Eyesore?

Is this an eyesore?

The town of Avon believes it may be. In an era where coal is assuming new levels of dominance as an energy source, Union Pacific is planning on storing 500 coal cars in the yard at Minturn, the former helper terminal for the "rail banked" -- read: not quite abandoned, but almost -- Tennessee Pass route between Pueblo and Dotsero on the Colorado River. While this could be part of a power play to the Colorado Public Utilities Commission to rub out two grade crossings in a planned development in Avon, UP officials claim that such talk is "a very bad rumor."

The town of Avon, playground to the rich and famous, has already made it illegal for a railcar to stop in a grade crossing. Next week, on June 13th, the town of Avon plans to make it illegal to park railcars anywhere in their city limits for more that two days. It's called a nuisance law, and it's designed to keep the town looking nice. It's also a symbol of the conflict of two different industries that have come to be largely at odds with each other.

Only 120 years ago, your town could die if you didn't get a railroad. Today, it could die if the railroad stays. Minturn, just down the road from Avon, desperately wants to join her sisters as "resort town." Who's holding her back? Why the big, bad railroad, of course. If the UP stores it's railcars there, then in the words of one Edwards resident, Kyle Bolio, "Minturn's going to look like a dump."

Is it really that bad? Towns like Colorado Springs, Winter Park, and Glenwood Springs have rails that sing with traffic, in most cases running right through the center of town, and it doesn't seem to be holding them back on property values or tourists. Could there be something else afoot in the Colorado Rockies? Are new residents suffering from ferroequinophobia? Are their concerns about occasional train noise and the danger to children near the right of way any more valid that towns and cities that see 20 trains per day?

The good news is that UP never fully abandoned the Tennessee Pass right-of-way. Had they done so, 7-story condos would have gone up the next week in that little valley. Railroads continue to be the lifeblood of our nation. The moment a line is abandoned, it is lost forever. Then when the need arises for a rail line, as it inevitably will with continued growth of the American economy, there won't be one there to reactivate and use to ship the needed commodities. No, the UP needs to hang on to Tennessee Pass, a key crossing of the Continental Divide, if only to stick in there as a standby line for the potential future of Colorado and the West.

hat tip to John Barnhill of Trainboard.com

Rio Grande Heritage Unit 1989 Confirmed

As a follow-up to my previous post, I did some checking with UP and they will be unveiling the new Denver & Rio Grande Western heritage unit in Denver on June 17. The bad news: This event is not open to the public, only employees and media. The good news is that the UP folks will be sending it around the region's rails so there will be plenty of time to film and/or photograph it in action. Get those cameras ready!

Ouray Caboose Moved for Restoration

Long a feature of Ouray Hot Springs Park, Denver & Rio Grande Western narrow gauge caboose number 0575 was relocated to the Ridgway Railroad Museum for restoration. On May 30, 2006, the caboose was loaded onto a semi flatbed trailer and trucked over US 550 to the museum grounds at Ridgway. The caboose will remain the property of Ouray County Historical Society, but all mainenance will be done by the museum. Visit the Ridgway Railroad Museum site for details along with pictures of the move.

Celebrities Still Ride The Rails

Oprah tours the highline on the Durango & Silverton.

D&RGW Heritage Unit #1989

It's unconfirmed, but apparently Union Pacific will be unveiling their Denver & Rio Grande Western heritage unit UP 1989 in Denver on June 17th. According to John Barnhill of Trainboard.com,

The June 17th unveiling of the Denver Rio-Grande Western unit will be in Denver from 11:30 AM to 3:30PM at 1400 W. 52nd. Ave., behind the superintendents office building. Hot dogs, hamburgers, fixins', soda, cotton candy and snow cones will be served. The mini train will be on site offering rides, and also a variety of games to be played while adults can participate in health screenings, blood pressure and cholesterol checks. A engine bell raffle with proceeds which go to the Friend-to-Friend Network.

