Photo Essay: Los Pinos May 20th 2013 -- John Hill, photographer

So today's a little bit different. Today, we're going to appreciate some of John Hill's efforts at preserving a bit of history. Just because it says Cumbres & Toltec Scenic on the sides of the cars or that it was just last year doesn't mean it isn't historic or significant. The stuff these people do on the C&TS are just as worthy and require just as much strength as it did for the old hands of the D&RGW. And whether Mr. Hill's work is comparable to Al Chione or Otto Perry or one of the many photographers of the narrow gauge of years before is not for me to decide. But I do know what I like. And what I like keeps me watching John Hill's work.

Take, for example, the lowly mudhen 463. She's a teakettle, make no mistake, but she has been fortified with the efforts of many strong men who have worked hard to keep her faithfully steaming and, when she could no longer run, to keep at her until she could again. One thing Gene Autry's mudhen has taught me: Never give up on an old friend. If you stick with them, they will often surprise you with their strength of heart.

Today, I give you a 5 photo essay called,

Los Pinos May 20th, 2013 

Photos by John Hill, supplemental text by Steve Walden, editor

On May 20, 2013, Denver & Rio Grande Western narrow gauge Mikado 463, the 13th of her class of K-27 locomotives, steams peacefully, about to begin a new day of work. Tell me she doesn't look fine, with her outside frame drivers so low they nearly fail to clear the spikes and her long, low boiler. That's where they get the name Mudhen, because they are so low to the ground.*

On May 20th, 2013, the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad called upon the pride of Antonito, donated to the city by Gene Autry in 1972, to pull in front of K-36 Mikado 487, one of ten workhorses that have been the mainstays of both the C&TS and the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad. Running across the broad San Luis valley toward Lava tank, you might be fooled into thinking this wasn't a mountain railroad.

With only the wind to tell you their true speed, the true battle is with gravity, and both locomotives are working with all their might to pull their train through Los Pinos, only a few linear miles between Osier and the summit of Cumbres, but quite a few more, considering the route used to gain the vertical feet between the two locations. May 20th, 2013, the two engines are making the most of the 0.8 miles of tangent track they've just covered as they round the curve to point them nearly 180 degrees in the opposite direction. With plenty of spring's snow lying about at this altitude, there are no doubts about this being a mountain railroad now!

Puffing away on May 20th, 2013, mudhen 463 and engine 487 show their worth to the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic as they have for so many years before for the Rio Grande. With a combined 198 years between the two engines, you'd think this scene would get a little old, a little mundane. Ho-hum, right? Not on your life, even if it were another date! But this particular date is pretty special.

As the train continues toward Cumbres Pass and Chama, the white flag on the back brings up the markers. The date, May 20th, 2013, contributing photographer John Hill would be the first to tell you, was the very first trip in well over a decade for little mudhen 463. She had spent nearly a dozen years idled by a desperate need for extensive repairs. Extensive to the point of stripping her down and rebuilding from the frame up. Spending her hundredth birthday and several more in the darkness of a shop was no picnic, and no way for the rarest of Rio Grande Mikados to survive. No, this return was special for many reasons, and many hands worked hard for her to return to steam.

History happens every day, but Los Pinos, May 20th, 2013, was special!◊

* - When first published, I originally called the class Sports Models, which is actually a common nickname for the subsequent class of Mikados, the K-28s. Special thanks to Charles Weston of Yahoo! Group DRGW for clearing this up!

Friends Video Shows Rare Mudhen In Its Natural Environment

On June 21st of this year, the Friends of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad put together a video of a double header between Chama and Los Pinos. The Friends all-volunteer organization helps preserve the historic elements of the part of the  Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad's narrow gauge San Juan Extension that the C&TS operates. They paint. A lot. But that's part of what preservation is. They also do a lot of restoration that would otherwise lay undone.



