Rail Symposium Kicks Off Museum Exhibit

The Denver Post came out today with a very good article that takes a current look at how fuel prices are changing the way Americans are thinking about transportation. Could it really come to Americans opting for rail service instead of a car or a four hour flight? It's possible. Money is getting tight and people don't like spending hundreds of dollars to feel like a criminal and then a sardine for hours and little better trying to navigate their cars to the tune of $3.50 per gallon. As a result, it could be that airlines take a back seat to a spacious seating and efficient economy afforded by rail. Could America be ready again for the passenger train?

The article also mentioned a symposium put on by the Colorado Railroad Museum on April 26th, featuring experts on passenger rail travel. Scheduled to appear are:

• Jim Bain: Rio Grande Ski Train: A Denver Tradition for Generations
• Steve Patterson and Joe McMillam: Santa Fe Chiefs
• Bill Kratville: Union Pacific Passenger Trains
• Peter Hansen: The Railroad Station: Gateway to the Passenger Experience
• Tom Janake: Colorado Railrcar/GrandLuxe Rail Journeys
• Bob Briggs: Rocky Mountain Rail Authority
• Cliff Black: Amtrak - Past, Current & Future

Scheduled also for the symposium is the PBS premier of America and the Passenger Train. This offers a unique opportunity for those interested in passenger rail as well as the general railfan to make sense of America's past and future with railroading.

The following day, the Colorado Railroad Museum will hold a reception on their grounds for the attendees of the symposium. The reception will celebrate the opening of their newest exhibit, America and the Passenger Train.

Here are the details fresh from the Colorado Railroad Museum. Cost for the two-day event is $25.00 and includes Saturday's presentations at the American Mountaineering Center in Golden, a box lunch, and a preview/reception of the museum's new exhibit. Admission to the Colorado Railroad Museum for events on Sunday, April 27th, is also included for symposium attendees. The symposium begins at 8:30 AM on Saturday, April 26. The American Mountaineering Center is located in Golden at 10th Ave and Washington Street. For further details and to make reservations for the symposium, call the museum at (303) 279-4591. Reservations must be made by April 24th.

Larkspur Residents Now Support Grade Separation

A long-standing, summer tradition along the Front Range is the Rennaisance Festival in Larkspur. Almost as long-standing is the tendency for traffic jams to lock up the town's main intersection on festival weekends, especially when a string of freights tie up the grade crossing just west of the intersection on Perry Park Ave, the only direct road to the festival from I-25.

View Larger Map

If, and this is a big if, Larkspur succeeds in building the underpass, the Rennaisance Festival will likely double in size and surrounding businesses should plan their expansions now. The main reason, however, is still the best reason: A grade separation will allow fire and ambulance services to reach victims much faster, anytime. Separation of the grades will improve response times, improving the chances of survival for those living west of the crossing.

The likelihood of the separating the grade will improve as state and county leaders climb onboard. Union Pacific and BNSF will likely get on board about the same time. The festival organizers have been pushing for it for years, last year suing BNSF over a train that blocked the crossing for nearly an hour and turned away many would-be attendees. The organizers later dropped the suit, but still contended that something needed to be done. Something like a grade separation.
source

UP Centennial To Pass Through Denver Today

According to Kevin Morgan, Union Pacific's last active DD40AX engine #6936 is passing through Denver today, in the early afternoon. It is en route from Grand Junction, CO to Sharon Springs, KS with a passenger special that is touring the UP system. This cannot be confirmed by DRGW.net's Locotrace, however. Kevin places it in Denver any time between 12:45 p.m. and 1:45 p.m., with the caveat that such time is "subject to a lot of change."

Good hunting, Kevin!

C-DOT Plans Second Study Of Eastern Rail Corridor

The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) is planning a study called Rail Relocation for Colorado’s Communities or R2C2. This idea has been rolling around for at least a dozen years in its current form. Essentially, CDOT believes there is an untapped commuter rail market along Colorado's Front Range or what is also called the Colorado Piedmont between Ft. Collins and Pueblo. They would know because they count the axles on their own freeways. In order to have commuter rail, however, the steadily increasing flow of coal and other rail freight needs to be relocated. That's where R2C2 comes in.

The study will be to determine the alignment the rails would travel, how to best complete the bureaucratic red tape that would surround such a project, and how to put together a public-private partnership. That last goal confirms my observation about project management that every project needs one or two "gimme" objectives to be able to claim success. It appears that this project is coming closer to a definite reality.

Here's hoping that 2018 will see a passenger embark in New York and never stop riding the rails until they get to Chama, New Mexico. After that much traveling, though, all I'd be looking for would be a bed!