I will be watching for confirmation...although nothing yet has shown up on the UP press releases.

Update 6/5/06 - Confirmed, but not open to the public.

C&TS Opening Day Pics

Dead Goat Saloon posted pictures of the Cumbres & Toltec opening day on their BBS. Special thanks to ND Holmes of DRGW.net.

San Luis & Rio Grande To Start Passenger Service This Weekend!

I could pretend that I was holding back on you just for dramatic effect, but I just found out.

The San Luis & Rio Grande Railroad is beginning passenger service between Alamosa and Antonito as the Toltec Gorge Limited and between Alamosa and LaVeta Pass as the San Luis Express. This weekend (May 27) marks the return of scheduled passenger service to this "rare mileage" in Colorado, not seen by regular passengers in over 50 years.

The two routes can be ridden independently of each other. It's also possible to purchase through tickets from Alamosa to Osier or Chama, changing trains in Antonito onto the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad. Basing the routes out of Alamosa is very beneficial because 30 years after the rehabilitation of the C&TS, Antonito -- a single attraction town -- has been unable to develop the necessary facilities to host tourists riding the C&TS rails. Alamosa has numerous motels and other accommodations because of the added attraction of the Great Sand Dunes and it's central location on US 160 and US 285.

Unfortunately, this configuration will only allow a 2 day trip from LaVeta to Chama instead of a same day trip, although theoretically, you would have to get up pretty early (o' dark 30) to be able to travel the whole route in 24 hours. It's better anyway to buy two tickets from La Veta to Alamosa and then the next day from Alamosa to Chama because it will break up the trip a little leaving riders fresh for the second leg.

Round trips from Alamosa on both lines are also available, running over LaVeta Pass to the town of LaVeta for lunch and shopping and out to Antonito and back for the morning and evening connections with the C&TS. These are significantly lower than the C&TS route, mostly because diesels cost less to run and maintain, along with the fact that it is an active freight line that sees other revenue than just the passengers, defraying maintenance costs. Both routes are historic, however, and the ticket agreement shows that both railroads expect to profit from each other's business. It brings to mind the adage from Ecclesiastes, "Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves." A single log on the fire will quickly go out; two logs will keep each other going.

On a side note, I may be speaking from ignorance, but it always remains possible that the C&TS could strike an agreement to spike down a third rail between Alamosa and Antonito. However, the cost for new coaling and water facilities through to Alamosa would be prohibitive until the LaVeta Pass line establishes itself. Still, being able to pace the train on 285 like they did 50 years ago is a fantasy I haven't quite given up on.

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Links

• Buy Tickets!
• Schedule and Rates
  
• Webcam of the SLRG Alamosa yards
• Sangres.com on the inaugural press trip
• Denver & Rio Grande Historical Foundation page on La Veta Pass

Iron Horse Classic

Durango - The Iron Horse Classic bicycle race - Riders will attempt to beat the train from Durango to Silverton by cycling over Coal Bank and Molas Passes on US 550. The Denver Post ran an article on the background of the classic, the fourth oldest race in the country.

Final Demise of Rio Grande's Aspen Branch

Aspen is a home for the jetsetting Hollywood elite who like to ski or merely pretend they ski. They have created their paradise where everything is peaceful and serene. They would never tolerate anything like a railroad running through their town.

You'd never know it, but Aspen once wanted a railroad. They actually got two. In 1887, the Denver and Rio Grande and the Colorado Midland were in a race to reach the town and its wealth of mining ore. The Rio Grande built in from it's Tennessee Pass line through Glenwood Springs. The Midland pierced the divide west of Leadville beneath Hagerman Pass and came into the valley at Basalt and paralleled the Rio Grande's line south into town.

Today, the echoes of steam whistles have long faded from the Roaring Fork Valley. The Midland was the first to pull out in 1919 when it abandoned nearly 200 miles of track between Divide, Colorado and New Castle, west of Glenwood Springs on the Colorado River. This was an all-out abandonment of the entire line, preserving only the track between Colorado City (near Colorado Springs) and the Cripple Creek mining district as the Midland Terminal Railway.