Incidentally, I may be hearing things, but it sounds like someone is being a bit stingy with the sand or a bit too generous with the steam. Several times as the train climbs out of Chama, mudhen 463 spins her drivers. This is not all that good for the machinery or the rails. Working the throttle with a sensitive touch can keep the engine delivering the maximum energy to the rail.◊

Narrow Gauge Rio Grande Mikado 491 Sees Blue Skies After A Pivotal Year

Rio Grande 491 rides the turntable Friday afternoon under a beautiful blue sky. With restoration still to be done, she nonetheless looks like she's ready for work. Heading for the Monarch branch, perhaps?
Photo: John Hill, contributing photographer for Colorado Railroads

Rio Grande narrow gauge steam locomotive 491, Colorado's most recently restored steamer is part of the vaunted K-37 class. They were perhaps the largest, heaviest, strongest class of narrow gauge Mikados ever to work a narrow gauge railroad, with the possible exception of a couple of articulateds on the Uintah.

Starting life in 1902 as a Baldwin-built standard gauge locomotive for the Rio Grande numbered 1026, she was converted along with 5 other classmates to 3-foot narrow gauge in 1928. Additionally, Burnham shop machinists took her from a 2-8-0 wheel arrangement (Consolidation) to a 2-8-2 wheel arrangement, known as Mikado. The innovators in Denver's Burnham shops had no way of knowing that their work would long outlast the thundering, Big Boy-like articulated engines of the 2-8-8-2 L-131 class that saw work in the very same shops!

Yet, some parts of 491 make her twice as unique an engine. Colorado Railroad Museum intern Benjamin Fearn explains in the museum's Iron Horse News, the firebox of 491 has thermic siphons installed inside. Such devices worked to take more of the energy from the combustion in the fire and pass it into the water of the boiler. As it does, convection draws more water into the siphon to pick up more energy. Conservation and efficiency were useful concepts at Burnham, just like most steam shops of their day.

So, if everything goes right, 491 could be 13 years away--as a narrow gauge engine--in what could be a career not measured in years, but in centuries. As my favorite engine at the museum, I can't wait to see the completed work!

The story of the restoration of 491 is available in the Iron Horse News and in the museum's Roundhouse News blog.◊

Special thanks to John Hill for the timely photograph!

Rio Grande 491 Operational! Celebrates with Tour of the Museum Loop

Ahem. After a few friends have poked me in the ribs, asking if I indeed knew this was happening at the Colorado Railroad Museum (I did, but family matters kept me away). I'm a little too excited, but I will keep my detached decorum. I will not geek out over a certain bit of news that just begs to be shouted from the summit of Mt. Elbert.

Instead... I will let the video speak for itself.

Just listen to that whistle halfway through. Oh, baby!◊

D&RGW 491 at No Agua tank on the museum grounds this summer
Photo: Colorado Railroad Museum

Special POTD: Big Boy's Last Sherman Hill September

Just north of the border of Colorado near US-85, about equidistant between the outskirts of Cheyenne and the state line is Speer, Wyoming. Like most railroad places, it's just a spot on the map, a waypoint between here and there. In this case Speer is the junction where the north-south route of the old Denver Pacific connects with the main east-west Union Pacific Overland Route over Sherman Hill. This past week, 56 years ago, a Union Pacific Big Boy rolled westbound from Speer toward Sherman Hill with its manifest freight, and Dave Straight was there to photograph it.

Photo of the Day: Dave Straight, contributing photographer to Colorado Railroads

Another September would never come for most of the Big Boys to haul freight. Just 10 months and 2 weeks to the day after this photo was taken, the same 4015 would make the last revenue run for any Big Boy over these same rails before being retired and eventually scrapped. Only 8 Big Boys were spared, including 4005 sitting at Forney in Denver and the celebrated 4014 undergoing restoration (as this is written) in Cheyenne, just a cinder's glide from where this was taken.

Special thanks to Dave Straight (and John Hill) for sharing this finely aged photograph with us.◊

Mike Armstrong's Steam Galore Annotated For Colorado Railroad Fans

Mike Armstrong is a photographer and videographer, posting on YouTube as CoasterFan2105. His body of work has grown quite a bit. So, as a showcase, Mr. Armstrong has put together a compilation of his steam videos and called it Steam Trains Galore! At the time of this writing, it has over 2.1 Million views. (You read that correctly.)

For 2 million pairs of eyes, the video is chock full of Colorado narrow gauge action (and a bit of RGSR's standard gauge engine 18). Thus, I've produced a small collection of notes detailing the different segments with links so you can skip to the parts that interest you. Honestly, my first impulse is to just let it run and see if you can identify the segments yourself. Just in case, however, I put the cheat sheet below.




