FasTracks Slowing Down

Just when they sell off the lots around Union Station to meet a $200 Million shortfall in the improvements necessary to make the station a hub for rail and bus operations, RTD is finding itself looking at more potential red ink. Failed negotiations between Union Pacific and Denver's Regional Transportation District (RTD) for sales of key tracts of land near downtown Denver's Union Station have led RTD to consider other properties and consequently change the alignment of some routes. This is likely going to lead to further analysis like environmental impact assessments and other unanticipated costs in both time and money.

So why did UP price itself out of the market on real estate? Two factors have been offered as an explanation. First, freight traffic by rail is at an all-time high. Railroads are laying down considerable amounts of cash to expand capacity. Selling off any usable assets--even if they're not likely to be used--doesn't sit well with the bean counters. This is compounded by the second factor. Railroads have long been out of the business of acquiring land, and the government doesn't exactly hand out land grants anymore. Buying private land piecemeal can't be all that appealing to a railroad executive at Union Pacific, but that's exactly what the folks at RTD are going to have to do. The speed of which is going to be anything but FasT.

Model Train Show At NW Complex in Denver

The Great Train Expo will be at the National Western Complex on I-70 just east of I-25 in Denver on February 23 & 24, 2008. The Great Train Expo is a scale-model, modular layout show with a good number of exhibitors on hand each time they come through. The Colorado Rail Link layout has been a favorite of mine for a number of years.

For out-of-town visitors, the GTE site claims that if you mention "Great Train Expo" to the folks at Savannah Suites in Arvada, you can get a room for $69 per night, but a call today to their front desk at 720-889-2111 for a room with two double beds under that promotion yielded a price of $59.99 per night. There are likely other deals to be had elsewhere too.

Rio Grande SD-40 T-2 Slipping From UP Roster?

The only un-patched Rio Grande unit, EMD SD-40T-2 #5371, has reportedly suffered a major failure and after inspection, is back at Helper, Utah as of Friday 2/1/08. Nathan Holmes of DRGW.net reports that the Positive Traction Control system aboard the unit has failed and that it will likely be retired and donated to the Utah State Railroad Museum.

Also of note, the 5371 is one of three numbered units modeled by Athearn in their HO-scale, ready-to-run series. Modelers wishing to acquire un-numbered model locomotives can contact the Rio Grande Modeling & Historical Society.

RTD Orders 55 Light Rail Cars From Siemens

Even as Denver's RTD takes delivery of new light rail cars, presumably for immediate use on the Southeast Corridor line, they have ordered another 55 cars for use on FasTracks lines currently under development. Trains Magazine reports a $184 million order for 55 SD160 vehicles to be built in Sacramento by Siemens. This exceeds all other single orders by RTD.

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

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:

• For photos of excursions with the SP #1744, visit the Flickr pool for the Rio Grande Scenic Railroad.
• The 24 hour webcam on the SL&RG yard in Alamosa.

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.

Colorado Railroad Museum 2008 Events

The Colorado Railroad Museum has announced their special event schedule for 2008.

• March 22 - Bunny Express
• April 19/20 - Post Income Tax Days
• May 31/June 1 - School's Out Steam Up
• June 14/15 - Father's Day Steam Up
• July 19 - 4th Annual Wine and Cheese Event
• August 9/10 - Back to School Train
• August 22/23 - Political Whistle Stop Campaign Train
• September - Day Out With Thomas
• October 25/26 - Halloween Train
• November 29/30 Thanksgiving Train
• December 13/14 - Santa Claus Express

New 346 Photos From Invitation Debut

Christopher May has some great photos from the Colorado Railroad Museum's invitational event welcoming back D&RGW #346, recently rebuilt at Strasburg, PA. Have a look here.

Coal Train Derails, Then Hit By Light Rail

A south-bound Union Pacific coal train derailed in southern Denver at 6:30 a.m. this morning between Oxford and Mineral. Some of it's cars fell on the RTD Light Rail right-of-way and a Light Rail car struck the obstruction, derailing the car. It is unknown what might have caused the initial derailment, but cold weather may have been a factor. Santa Fe is closed in the affected area and RTD is using buses to maintain service between the Oxford and Mineral stations.

More details available at 9news.com.

Review: Colorado's Mountain Railroads

With winter comes a bit of a slowdown on the railroads of Colorado, and Colorado Railroads blog is no exception. Because there’s not much news besides the Christmas trains, I'm going to do some more product reviews. You’ve already seen the Gunnison DVD offered. Now to the books!

