Western Railroad Discussion > "West is Best" Road Trip: Day 3: Coal Country

Hey all!

Continuing on with my trip to Colorado, I decided to head in the completely wrong direction once I reached Wyoming, and pay a visit to a rail line I long neglected to visit for years, The Orin Subdivision. The weather was projected to be...pretty much perfect. Sunny, 70 degrees and winds LESS than 5 mph! I woke up around 0600 to get a early jump on any trains in the area, starting at Douglas, and working my way up all the way to Gillette. Even in Douglas, It was clear I would be entering some VERY remote country, so it was essential I get my car readied for the day. From Douglas, I took Route 59 all the way until Logan Hill for part of the morning. From Logan Hill I took Antelope Coalmine Rd to Black Thunder Mine, and then 59 to Gillette to check out the deadline of SD70MAC's (More on that in another post) On the return it was the same deal, however at Logan Hill i ended up staying from 1500-2000. We are all aware that coal is down for both roads, but even here you couldn't tell there was a downturn. In total I saw roughly 30 trains in 14 hours, though I could've caught more had i not stayed several hours in Gillette. This piece of railroad is truly amazing. The solitude and scenery, coupled with the well maintained nature of the line and the activities from the coal mines made this a place I would love to come back to in the future.

Here are several from the 14 hours in Coal Country.

#1. UP 5626 tops out over Logan Hill after a grueling climb from one of the mines. 2 of 4 BNSF personnel look on taking video and notes of the loaded coal train. Their SUV's showed "Coal Audit" on the door. Can someone fill me in on what that is?

#2. It was pretty dead for most of the morning surprisingly. I wasn't able to catch a train until I arrived at Black Thunder West Mine. Here, UP 5566 crawls at 1mph under the coal tipple, loading up on more black diamonds.

#3. After returning from Gillette in the mid afternoon, I stumble upon UP 6616 climbing away from Black Thunder (East) Mine.

Many more...

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#4. I chased the coal train ahead to South Black Thunder Mine. Here, the DPU of the coal train passes by the gorgeous rock outcroppings nearby. Hard to believe this was taken on the side of the road.

#5. I returned to Logan Hill to camp out for the rest of the day. Train traffic was pretty constant, one every 30 minutes or so. One of the good ones was lead by UP 8068 and UP 6401, while a loaded coal train can be seen far in the distance.

#6. Light is fading out here, but things get much better. UP 8951 and 7261 run lite towards Bill, while a BNSF coal train struggles uphill.

Last set...

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#8. Steam train? I wish! but it seemed like it. As luck would have it, I encountered a rail grinder working on Logan Hill, a welcome sight from the parade of coal trains.

#9. The Rail Grinder makes it noisy, smokey, sparky presence known as it slowly rounds the curve at the top of the hill. A barrage of lights can be seen through the smoke, as another coal train would be catching up to the rail grinder. By the way that smokey, metallic diesel smell stays with you. Its awful.

#10. BNSF 9339 brings up the rear of an empty coal train, as it passes by the rail grinder in the distance.

Days 4 and 5 will be in Cheyenne and Sherman Hill.

Thanks for looking!

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Also just to add, I didn't know BNSF uses pbx. I found it fascinating to hear crews phone up the DS on those channels.

Posted from Android

Another great series of pictures Carlos.
John

Nice catch of the railgrinder.
JB

#5 and #7 are *quite* good. That location is awesome, and the clouds really add to the scenes. 

wheelnrail Wrote:
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> Also just to add, I didn't know BNSF uses pbx. I
> found it fascinating to hear crews phone up the DS
> on those channels.
>
> Posted from Android

"Your call has been presented to the dispatcher......."

Nice shots, Carlos! Really like that 2nd-to-last one with the grinder.

wheelnrail Wrote:
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>
> <SNIP>
> We are all aware that coal is down for both roads,
> but even here you couldn't tell there was a
> downturn. In total I saw roughly 30 trains in 14
> hours, though I could've caught more had i not
> stayed several hours in Gillette.
><SNIP>
>

Unfortunately, that's a big sign of the downturn. There are trips I remember going up there for 8-10 hours in a day and seeing 70 or more different trains. We'd even see a whole bunch of the morning's empties coming out of the mines as loads in the afternoon, adding to the count total!
~wko



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/20/16 05:53 by wko.

Outstanding Carlos,  Wonderful photos in great light.   Job well done,    Mike in OHIO

Great shots from a very neat area!

GREAT stuff...!!  Thanks for posting.

A great series of photos. Takes me back to our road trip around Coal country which included a drive through Piney Canyon to meet up with Highway 450 to Newcastle. I can remember thinking that we didnt want to have the car breakdown !!!