UP Julesburg Subdivision

The UP Julesburg Subdivision is a Union Pacific mainline that branches off of the UP Sidney Sub in Julesburg and connects to Sterling and Messex.

History
The line was built in 1882 by Union Pacific as a cutoff for its Omaha-Denver traffic, connecting the now UP Sidney Sub to the UP Greeley Sub in La Salle. The line later became the first subdivision in the UP Wyoming Division. CB&Q had an interchange in Messex to connect to the Powder River basin, taking the UP line from Messex to Sterling, then branching off north. By the 1980s, the line from Kersey to Sterling wasn't seeing as much UP traffic as it used to, only seeing BN traffic from Messex to Sterling. UP installed ABS signals on the line from Messex to Sterling for BN and even allowed them to authorize movements between those areas. By the early 90s, UP had put the line from Messex to Kersey out of service due to no traffic and by 1993, the line was completely ripped up, leaving the rest of the Julesburg sub from Messex to Julesburg and the Monfort Industrial Lead from La Salle to Kersey. Nowadays, BNSF is the only railroad that operates on the line. UP still uses the part from Julesburg to Sterling, but only runs locals.

Route Description
The line runs along mostly plains from Julesburg to Merino. In Sterling, there is a big UP and BNSF yard. There are several industries that are served by the Julesburg sub. The line follows US 6 to Merino and then goes into a forest-like area, where it passes a siding and then connects to the BNSF Brush Sub in Messex.

Railroad Crossings
Most crossings on the Julesburg sub are modernized from Merino to Sterling. Some older WCH equipment is still in use, but most mechanical bells are gone, with around 1 being left on the line in Ovid. There used to be a pair of Griswold EM signals at Chestnut Street in Sterling, but were replaced around 2011, with one of the signals being preserved at the Overland Trail Museum in Sterling.

Lines along route

 * BNSF Brush Subdivision
 * BNSF Angora Subdivision
 * NKCR Wallace Subdivision (via BNSF Trackage)
 * UP Sidney Subdivision