BNSF 7609 leads a doublestack southbound at Spruce, CO, June 12, 2019.

Struggling up the grade towards the 7,200' summit of the Palmer Divide, a 17,000 ton coal load works through the curves through "The Sag" as a stormy weather forms in the background.

With 111 empty hoppers returning to the Powder River Basin from a Utility Fuels in Smithers Lake, Texas, a Burlington Northern UFIX train moves northward on the Joint Line at Spruce, Colorado. The... (more)

Colorado has some beautiful skies, but they can be a source of angst and frustration. Here a Burlington Northern coal train, headed south on the Joint Line at Spruce, is about to fall under a shad... (more)

The Burlington Northern provided a never-ending parade of Powder River coal on Colorado’s Joint Line. Here an entire southbound train, from head end to helpers, can be seen at Spruce.

Running on the wrong left-hand main is the South Seattle-Alliance merchandise/intermodal train that can be seen through a stone arch bridge at Spruce just north of Palmer Lake, Colorado on March 1... (more)

Thick smoke from numerous wildfires fills the sky creating hazy atmospheric conditions. A loaded BNSF coal train waits in the sag at Spruce just north of Palmer Lake, Colorado on Main 1 as the Bel... (more)

An unusual for this local exSanta Fe B40 leads the twice a week southbound on the normal northbound only main two Pikes Peak Local towards Palmer Lake adjacent Spruce siding located on main one.

On top of the bluffs on Spruce Mountain, a coal load and coal empty make a perfect meet at Spruce just north of Palmer Lake, Colorado on January 24, 2016. The coal empty has just crossed onto form... (more)

Looking high above at the bluffs from Spruce Mountain, one can see southbound Mill, Texas coal loads working up the grade on Main 1 at Spruce just north of Palmer Lake, Colorado on January 24, 201... (more)

BNSF coal loads grinding up grade en-route to Texas.

A northbound coal empty makes the transition from ex Santa Fe trackage to ex DRGW trackage passing a waiting southbound coal load that is half on exDRGW track in forground and ex Santa Fe track in... (more)

BNSF's twice weekly southbound Pikes Peak Local was passing Spruce siding a couple miles north of Palmer Lake

BNSF 9029 sits on the rear of a southbound coal train stopped in The Sag at Spruce, CO as freshly-fallen snow blows off of Pikes Peak as a harbinger of what's to come. The Pikes Peak Region was u... (more)

Southbound BNSF coal load climbing toward top of Palmer Divide adjacemt to Spruce siding on normal northbound only main #2