Note: clicking the time links below will open the video in a second window (after an ad, which I have no control over, unfortunately)

• 0:01 - 0:12 Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge RR (D&SNG) Eureka & Palisade engine 4 "Eureka" crossing Animas  River south of Silverton
• 3:03 - 5:46 Denver & Rio Grande Western (D&RGW) engine  315, which was restored by Durango Railroad Historical  Society, at work pulling various specials on the D&SNG.
• 8:13 - 11:43 C&TS and Mudhen 463
  • 8:13 D&RGW 463, one of two surviving "Mudhens,"  leads a double-header on the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic RR  (C&TS) along with D&RGW 487 on a mixed photo freight  over the 63 mile line.
  • 8:43 passing the tank at Lava
  • 9:06 entering the bottom of Tanglefoot Curve below  Cumbres Pass
  • 10:38 exiting the top of Tanglefoot Curve immediately above the entrance
  • 11:08 decending the 4%  grade toward Chama, NM (love the through-truss shot!)
• 11:44 - 12:03 D&RGW mikado 484 on the C&TS rounding the  balloon loop at Antonito, turning the train for the  return trip to Chama.
• 15:38 Intro photo of San Luis & Rio Grande SL&RG railroad  standard gauge engine (former LS&I) 18 descending  towards La Veta, CO with a consist for SL&RG's passenger arm the Rio Grande Scenic Railroad (RGSR)
• 15:48 - 17:50 SL&RG 18 eastbound from Alamosa across the  San Luis Valley then climbing the grade toward La Veta  Pass and topping the grade at Fir, CO. Finally,  descending the east side of the pass nearing La Veta, CO
• 17:51 - 19:57 SL&RG 18 returns with the same consist  climbing dramatically back over La Veta Pass to Alamosa.  Notice the wheel slip by locomotive 18 starting at  19:10. Don't get stingy with the sand now!
• 20:03 - 22:05 Eureka & Palisade number 4 idles for water  at Hermosa then departs northbound for Silverton.  (several beautiful shots)
• 22:06 - 22:10 Photo of the west side of Durango's Narrow Gauge Avenue (yes, technically a street)

Of course, Mike has put together a sequel called--what else?--Steam Trains Galore 2! It contains more of Colorado's railroads and engines for you to discover.

Great videos, Mike!◊

POTD: Highball Summer 2014!

For Memorial Day, our Photo of the Day is by our first contributing photographer to Colorado Railroads, John Hill of Denver. He managed to catch Denver & Rio Grande Western (D&RGW) class K-27 "Mudhen" #463 out west of Antonito on the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad. Mr. Hill's photograph appears here online for the first time.

Photo: John Hill, contributing photographer

Fans of the narrow gauge built by the D&RGW will remember the C&TS has preserved the remaining narrow gauge portion of the San Juan Extension of the D&RGW that ran between Alamosa and Durango, Colorado from 1881 until 1970. Famed engine #463 and her sister #464 on the Huckleberry Railroad are the only surviving members of the K-27s, the smallest of the Rio Grande's narrow-gauge Mikados, also known by the Whyte notation 2-8-2.

Like the engine heading west toward Chama, the C&TS, along with most of the other heritage railroads in Colorado, are setting out on their summer season this weekend. No doubt, hopes are high that this season will be enjoyable and productive. While there are no guarantees, the bizarre events like caterpillars, wildfires, and infrastructure problems of the last few years have hopefully abated to allow a good and enjoyable season for staff, visitors, and railfans alike.◊

Special POTD: Through the Rockies, Not Around Them

Our Photo of the Day is truly special. Union Pacific is in the midst of a public relations tour de force with it's move of Pomona, California-based RailGiants former Big Boy, now UPP 4014*, but in years past, it was far from a lock as the home of big steam. Nearly every western US class 1 railroad had big steam in the 1940s. A World War and post-war boom stretched a national rail system to its limits and fed the need for big and bigger steam engines to move the freight (and passengers, imagine that!) over the mountain ranges that separate the bread basket of the world from the Pacific coast and her ports. These western railroads were interested in diesels, but knew that they would have to turn to tried-and-true steam technology.

