This goes out to all you mountain man railfans: What are (opinions wanted) good railfan spots within a reasonable distance of the Colorado Springs area? Especially looking for good density and diversity. The joint line stretch down along through Fountain sees a fairly good density, but most of it is unit coal trains, and that gets old fairly quickly.
Where are you looking to go?? There's the Moffat Route, BEFORE the Tunnel maintanence blitz, due to start in the very near future! The UP from denver to Cheyenne, WY, along Hwy 85. The BNSF from Denver to Cheyenne, through Boulder, Longmont, Loveland, Ft Collins, along I-25 for a short distance. and of course, there's Cheyenne itself, east and/or west, depending on what you want to see. UP and/or BNSF yards. Possibly a meeting with board member HemiAdda2d. Not sure about down south. Have no gas money for that!! At least not until I get the intentionally delayed unemployment checks I'm owed.
The Moffat route is the most cool, IMHO, by far! Incredible scenery! Mostly coal, but BNSF and other manifests show up. BNSF from Cheyenne to Denver is 3-5 trains per day, plus locals. UP, Cheyenne to Denver is about 10 or so TPD. UP in Cheyenne is 60-80 TPD. The Joint line is fickle. Sometimes I see 3, sometimes I see 20. I tend to like the areas immediately around the BNSF Denver yards. Coal, switching in the yard, trains to/from Lincoln, NE and Laurel, MT among others. It is a BUSY place. UP's Denver North yard is mostly coal, but some manifests go thru. BNSF trackage rights trains appear, headed E/W on the Moffat route. Here's a shot from the Moffat Route: More Moffat shots here: My Rail Images album I'm always up for meeting new friends, especially those who share the love of trains. If you ever come to Cheyenne, email me, and we'll meet up!