The rumble of diesels has likewise vanished. The Rio Grande continued to service the line but as the 80s and 90s wore on, little if any traffic originated on the line. The last action the line saw was a speeder excursion in 2002 by the Western Colorado Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society, covered by ND Holmes of DRGW.net. For years before and after the speeder trip, Aspen's Roaring Fork Transportation Authority has been working on using up the railroad right-of-way one way or another, including proposing light rail and even an old fashioned trolley. Property owners have taken histrionics to new heights fighting off one proposal after another. Finally, it appears they have a solution: the dreaded Rails-to-Trails. Why have a light rail line to alleviate traffic on Highway 82 when you can walk, right?

According to the Vail Daily News,

A railroad salvage company, Tie Yard of Omaha, will pull up the tracks and ties beginning at the end of this month. The Authority will receive $1.6 million for track and tie salvage between the Orrison Distributing warehouse south of Glenwood Springs and Woody Creek

This scrapping of the last remnants of the Rio Grande Aspen Branch will remove the last tracks in Pitkin County, which once boasted not only the Rio Grande and the Colorado Midland, but the fabled Crystal River & San Juan Railway. The CR&SJ had the unique distinction of hauling marble for several national monuments including the Lincoln Memorial from the quarries above Carbondale.

A piece of Colorado railroading fades into memory at the end of this month. It's just not Aspen's style.

Ft. Collins Coloradoan Article on Colorado Railroad Museum

The Ft. Collins paper The Coloradoan ran an article publicizing the Colorado Railroad Museum. It's a good piece that makes you want to go up to Golden and run around up there. Take a look.

RGS Goose No. 5 to Cumbres & Toltec in June

According to a flyer, Rio Grande Southern Goose No. 5 will return to the Cumbres and Toltec on June 7-13, 2006. Reservations and information can be had by calling 888-CUMBRES.

Southern Front Range

This is the second in a series of posts about the recreational opportunities in Colorado for railroad enthusiasts. This section will focus on the...

Southern Front Range
The southern Front Range of Colorado extends south of Monument hill and roughly parallels I-25 all the way to Raton Pass. The mountains viewed along this spectacular piece of highway include the Rampart Range, Pikes Peak -- also known as "America's Mountain" because Katherine Lee Bates wrote America the Beautiful after journeying to the summit -- and the Spanish Peaks, twin mountains rising abruptly from the plains.

Cripple Creek & Victor Narrow-Gauge Railroad - Cross between a mining train and it's "bigger" narrow-gauge cousins that has grown from relative obscurity thanks in large part to the casino gambling district in neighboring Cripple Creek. A grade, re-gauged from 3 feet to 2 feet allows diminutive trains pulled by mostly German engines to roll along a two-mile section of track just outside of Cripple Creek. This railroad could be called "touristy" and even a little "kitschy." Those looking to spend an hour aboard a "colorful" train listenting to a tour guide with a narrative will not be disappointed. Adults are $10.50, children ages 3-12 are $6.00 and seniors (65+) are given a whole dollar discount off the adult fare.
Railroad Adventures visit to this location in 1984.

Manitou & Pikes Peak Railway - Sighted by Zebulon Pike 200 years ago in 1806, Pikes Peak became a landmark for settlers travelling westward across the plains. Less than a century after it's sighting, Spencer Penrose had financed a railway to the top of the mountain that Pike believed to be unclimbable. Because most railroads lose adhesion above grades between 4% and 7%, the railway was built as a cog railway. A third rail was spiked down with staggered teeth that would be gripped by a cog wheel mounted on the engine's axle. The result was a railroad that was able to shove a carload of tourists to the top of the 14,110 foot mountain in half the time it took by donkey, the other popular mode of transportation up to the top.