Rio Grande 3619 slows for a moment outside Tabernash, Colorado while it returns from a helper stint to the Moffat Tunnel on October 20, 1956. The 3619 was usually under the care of former-D&SL Joe Priess, engineer and Flory Iacovetto, fireman. The photo appears for the first time online here, making it a special POTD. Click to enlarge.
Photo: Dave Straight. 

While Union Pacific had their 3900 Challenger-class locomotives, Rio Grande had the same type from the same maker and order, called L-97 class, numbered 3800-3805. What UP didn't have was the Denver & Rio Grande Western's L-131 and L-132 classes numbered 3600-3609 and 3610-3619. The last of her class and only days away from her date with the scrappers torch (dear God, why?), this might be one of the last photos of the Rio Grande's largest, most powerful steam engines.◊

* - Union Pacific Passenger reporting mark avoids conflict with UP 4014, an active diesel on their roster, which is the same reason behind UPY. See UtahRails.net data on UP 4014, Note E. It seems no one wants to repeat the confusion over 844/8444/844. 

Resource Review: Railway Productions' Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad DVD

The Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad DVD Review Category Rating Factual Accuracy & Detail ★★★★★ Entertainment Value and Appeal     ★★★★★ Subject Choice ★★★☆☆ Production Quality ★★★★☆ Value ★★★☆☆ Overall ★★★★☆

There have been perhaps hundreds, even thousands of videos of various quality and length devoted to Colorado's surviving narrow-gauge lines. Some of the most professional and entertaining focus on the entire state, while others just as good tend to settle on the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad or the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad. The latter of the two is the subject of The Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad DVD by Railway Productions, the production branch of online railroad retailer www.a-trains.com. 

A 20th Century Yearbook of the C&TS

Why this DVD, a reissue of the original VHS release? There are lots newer. There's a few different reasons. The bulk of the footage was shot in the late 1990s, a specific point in time in the heritage railroad's history that has since passed. This is before the ridership dive in the 2002 fire season in Colorado, before the 2010 destruction of Lobato trestle and the epic struggle to continue service and rebuild the trestle and reconnect the terminals on the 64-mile line between Antonito, Colorado and Chama, New Mexico. It is a yearbook of the railroad at the end of the 20th century with differences in the last 14 years both small and great that familiar eyes will spot.

For example, regular consists at the time of the video's production still contained a number of converted boxcars used to haul passengers from the earliest days of the C&TS. The railroad has since built it's own, semi-standardized fleet of passenger coaches in Pullman green and later Tuscan red.

Another clear example of it's time-capsule quality is a demonstration of the use of Chama's iconic coaling tower. Probably the tallest building in Chama for the first hundred years, the coaling tower has long since been out of service, with each of the engine's tenders stocked with the use of a tractor's scoop bucket or front-end loader. The coaling demonstration alone is worth the effort to get this video. Part of a larger feature documenting each step taken to prepare the locomotives for service each morning, the coaling tower sequence (a little less than 8 minutes into the main video) is invaluable to any model railroader seeking to create their own version for their railroad or anyone wanting to understand the rigors of coal-fired steam operations on a railroad. 

End To End Coverage With Broad Appeal

Although other aspects of railroad technology like narrow gauge versus standard and outside-frame Mikados are briefly discussed, he video itself has a broader range of appeal and technical aspects are discussed but not in great detail. History, operations, scenery, landmarks and geography are woven together quite masterfully throughout the video. The shots are well-produced and the narration, while not top quality like those of say, Pentrex, still flows smoothly and easily, giving a naturally good feel to the experience. The background music also belies a budget production of the mid- to late 90s. In fact, it reminded me of the job training videos that so many businesses used to educate or motivate their employees, often having the opposite effect! On the other hand, the music is composed by a professional and remains relatively unobtrusive while still giving a sense of drama or anticipation where appropriate. 

