Sunday, January 20, 2008

Ski Areas of Today Served By Rails of Long Ago

There's only a few practical routes through the Colorado Rocky Mountains, and railroads were among the first to locate and use them. Hardscrabble wagon roads gave way to steel wheel on steel rail in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, guaranteeing the towns and services along the routes a good chance at sustainable success. Where rails were pulled up, asphalt was laid down and nearly all the routes have seen continued use with highways. The only notable exception is Rollins Pass, which was put out of service when the Moffat Tunnel opened. Perhaps because of this, Winter Park, which lies at the far end of the tunnel, is the only ski area currently served by a ski train.

It should come as little surprise that a majority of Colorado ski areas are sited near present day railroads or ghost railroads that have long been silent. Here's a listing of ski areas and the railroad grades that run nearby.
  • Arapahoe Basin - only a few miles separates the highest ski area in Colorado from the highest railroad in Colorado*, the Argentine Central. What's a few mountain peaks in the way?
  • Aspen Snowmass - Back in the day when it was a mining town, Aspen was served by both the Rio Grande and the Colorado Midland. Only last year were the rails of this branch finally and completely removed
  • Beaver Creek - On the dormant Tennessee Pass route of the old D&RGW between Minturn and Dotsero
  • Breckenridge - On the old Colorado & Southern over Boreas Pass
  • Copper Mountain - On the Blue River arm of the Denver & Rio Grande over Fremont Pass
  • Crested Butte - A former mining town once served by the narrow gauge Gunnison branch of the D&RGW
  • Loveland - A few miles from the end of track for the Colorado & Southern's effort to reach Leadville by way of Georgetown
  • Monarch - The old Monarch branch to the quarry below the ski area was removed in the mid-1980s
  • Purgatory (a.k.a. Durango Mountain, a.k.a. Flaming Gates of Hell - a direct translation of "Purgatory" in some languages) - The legendary Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad runs over the same rails that the Rio Grande laid over 125 years ago. Now if the resort could just pick a name...
  • Ski Cooper - This little ski area somehow manages to survive a remote location and competition from larger resorts. Its the nearest area to Camp Hale, the original camp of the 10th Mountain Division (skiing soldiers--biathalon anyone?) whose soldiers returned from WWII to Colorado to jump-start the state's ski industry. It also sits near the dormant Tennessee Pass line
  • Steamboat - On the original route of the Denver & Salt Lake, it is conceivable that a charter excursion could reach this fabled resort town, if it can dodge all the coal trains on the Craig branch
  • Telluride - Theatrically pronounced by the conductors of the Rio Grande Southern, "T'-Hell-You-Ride," this mining town earned a reputation long before the skiers made it a premier resort. Why not go a little further and visit Pandora?
  • Vail - Just around the corner from Minturn and Rio Grande's Tennessee Pass, this resort is one beautiful, legendary experience
  • Winter Park - The only resort served by the Ski Train, it has been long viewed as Denver's best source for packed powder, known to corrupt eastern skiers even in bad years
* The Argentine Central was the highest adhesion-worked railroad in Colorado, what most people would call a railroad. The highest railroad was and remains the Cog Wheel Route of the Manitou & Pikes Peak Railway

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Rio Grande Scenic Gains Two More Steamers

Because D&RGW #683, the single surviving standard gauge steam from the Denver & Rio Grande Western, is preserved at the Colorado Railroad Museum, the San Luis & Rio Grande management continues to find non-native steam power for it's scenic runs on its two excursion trains, The San Luis Express from Alamosa to La Veta and the Toltec Gorge Limited from Alamosa to Antonito to connect with the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic. They recently acquired two 2-8-0 steam locomotives from the Mt. Hood Railroad in Oregon. They are former Lake Superior & Ishpeming No. 18 and ex-Grand Canyon Railway No. 20. The engines are expected to be in service by 2008 and 2009, respectively, according to their web site.

The Union Pacific took the engines over the Moffat Tunnel route only to dump them in the Winter Park siding due to a clearance issue with one of the tunnels through the Front Range below the main tunnel. They are presently in Denver, according to DRGW.net, after a re-route through Wyoming, and will likely be in Walsenburg on Thursday evening, the 17th.

The San Luis & Rio Grande has also started construction of a maintenance facility. The irony is that after Union Pacific bought the Southern Pacific in 1996, it leveled the historic Alamosa facilities. Now, only 10 years later, the short line has turned Alamosa into it's hub of operations and needs a facility to maintain its fleet.

On a side note, the San Luis & Rio Grande also purchased five Santa Fe Big Dome cars from Holland America. The cruise line sold some similar domes to the Royal Gorge Route in 2005, which have greatly added to their passengers' experience. The Budd domes last ran between Anchorage and Fairbanks via Denali National Park on the Alaska Railroad. They should look much nicer than the "vintage" equipment the RGSR has used the last two years.

I think I speak for railfans everywhere when I say I appreciate the Rio Grande Scenic Railroad's efforts to expand the railroad tourism in southern Colorado. I've got to scrape a few nickels together to get a ticket to ride. Speaking of, if you'd like to contribute to Colorado Railroads, you can purchase some items from the Resource Siding at right. A portion of your purchase will help keep this railroad blog running!

Pictures:

Monday, January 14, 2008

Gene Autry's Mudhen Comes Closer To Serving the C&TS Again

Gene Autry's Mudhen, #463, is a K-27 class Mikado that was used by the Rio Grande on her narrow gauge lines and one of two left in existence. Her sister engine is #464 currently working on the Huckleberry Railroad in Flint, Michigan. Since Gene Autry, the "singing cowboy," donated it to Antonito and then the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic, it has seen use on the 64 mile line between Chama and Antonito. However, since 2002, the engine has been sidelined with a broken rod.

The engine recently took a big step toward restoration when the Friends of the Cumbres & Toltec won a $300,000 grant to get it back in running condition. The total cost of the restoration is around $900,000 and the Friends group has commitments for $250,000 above the grant. A lot of variables likely are still blank but the engine could be back in the lineup by 2010, according to the article.