Today, the motive power has switched from oil-fired steam engines to Swiss-built rail diesel cars, although steam engine #4 is still fired up for the occasional special. The train is scheduled to run all year long, but trips between November and May could be canceled due to snow or other reasons. The line is kept open using a large plow with a snowblower-type impeller. The experience is much more favorable in the summer. Those making the journey from out of state may wish to take note that the altitude change is significant for a few hours of travel and some have been known to experience altitude sickness. Giving yourself a day in Colorado Springs or Manitou Springs before going up, along with plenty of water and rest, will help fight it off. My own experience with altitude sickness during my first trip as a boy up this route was not a pleasant one. Take your time to make sure you enjoy it.

Off-peak rates are $29 for adults and children ages 3-12 are $16. Peak season rates (July 1 - August 20) are adults at $31 and children at $16.50. Printing an online coupon will reduce your rate nicely. The depot is located in Manitou Springs up Ruxton Ave in Ruxton Canyon.
Railroad Adventures visit to this location in 2003.

Pueblo Railway Museum - Static display museum. Like the Boulder County Railway Historical Society to the north, the Pueblo Railway Foundation has accumulated a decent collection of cars and engines and stored them in a historic railroad location, in this case the Pueblo Depot. The depot itself is largely untouched by time. Combine with this the other historic railway structures, as well as the Riverwalk and a prime location on the UP-BNSF Joint Line, and this a hidden gem for railfans and their families. Best of all, it's free.

Royal Gorge Route Railroad - When the UP bought out the Rio Grande (Southern Pacific), the merger favored the Moffat Tunnel Route over the parallel crossing of the Continental Divide at Tennesee Pass, which was "rail banked" or mothballed. The Rio Grande's hard won route through the Royal Gorge would sit unused by freight traffic after experiencing a boom when the Rio Grande acquired rights from Pueblo to Kansas City. Montana Rail Link was interested in acquiring the route, but the deal never materialized. The owners of the corporation running the trains on the Georgetown Loop Railroad were interested in running trains through the Royal Gorge. It would be the first passenger traffic this stretch of historic rail would see since the Rio Grande discontinued the Scenic Limited (Rio Grande trains 1 and 2) 30 years before.

Building on the Rio Grande's heritage, the Royal Gorge Route has former Canadian F-units painted in a scheme similar to the Rio Grande's although they haven't gotten the color exactly right. Additionally, they have a GP-7 and an SD-9, both painted in the Rio Grande's gold-and-black freight unit scheme, currently sitting in the yard at Canon City (pronounced "Canyon City). Since beginning service, the Royal Gorge Route has slowly grown, adding classes and services like dinner trains and themed excursions. New this year, they've added three full-length dome cars to the roster, purchased from Holland America Lines. Passengers will have the ability to view the suspension bridge 1,000 feet above them while sitting in their seats for the first time in decades.

Trains depart the old Santa Fe depot at Canon City weekends at 12:30 PM for a trip through the Gorge to Parkdale and back, reversing direction but not the train. It seems the summer schedule, while scaling for demand, is difficult for the rail tourist to reckon without his calendar.

Beginning next weekend (May 21st), they will begin their summer schedule with trains every day at 9:30 am, 12:30, and 3:30. Their dinner train will run at 7:00 PM on Fridays and Saturdays and select Thursdays through the summer (click here for details). The mid-afternoon train at 3:30 PM will drop from the schedule August 20th except on Saturdays through the rest of the summer. Rates are $29.95 for adults and $19.50 for children ages 3 - 12 in coach. Upgrades are done a la carte. It's $10 extra for adults and children to upgrade to first class, and $25 above the coach fare for dome class. Lunch on board the train is roughly $40 above the coach fare and dinner is $79.95 total per person. Cab rides for those 13 and older are $99. It's a great experience for a railfan to ride in the cab with the engineer. They might even let you toot the horn for that price.
Railroad Aventures visit to this location in 2003.

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Other posts in this series:

• Northern Front Range
• Southern Mountains
• Northern Mountains