The video is thorough despite being a bit dated. Both Chama and Antonito departures are extensively covered, with a ride on trains climbing both sides, and coverage meets at the summit of Cumbres Pass. Pacing shots of engine 484 out of Antonito are especially nice, if not entirely steady by today's digital standards. Autumn gold aspen groves show up often. Mudhen 463 makes a few prominent appearances. Fans of the engine will remember that she broke down in 2002, necessitating a costly and extensive rebuild from 2009 to 2013. Also appearing briefly is rotary snowplow OY during her possibly last-ever outing in 1997. Whiplash Curve, Phantom Curve, Tanglefoot Curve (called Cumbres Loop "in the old days" according to the narration), Windy Point, Mud and Rock Tunnels, Lobato and Cascade Trestles, and the dramatic Toltec Gorge get their close-ups with photo freights and passenger runs. In all, a very balanced and well thought-out production that makes a fine 20th century. 

Other notes: The DVD includes an extra 30 minutes of bonus footage including a bit more of OY. It is tacked on after the original 56 minutes. A preview of the video is available for Windows users at the retailer's site. Other retailers: InternetTrains.com, Colorado Railroad Museum 

Category	Rating
Factual Accuracy & Detail - Has the facts straight. Goes into sufficient detail to inform the audience without getting bogged down or over-simplifying	★★★★★
Entertainment Value and Appeal - Is the video just for the hard core fans, or can anyone sit back and enjoy the video?	★★★★★
Subject Choice - How common is the subject matter? Does the railfans' world need another video on this subject? How likely will there be another video made on the same subject?	★★★☆☆
Production Quality - Writing, editing, camera work, narration, and music must exceed nominal qualities by significant margin to achieve full marks	★★★★☆
Value - Does the video deliver a high value (with time, quality, accuracy) for the price asked by the distributor?	★★★☆☆
Overall - The average of the 5 categories. Accuracy is likely to find a contrast with quality and appeal is likely to contrast with subject choice, and value is affected by the other four.	★★★★☆

So it's a generally favorable review. I didn't find anything to fully criticize outside of the number of Cumbres & Toltec videos already out there and the MSR price of $30  ($24.95 + 5.00 S&H). With Blu-Ray gaining more of the mainstream market, I can't bring myself to part with that much for a VHS re-issue to DVD. Again, not a lot to criticize on a great 90 minute video that's eminently watchable, especially for those who remember the previous century!

Do More

Want more of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad?

• Ride the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad this year!
• Find out about the Friends of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad mentioned in the video
• Read the Wikipedia article
• Learn more about the Narrow Gauge Circle
• Find more posts about the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad on Colorado Railroads◊

POTD - A New Way To See Things

It's been a while now since I've done some Photos of the Day, and it hasn't really been for lack of good photographs. I'm finding more, not less out there. Keep shooting and I'll keep posting!

D&RGW #683, the only standard gauge Rio Grande steam engine known to survive is
preserved at the Colorado Railroad Museum in Golden, Colorado. The first outdoor
exhibit most encounter at the museum, the engine is quite popular with the young (and
young at heart) who want to ring the engine's bell.
Photo: Christopher J. May

Chris May takes today's Photo of the Day with this half-portrait of Rio Grande engine 683. For me, the vertical lines of the stack and horizontal lines of the top of the pilot combine with the half-circles of the headlight and boiler to make it interesting. While the foreground is almost completely monochrome and in focus, the background is awash with soft colors of every natural hue. The engine has been photographed by May "countless times" but this shot just occurred to him on the way to the car. Proof that "there's always a new way to see things..." ◊

Final Departure For Robert LeMassena

Robert LeMassena photo by Matt Isaacks

Robert LeMassena died on October 1st, 2013, 311 days before his 100th birthday. His published works preserving the history of Colorado's railroads and in particular the Rio Grande forms the cornerstone on which much of my work is based. My library card has a permanent groove in it from repeated loans of Colorado's Mountain Railroads and Rio Grande: To the Pacific!, two of his Sundance books that command top dollar at train shows and book retailers. It's unfortunate that I never had the opportunity to convey my appreciation of his work while he was still with us.

Earlier this month, Nathan Holmes of DRGW.net had this to say,

Bob left us a great deal of his amassed knowledge through his books - the most notable to most Rio Grande fans being "Rio Grande... to the Pacific!" RGTTP is an invaluable piece of work, and is still my go-to reference for the Grande's often convoluted historical timeline.

Holmes also speculated that the Colorado Railroad Museum will have a memorial event of some kind in the near future.