There is no shortage of books on Colorado railroads but if I had to pick books that would be the best to have in any railfan's collection, Colorado's Mountain Railroads by Robert A. LaMassena would be near the top of the list. Covering roughly 100 years of Colorado railroad history, this book is an exhaustive listing of any and all mountain roads laying a rail in the Centennial State.

Having appeared as separate volumes dating from 1963, LaMassena consolidated and revised his work and Sundance Publications Limited printed it in 1984. It is still the most valuable in researching obscure railroads in Colorado. For example, most railfans know the Rio Grande and possibly the Colorado Midland, but not many know about the Midland Terminal or its use of rail buses to help with passenger traffic after World War I. Likewise, not much coverage has been done of the larger, out-of-state roads including the Union Pacific, Missouri Pacific and the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe. Finally, every short line that laid rail (and even some that never did) get at least some treatment. Here’s a partial listing:

• Colorado Central
• Colorado Yule Marble Co., along with the Crystal River railroads.
• Coors Brewing Co.
• Denver, Boulder & Western
• Denver, Lakewood & Golden
• Denver Pacific
• Denver & Santa Fe
• Denver, Texas & Gulf
• Dolores, Paradox & Grand Junction
• Fairmount (yes, to the cemetery in Denver)
• Gilpin
• Golden Circle
• Grand River Valley
• Great Western (the sugar beet short line)
• Kansas Pacific
• Laramie, Hahn’s Peak & Pacific
• London, South Park & Leadville
• Magic Mountain (now Heritage Square in Golden)
• Montezuma Lumber Co.
• Northwestern Terminal Railway (Denver Union Terminal)
• Pagosa Lumber Co.
• Pueblo & Arkansas Valley
• Rio Grande & Pagosa Springs
• Routt Pinnacle Coal Co.
• Salt Lake & Eastern
• San Cristobal
• San Luis Southern
• Santa Fe Southern
• Silverton Northern
• Southern Colorado Power & Railway Co.
• Stone Mountain Railroad & Quarry Co.
• Texas, Santa Fe & Northern
• Treasury Mountain
• Uintah
• Union Pacific, Denver & Gulf
• Utah Central Railroad
• Wasatch & Jordan Valley

I don’t think I’ve listed more than half the railroads covered. Some of them are simple interurbans and streetcar lines. Yet all of them contributed in a real way to Colorado and her vast network of high iron.

The photo illustrations are very illuminating as well. Rare photos abound including,

• Balwin’s 2-6-6-2 narrow-gauge, single expansion Mallets made for Uintah’s sharp curves
• Close-up shot of the Corkscrew Gulch turntable near the Red Mountain townsite
• A triple stub switch on the Rio Grande Southern outside of Rico
• A full color depiction of the travesty of RGS engine 42 painted like a circus train for the Magic Mountain railroad
• D&RGW 821, a 2-6-0T used by the Salt Lake shops in 1923
• Several pictures of Rio Grande’s affair with Fairbanks-Morse
• Denver & Salt Lake’s true (double expansion) 2-6-6-0 Mallets
• Colorado & Wyoming’s Ford truck with flanged wheels (a la RGS Galloping Goose)

This is one of the best books on Colorado railroads, period.

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This review also appears in its abridged form on Amazon.com since 2014-Dec-05. - SW

Christmas Trains

December is here and so are the Christmas trains! For those of us missing a model train at the foot of our Christmas trees, here’s a chance to go out and see the real thing. While the first regularly scheduled passenger train first ran on Christmas Day in 1830, the history of the relationship between Christmas and trains is elusive. Nevertheless, the connection couldn’t be more apparent. What else moves massive quantities of toys and other gifts? Santa Claus must have ditched the sleigh and reindeer for steel wheels on steel rails to deliver all those toys.

Here’s a list of the Christmas trains with runs remaining this season in Colorado. While some have already passed, there are still some good opportunities.

Dates	Railroad/Location	Website Details
Dec 8, 9, 15, 16	Rio Grande Scenic Railroad	North Pole Express, routes vary
Dec 8, 9, 15, 16, 22, 23, 24	Manitou & Pikes Peak (cog railway)	Santa Train, Two departures each day. Combine this with a visit to Santa's Workshop.
Dec 7, 8, 9, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 27	Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad	The Polar Express, two to three departures each evening
Dec 8	Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad	Antonito Cinder Bear Express
Dec 15 - 24	Royal Gorge Route	Santa train departs daily 12:30 pm