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Monday, October 13, 2014

POTD - Snowy Rails in Middle Park Wash the CZ in Wintry Wonder

Amtrak killed the Ski Train in a blatant fratricide. So why is it still the subject of a Photo of the Day award, especially in a place its victim once called home? Because art and reality can be separated at times and because it can be unprofessional to let a grudge get in the way of artistic triumph.

Amtrak in the snow - Hideaway Park, Colorado, 2003
Photo of the Day: Steve Brown (sjb4photos), Amtrak in the snow - Colorado 
Amtrak Train No. 5, the California Zephyr, makes its way through Middle Park approaching Fraser, Colorado in March 2003. It is presently four hours late due to the recent snow storm and when it leaves Frasier, it will be seven hours late due to freight congestion on the Union Pacific's Moffat Route brought on by the same storm. Not the worst delays ever seen by Amtrak, but it certainly doesn't help Amtrak's sorry reputation for poor timetable performance.1,2,3 That may have been why a grinchy Amtrak never could abide the Ski Train service from Denver to Winter Park and back that was seldom if ever so late.◊

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