Trains magazine also presented an obituary in its news wire, noting his 35 bylines and numerous stories for the magazine dating from 1963. His lifelong passion for railroads led to many stories, op-ed pieces and industry articles, with much of his work centered on steam locomotive design and operation, which was a natural considering his bachelors degree in mechanical engineering.

Colorado and railroad historians have lost a true "steam buff" in Robert LeMassena. From the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western yard in East Orange, New Jersey in his youth to the high mountain passes and thundering articulated locomotives in the Colorado high country and beyond, his long life was spent in the pursuit of his passion for railroads and the engines that powered them. Few were so lucky as he in this regard. I wish him Godspeed on his final departure.◊

UP Big Boy Locomotive -- Largest Ever Built -- May Again Roam In Colorado

UP 4014 during her operational days
Photo: Union Pacific

It's official. Union Pacific Railroad announced today that it has re-acquired one of their legendary 4-8-8-4 steam locomotives with the full intention of restoring it to active service. After a lengthy stay in the rumor mill, UP reached an agreement with the Railway and Locomotive Historical Society, Southern California Chapter in Pomona, to transfer ownership of #4014 back to the railroad. Union Pacific plans to relocate No. 4014 to Cheyenne, WY, where their "Heritage Fleet Operations" team will work to restore it to operating condition.

UP donated #4014 to the historical society December 7, 1961, which was the 20th anniversary of Pearl Harbor in 1941, the same year that the first Big Boys began operations. The locomotive arrived January 8, 1962, at its current display location at the Rail Giants Train Museum in Pomona.

"Our steam locomotive program is a source of great pride to Union Pacific employees past and present," said Ed Dickens, senior manager of Union Pacific Heritage Operations. "We are very excited about the opportunity to bring history to life by restoring No. 4014."

What About Denver's Big Boy?

Big Boy 4005, the Big Boy on permanent display at the Forney Transportation Museum in Denver may have been considered for restoration, but given the long duration #4005 spent out under the open sky in the years before the museum moved, she almost certainly would have cost more to restore although it's unclear Union Pacific ever seriously considered the locomotive, one of several surviving Big Boys around the country.

More

• about Big Boys.
• about #4014 (new UP data)

Opinion 

Union Pacific 4014 in Pomona CA in 2005
Photo: Morven, Wikimedia Commons

It remains to be seen whether Union Pacific has a use for 3 steam engines in a special program. Certainly, the steam program is Union Pacific's prime goodwill ambassador, crushing other companies' PR machines under a million pounds of live steam. On the other hand, could it be setting us up for a retirement of #3985, the Challenger that UP restored back in 1981. Such wouldn't be likely right away, but odds would favor its early retirement if someone finds the costs of running or repairs to be unjustified. Personally, I'm excited at the possibility of finally seeing a Big Boy in motion. I only wonder what the world's largest steam locomotive is truly going to cost.◊

September Issue of Trains Has Rare Narrow Gauge Colorado Tale

Current subscribers to Trains Magazine will be pleased to know that the issue for September 2013 contains a four page article about Martin E. Hansen and his railroading connection to his great-grandfather Walter Joseph Hannan. Hannan was an engineer for the Colorado & Northwestern Railway, who died at the throttle while bucking snow to reach Ward, Colorado in April 1901.

The Colorado & Northwestern Railway was a narrow gauge affair that connected Boulder, Colorado and the aforementioned town of Ward with a spur to Eldora. It is a line seldom talked or read about, essentially a lost road. Begun late (1897) and pulled up in less than 25 years, the C&NW ventured west of Boulder to places like Gold Hill and Glacier Lake with 48.1 miles of 3-foot gauge rails. The railroad changed to the Denver, Boulder & Western in 1909 and was abandoned in 1919. Tivis Wilkins notes,

In July 1920, after most of the line had been dismantled, the Colorado Supreme Court reversed the decision of the PUC (Public Utilities Commission) and ordered operations to be resumed. The order was never carried out.¹

The railway's engine #30, which survived for a while as C&S 74 and RGS 74 before retiring to a Boulder park and then the Colorado Railroad Museum, was the same engine that Hannan rode to his fate as the town of Ward watched in horror.

