Although most of the shared Joint Line trackage between north of Pueblo and Denver consisted of two separate lines (Denver & Rio Grande Western and Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe), the powers that be somewhere along the line decided that one track would be plenty between Colorado Springs and Palmer Lake. Of course, inevitably a train derailed in 1996 and tied up the single track, which left trains backed up northward past Castle Rock and beyond. It didn’t help that Burlington Northern also had rights over the line. It took several days to get everything moving again. Here at the north end of Palmer Lake is where the lines again separated out into northbound and southbound mains, with the Rio Grande on the left and Santa Fe on the right.
