Tearing up the North Track Kelker Yard to Palmer Lake, CO in Tales of the Jointed Track

Note *This is an entry that I either did not save, on OD or was deleted prior.

Monument / Palmer Lake, CO

The times they are a chang'in as Bob Dylan would say. The single track has become a reality, from Palmer Lake to Crews MP 52 to MP 85.3 roughly 34 miles of single track CTC, with sidings at Kelker Yard/Kelker proper, Colorado Springs, Academy, and Monument. The entrance to the single track will be at Palmer Lake to the north, and Crews at the south.

There have been few unassigned work trains, pulling up rail, and the ties are stacked in bundles . They made an assigned work train for the Colorado Springs area, so the Yard crews there or the Road crews can bid on it. There is a contractor, who has bought the old ties, for resale or other use. These are being trucked out to the buyers facility. They are starting at the Kelker Yard on the Santa Fe owned track, and going northward. There are three empty rail trains that are staged out of Colorado Springs. One will take up track from the south switch at Sommers siding and work south to the old Santa Fe Costilla Yard at Colorado Springs.

The work train, coming out of Kelker to Costilla Yard will work northward to the old Rio Grande transfer at Fountain Street. The yard will remain in tact, somewhat, till the other work train comes down from the north. These loaded trains will use the old Rio Grande transfer track, to connect to the single track mainline . Crews out of Denver will be deadheaded down, to take them to Pueblo and work back in the pool after rest.

There is power and two rail empties waiting to clear up northbound. The second empty rail train is staged at Pring siding, just south of Monument. The first starts tearing up rail, and loading it into the waiting rail flats. There will be juggling, of power, rail empty trains and crews, during this transition. As the rail train loads up, is secured for transit, another is in position. Logistics, and there are 4 units, 2 empty trains, and one will work and the other will be available the next day. The rail trains are the Unit Set and 2 locomotives .

I was called one day for this out of Pueblo, CO in the late September of 1977.

Part 2 will relate that tale ..