Suffice to say it's a great story, one worth the price of the magazine. Watch for it at the end of July in your mailbox. Look for it on pages 40 - 43 under the title Landslide of Emotion. Enjoy!◊

UP Crew Readys Venerable 844 Steam Engine For Annual Denver Trip

As seen here, Union Pacific is readying the never-retired 4-8-4 Northern steam engine #844 for it's annual series of trips between Denver and Cheyenne's Frontier Days. I've chased the 844 numerous times, but never to Cheyenne, oddly enough. Nonetheless, I know others like Skip W that have already greased up their tripods and cleaned their lenses. For some, chasing is a hobby, others a diversion, but for folks like Skip, it's a passion.

The route will follow that of the Denver Pacific, the first railroad to connect Denver with the outside world by rail in 1870, six years before statehood and our nation's centennial. Those were the days of ornamental steam, when antlers and whale-oil lamps sat above link-and-pin couplers and wooden cowcatchers. Like the Cheyenne Frontier Days itself, the 844 is more than just a working anachronism. It's a functioning mode of transportation, and the industrial age technology belies it's youth. While the 844 was built as UP class FEF-3 in 1944, over 74 years after 1870, the engine itself is 68 years old,  and much younger than the 142 year-old route it will be rolling over at a rocket's pace very soon.◊

Follow the Train

• Official Site
• Schedule
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• Union Pacific
• UP Steam
• GPS Trace - exact location in seconds
• iPhone App at iTunes
• @UP_Steam
• Historic Locomotives: 844

Blessed Are the Patient

Do my eyes deceive me? Can it be? Is this really happening? Yes! Yes! YES!!!

Denver & Rio Grande Western's famed mikado, Mudhen 463, is under steam and testing! That is not a misprint. According to Nathan Holmes, webmaster at DRGW.net,

...not only does it steam, but it actually runs. They did a shakedown run with her today (4/9) from Antonito out to Lava and back. 

He linked to the Friends of the C&TS discussion board post by Rich Murray with two pictures by Craig McMullen.

Tim Tennant posted details today on the delayed, canceled, on-again, off-again-now-on-again charter that finally seems to be coming true. The release also has a picture of the engineunder steam at Lava.  The engine is sans number, but I can tell it's the real deal with a lot of shiny new parts. Make plans to visit the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad this summer to catch the oldest and smallest of the surviving steam engines of the Rio Grande!

Thanks to valued reader Rich Guggenheim for the tip.◊

Video: Triple Header On the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad

I happened across this video some time ago and, unlike some web videos, this one seems to improve over time. I've watched it several times and I have to say it's one of my favorites.

Normally, I don't feature videos that have disabled embedding. I believe sharing is something that helps your public exposure if it's done with a watermark or title cards showing whose content it is. On the other hand, this video is just too good to pass up.

Former Rio Grande Mikado locomotives, numbers 489, 488, and 487, in that order, triple-head a photo freight over Cumbres Pass in the snow. The footage is HD, sharp focus and set up extremely well. Low angle passes with a wide lens and high angle shots work together like a cinematographer's dream. It should be on a DVD somewhere, but Zack Blea, God bless 'im, has put it on the web for us all to enjoy!

(Next time, Zack, please let me show the readers your awesomeness here!)◊

UP 844 and SLRG 18 Met In Walsenburg

Union Pacific 844 and San Luis & Rio Grande 18 had an unannounced meet in Walsenburg, a town that's served as the long-time junction of the Denver & Rio Grande's La Veta Pass route that links Alamosa and the large San Luis Valley with the southern end of Colorado's Front Range. The SL&RG extra with three Rio Grande Scenic cars traveled for the first time into Walsenburg under its own steam. It's likely the first time since the 1950s that two steam engines had met in this southern Colorado town. YouTube user JointLineRailfan captured the late evening-lit meet of the two oil burners on Sunday, November 4th.



Great catch, even if it was in the dark! ◊

Union Pacific 844 Tours Colorado Starting Tomorrow

The Union Pacific Steam program is a veritable powerhouse of corporate goodwill that any Public Relations department would love to have. Any live mainline steam out west is likely to happen under the UP Steam shield.

