg, CO, August 22, 2020. UP’s Limon Subdivision (AKA
Kansas Pacific line) was reopened by UP in July 2020 after stored empty auto
racks were removed from west of Sharon Springs, Kansas. ©2020 Chip
On the Joint Line
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| The MNYPU with an ACe leader ©2020 Wesley Greer | Southbound grain with KCS leader: ©2020 Wesley Greer |
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| Northbound rail train with UP 1989 trailing ©2020 Wesley Greer | Q train-MNYPU meet at Monument: ©2020 Wesley Greer |
Along the Royal Gorge route
The Royal Gorge Route continues operating weekdays
with three trips per day; 9:15 AM Cańon City, CO, departures, 12:30 PM and 3:30
PM. Trips have had decent passenger loadings considering the pandemic. The 3:30
PM trips surprisingly have had the best loadings mid-week. Parkdale, CO, Monday,
August 17, 2020. The car behind CRRX 3104 is a generator / cab car. ©2020 Chip
Signal changes
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| BNSF was doing signal(s) replacements around NA Junction East of Boone, CO, August 24, 2020. Appears Colorado Pacific will get a west end connection with BNSF later this year . Photo by Chip | |
White Pass locomotive arrives in Durango
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| White Pass 107 arrives in Durango | |
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| WP&Y 107 in service in 2018. ©2020 Walter Weart |
BNSF M-O-W gang on the Beer Line
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| The BNSF has
assembled a very large M-O-W gang with an extensive array of
sophisticated equipment on the Beer line west of the Ward Road crossing.
Looks like they replaced jointed rail with welded rail. ©2020
Walter Weart
Two trains at the same time
BNSF's Denver to Provo, Utah, and Provo to Denver (UP trackage rights trains) were rerouted via Union Pacific's Wyoming line account Colorado wildfires closing down Glenwood Canyon for several days. ©2020 Photo by Chip |
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Visiting power
On August 12, after sitting near the Evans Ave.
Light Rail station for most of the day, the NS led coal train is ready to
depart ©2020 Mike
Harriman
In Wyoming
August 15 East Tie Siding ©2020 Erik
Lindgren
Amtrak Number 6, the "California Zephyr"¯
rolls through the Harriman Cutoff past the iconic mountain at Dale Junction on
Main 3 destined for the Boris Cutoff then Speer, WY on the Union Pacific,
Overland Route . Here at Dale Creek Junction on the Overland Route so much
history fills my imagination as these P42's dash by at track speed; just the
same I could imagine it being 1939 or 1950 and seeing the Overland Limited, City
of Los Angeles, City of San Francisco, or City of Portland Streamliners just the
same. It's been since 1982 when this venerable route saw intercity passenger
service with the Amtrak San Francisco Zephyr. A great privilege to record this
rare series of days on the iconic Transcontinental Railroad. August 17, 2020. ©2020 Erik
Lindgren
On the Moffat Sub
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| California Zephyr and the grandstands of the Great Plains. I looked out the window and saw the break at Big Ten from an ongoing thundershower in Arvada; looked at ATCS and saw Amtrak was eminent in the next 30 minutes and headed over the Plainview for an attempted rainbow shot. Got lucky this time, it stayed for a better part of an hour as this storm made its way East. Crazy but true before 6 was out of this frame a shadow from a cloud to my west dropped the rainbow and shadowed the area in front of me. 30-45 seconds I'm thanking the one above for saving this one. 8/6/20 Plainview, CO ©2020 Erik Lindgren | Winter has left an overnight treat on this late Fall day on the Moffat Road near the Great Divide. A classic shot taken as low as possible to avoid obscuring my early morning eastbound MGJNY with Flag Units and 5617 on the point. The crisp cold air is briefly warmed by the rush of wind from the train and its motors. Within hours not a trace of snow remained down here in the Tolland Brothers valley but the majestic Rocky Mountains stayed white until early June the following year. October 2019 ©2020 Erik Lindgren |
RGS 20 Weekend at the Colorado Railroad Museum
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| A series of picture by Eric Lindgren taken during the RGS 20 Celebration weekend August 1 and 2 All pictures ©2020 Erik Lindgren | |
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| Dennis Haefele shot these pictures during the RGS 20 Celebration weekend ©2020 Dennis Haefele | |
Action on the UP
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| Union Pacific hustles PCBDV 27 with number 4222 on the point at Lasalle, CO on July 27th 2020. 92 degrees and dry fields and sunflowers are a stark contrast from the Colorado high country this train will travel tomorrow. ©2020 Erik Lindgren | PCBDV 27 near Fort Luptin 7/28/20. ©2020 Erik Lindgren |
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| Maintenance train works eastbound out of tunnel 9 through daylighted tunnel 8 on a vibrant summer morning deep in the tunnel district of the Moffat Road. ©2020 Erik Lindgren |
On the Joint Line
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| On 18 July, 2020 Another
eastern visitor in the form of CSXT 712 leads a southbound tube empty
through the s-curve in Monument., CO. ©2020 Chris Paulhamus
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On 15 July 2020, BNSF 5787
descends off the Palmer Divide in Palmer Lake, CO with a short geometry
train bound for El Paso,,.©2020 Chris Paulhamus
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| On 19 July, 2020 BNSF 9239 leads a light power move south as seen from the North Gate Bridge on the U.S. Air Force Academy, CO. ©2020 Chris Paulhamus |
Scroll down for video of RGS 20 on a shakedown run
RGS 20 at the museum
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| Engine #20 has been under restoration for more than a decade. Celebration weekend at the Colorado RR Museum is on August 1-2 in Golden, Colorado. This locomotive was purchased from the Rio Grande Southern by the Rocky Mountain RR Club in 1952 at a court-administered sale. ©2020 Images by Dave Schaaf | |
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