UP 1989 Assists In Nuclear Fuel Drill

Union Pacific helped Denver Fire and other emergency services in a drill yesterday. The drill involved a truck striking a person and a train carrying a container of spent nuclear fuel. Sharp eyes will spot UP 1989, the Rio Grande heritage unit, on the head end. Denver's channel 7 news has the story.

C&S 71 On YouTube From 1988

In 1988, Colorado & Southern #71, a 2-8-o narrow gauge steam locomotive, operated for a time in Central City. The following video shows some action, along with a tour guide talking about mining technology in the early days and some brief action. Thanks to mspeterson for converting this video and uploading it!



Opinion
While no one can complain about the tax dollars contributed to Colorado's economy, much of the history of the Central City, Black Hawk and Cripple Creek areas has been obliterated and drowned out by the gambling hucksters who mine the pockets of the middle and lower classes. So much has been lost in these historic towns, not the least of which is a functional C&S #71.

The Future Is Knocking

This commercial's a few months old, but folks are seeing the not-so-subtle writing on the wall about the future of transportation. If Amtrak keeps their schedule improvements up, the future may already have arrived.

Brief Video of Rio Grande Scenic Railroad's Steam Engine 18

Taking advantage of the ticket sale for the Rio Grande Scenic Railroad, I headed down to Alamosa on May 23rd to catch the San Luis & Rio Grande #18. Using my small hand-held, I captured this video of the steam engine pulling up in front of the Alamosa depot. I hope to have a modest trip report available soon, conditions permitting. For now, here's the brief video.



By the way, can anyone explain what the lever is by the air compressor? I'm looking at the thing that is clicking as it rotates.

How Does A Cog Railroad Work?

Visitors looking to do something to do along Colorado's Front Range don't have to look very far to find anything. Yet there is something that is uniquely Colorado right in the middle of the Front Range. Long before there was a state called Colorado, or even a Denver City, people knew of a mountain far into the Kansas Territory called Pike's Peak. The cry of the 1859 Gold Rush was, "Pike's Peak or Bust!"

Today, Pikes Peak presides over the 2nd largest city in the state, Colorado Springs. Like the settlers of 150 years ago, it is the first landmark that people from the east look for in their trek westward across the plains. Early visitors could hike to the top, and later a burro train would carry folks to the top. In 1889, Zalmon Simmons (as in Simmons mattresses) started the Manitou and Pikes Peak Railway. Using a Abt rack system to climb the mountain in a fraction of the time and distance it would take a regular adhesion locomotive and cars, the railroad first began carrying passengers to the top in 1891. The cog railway saved so much time it was possible for any tourist to make the excursion to the top a day trip, turning it into the first-rate tourism attraction it is today.

Maintaining and operating a rack system makes for some interesting workings, interesting enough for Trains Magazine to use their fledgling TrainsTube service to show their subscribers and the world how the Cog Wheel Route actually works, starting with a view from between the rails at how the cog mates with the track. The video also shows one of the most curious workings: how the switching works when you have a rack in the middle that must synch up with the teeth that it connects to. It's worth the time to take a look at this Swiss and American technology that continues to prosper on Pikes Peak 120 years later.

Photography Tips and Techniques Special On Rio Grande Scenic Railroad

Have a budding photographer in your family that wants to brush up on their skills? The Rio Grande Scenic Railroad is planning a Photo & Video Tips & Techniques Special. From the site,

Spend the day with experts and learn the tips and techniques to obtain fantastic nature photography. One dome car will be assigned to each subject and the journey will allow time for a question and answer period and some one-on-one help.

Visit the site for more information or add this event to your Google calendar.

Here's the first run of steam on the RGSR back in 2007.

Colorado Railroad Museum Needs Volunteers For Day Out With Thomas

The call is out for volunteers in the Denver area for the Colorado Railroad Museum's Day Out with Thomas event. The last three weekends in September, each Saturday and Sunday (no Fridays this time), the museum will host what Executive Director Donald Tallman calls "our most important fundraiser of the year."

Thomas & Friends has been on television since 1984, making the series 24 years old. While not every railfan enjoys the little blue engine, Thomas has introduced many a toddler to railways, Brittish railways but railways nonetheless. What the Day Out With Thomas event does is bring out people to the Colorado Railroad Museum who would not otherwise have cause to visit. Each year, those visitors are exposed to the museum and its presentation of Colorado's unique and storied railroad history, including children who have never heard of Galloping Geese, rotary snowplows or garden railways. What starts out with a little blue toy could end up as a life-long love of all things railroad and a special fondness of the railroad museum. The event itself is the key and it can't happen without volunteers.

"This event has been successful in the past due to the outstanding volunteers we have had. It takes nearly 100 volunteers per day to run the event. We can't do it without volunteers," Tallman says. Contact Kelvin@crrm.org for more information or to sign up to help with the Day Out With Thomas event. You can also call 303-279-4591 and ask about volunteering. You can even tell them Colorado Railroads let you know about it.

Here is a YouTube video of an early Thomas event at the museum. Be warned, however, that if you don't like bouncy, happy children's songs sung by children with English accents--and really, who doesn't?--it's best that you mute the audio.

RTD Light Rail Hailed On NBC

NBC Nightly News featured Denver's RTD Light Rail D-line on their Wednesday night (6/18) broadcast as part of a piece on fuel prices and improving quality of life for urban centers. If costs are managed better, Denver can be the example of what western cities can do with mass transit systems. The video from the broadcast is embedded below.