As part of their UP 150 Celebration, Union Pacific sent it's million-pound* ambassador of good will, steam engine 844 down to Texas last month for its UP 150 Express tour. It's return route will come home through Colorado, starting tomorrow. The planned route follows I-25 for most of the way up the Front Range, using the Joint Line.

Here's the itinerary from their site, followed by their locations in Google Maps.

UP 150 Express in Colorado

Location	Arrival	Departure
Sunday, November 4, 2012
Des Moines, N.M. Saavadre Street Crossing and Larkin Street		11:01 a.m.
Trinidad, Colo. County Road 75 Crossing at County Road 71.6	1:15 p.m.	1:45 p.m.
Walsenburg, Colo S. Hendren Avenue and W. 5th Street	3:15 p.m.
Monday, November 5, 2012
Walsenburg, Colo S. Hendren Avenue and W. 5th Street		8:00 a.m.
Pueblo, Colo Look for signs beginning at access road	11:01 a.m.
Tuesday, November 6, 2012 On Display
Pueblo, Colo 400 B Street	Open  10:00 a.m.	Close  4:00 p.m.
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Pueblo, Colo 400 B Street		8:00 a.m.
Colorado Springs, Colo 112 Pikes Peak Ave.	9:45 a.m.	10:45 a.m.
Palmer Lake, Colo S. Spruce Mountain Road at S. Perry Park Road	11:45 a.m.	12:01 p.m.
Denver, Colo North Yard (no public access)	3:01 p.m.
Thursday, November 8, 2012
Denver, Colo North Yard (no public access)		8:00 a.m.
Greeley, Colo Old Depot, 902 7th Ave	12:45 p.m.	1:15 p.m.
Cheyenne, WY UP Steam home	3:01 p.m.

UP 150 Express in Colorado Nov 2012
Map presented by Colorado Railroads, for informational purposes only, information as announced by Union Pacific on 11/3/2012


Remember that Sunday morning at 2 a.m., Colorado leaves Mountain Daylight Savings Time (MDT) and returns to Mountain Standard Time (MST). All times are taken from the UP Steam site and should be MST. For informational purposes only

* - 905,000 pounds, give or take

Happy hunting to all main line steam fans!◊

Video: Yesterday's Magic Rails To ... um, Yesterday

As the mercury slowly climbs out of winter and into our spring (hopefully), cabin fever has again sprung many images and ideas formerly locked in the human heart. Old tools and "new"Christmas gifts that have sat for some months find themselves wanted again by their owners. Whether you find yourself a veteran of the state's grand(e) scenery or a newly minted greenhorn, the Colorado high country is calling!

One reliable aspect of the Rocky Mountains is that they change very little in 50 years. For a prime example, look no further than below. If this featurette was made in our time, the travel to the Rockies would appear much different. Yet Durango and her sister city of Silverton would merely appear with newer automobiles and vivid color scenery, and maybe a few less period actors and staged gunfights.


Entire video link or skip to the good (Rio Grande) part

Films like the one above would appear before a movie--instead of gobs and gobs of previews--to entertain viewers and promote companies, concepts, and opportunities like travel by rail and tourism in remote western towns. The impact of such films on the subject, in conjunction with fictional movies using the local scenery likely can't be overstated, yet likely can't be calculated either beyond the common anecdotal evidence. Or, in plain english: this film contributed in a large way to preserving Colorado's steam tourism, but we'll never know how much.

Only 10 years later however, a trip completely by rail to Silverton would become impossible with both the abandonment of the WP portion of the California Zephyr and the abandonment of the Rio Grande narrow gauge from Antonito to Durango. Don't let those ideas die unless you have to! Next year, something or someone might not be there.

PS: Can't get enough old film? Check out The Royal Gorge.

POTD - In the sticks for a winter special

Kevin Madore, whose photo of the E&P #4 was our POTD yesterday returns for a double today with a photo from earlier in 2011. Rockwood is becoming a popular haven for photographers of the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad in all seasons, not just summer. A quick hop down the rails got Mr. Madore this fine photo of what he calls "the chocolate plume from D&RGW 478." Couldn't have said it better.

Former D&RGW K-28 #478 rolls through the brush near Rockwood, Colorado on its way
home to Durango with a winter steam charter on February 21, 2011.
Photo: Kevin Madore