Wyoming & South Dakota Trains (2 of 4)
Added 9/2008; Copyright © 2008 Lewis Bogaty
A Day In The Powder River Basin
Donkey Creek Junction (west of Rozet, Wyoming)
Above: The long wait to come off the Orin Line triple track and through the Donkey Creek Yard.
The Orin Line is the coal highway of the Powder River Basin, running north-south through Wyoming for well over 100 miles, and linking to nine of the coal mines. Its operation is crucial to the generation of power in the 36 states throughout the United States whose power plants burn Powder River Basin coal. It is a Burlington Northern Santa Fe and Union Pacific jointly-owned line, now with three tracks, and a fourth anticipated. On this heavily congested track, Union Pacific unit coal trains head toward power plants throughout the country from the south end, as do many BNSF trains. But many BNSF trains also head out from the north end of the Orin Line, here, at Donkey Creak Junction.
Above & Below: Donkey Creek Yard
Above: Five coal trains wait
their turn to move through the yard.
Above & Below: Three of the waiting trains.
Below: A helper engine at the back of one of the loaded coal
trains waiting in the yard.
Above: A loaded coal train from one of the mines north of Gillette ducks under
I-90, turns east
and stops,
west of the yard, waiting its turn to come through.
Below: Half an hour later, the train begins to move. This train
would head east through the yard.
The one before it turned south onto the triple track.
Above: A helper engine comes out of the yard as
a loaded coal train waits to come off the triple track.
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