Dick Kindig Passes

According to Donald Tallman, Director of the Colorado Railroad Museum,

Dick Kindig passed away at 1:30PM. His health had slipped significantly in the past week. There are no current funeral or memorial plans

Kindig's work to preserve the memories and physical equipment of the Rio Grande Southern and the Denver & Rio Grande Western as well as other Colorado narrow gauge lines will live on in numerous collections, museums and libraries. His recent honors at the Colorado Railroad Museum were the caboose on a long and successful career.

The New Railfans

This is a bit off-topic since the article isn't based in Colorado, but since it's of interest to most railfans about the growth of their hobby, it's worth posting a link to the article.

Lost & Found in Cheyenne: UPD&G Passenger Car

A vintage railcar from railroading's early days in the west discovered in 1991 is finally getting the attention she deserves. The railcar ran on the Union Pacific Denver & Gulf and then on Colorado & Southern between Cheyenne and Denver before its conversion to a train crew cabin. It survived as a house for decades afterward. Now, its hopes are considerably brighter. Read more from the Wyoming Tribune.

RGS 20 Restoration Coming Along

As readers can see on this thread, the restoration of Rio Grande Southern engine 20, donated to the Colorado Railroad Museum last year by the Rocky Mountain Railroad Club, continues at Strasburg. In February, steam mechanics fashioned the door sheet (photos), the part of the boiler that forms the back end in the cab. The door hatch has been cut and the door cover itself will be put on later.

Seeing an old, storied steamer come back to life will indeed be magic! I imagine that the museum will likely put her in service next to D&RGW #346, which will be something special, but I also hope the museum will seek and find opportunities for RGS #20 to make her way beyond their loop to the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad or the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic. It's quite possible that D&RGW #315, RGS #20 and mudhen D&RGW #463 could all be steaming soon on the same rails at the same time. Richardson, Perry and the other early preservationists would be proud, if not a little envious of the railfans to live in these coming days. Without their efforts, we would certainly lack many of the steamers and much of the rails to run them on. The years of 2008 and 2009 look very promising indeed.

Raining Rocks

Ah, springtime in the Rockies! Bring your rebar umbrella and your hardhat; it's rocking outside.

Notices of delay like this one is going to be a repeating theme over the next couple of months as crews struggle to clear errant rock slides from the right of way. The melting snows release their water and it flows down between the cracks in the rocks. When the water re-freezes into ice, the odd expansive property of freezing water works to push on both sides of the fracture, sometimes popping off the side of the mountain and falling on whatever (or whoever) is below.

It's the main way that the mountains lose those stubborn winter pounds in time for summer. The rest is just water weight from the snowpack. It's above average this season, which means an opportunity for some good water shots, especially on the western slope--if you can afford a fill-up. Use a telephoto to pull in those rapids next to the rails. Be safe and have fun!

LC&S Owners See the Light

Good news in Leadville tonight. The owners of the LC&S are granting the EPA free access to lay their pipe.

LC&S Owners Block EPA Pump Plan

The EPA's work to alleviate water pressure in the Leadville Mine Drainage Tunnel has just hit a potential snag. Leadville, Colorado & Southern co-owner Ken Olsen, also the Lake County Commissioner who originally warned of the potential disaster, is now demanding that the EPA compensate him for an easement of land needed to complete the relief project.

"They are just absurd in what they are wanting to do," said Stephanie Olsen who
co-owns the tourist train, Leadville, Colorado & Southern Railroad, with her
husband. "This is taking property without just compensation." Click here for more from 9News.com

It's the opinion of this blog that unless the Olsen's want to become very unpopular for putting their interest above the community's, they should just let the EPA dig. It's one thing to make a point about landowner's rights, quite another to put the community at risk because you want a few bucks. The point has been made and they should let it go ahead. Or were Leadville's citizens not in that great a danger to begin with?

Opening Days For Colorado Railroads This Summer

Here's an alphabetical listing of Colorado's scenic and tourist railroads and the scheduled date of beginning summer operation schedules.

• Cripple Creek & Victor Narrow-Gauge Railroad - May 19th
• Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad - May 24th
• Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad - Already open, May 3rd begin service to Silverton
• Georgetown Loop Railroad - May 24th
• Leadville, Colorado & Southern - May 24th
• Manitou & Pikes Peak Cog Railway - Already Open, May 17th begin summer schedule
• Platte Valley Trolley - TBA
• Rio Grande Scenic Railroad - May 24th
• Royal Gorge Route Railroad - Already Open, May 24th begin daily summer schedule
• Ski Train, summer - TBA

Please contact the railroads via their web sites for more information or to book tickets. The announced dates have already been added to the Colorado Railroads Calendar.

Glenwood Springs Station Agent Profile

Spend 5 minutes with Sandi Brown, Amtrak's Station Agent for Glenwood Springs.

Spring Is Here! Where Did I Put My Camera?

Spring is finally here. With warmer weather comes warmer rails. This video seems to be a favorite and it fits the spring mood. Enjoy!



Time to buy more tape, more DVD-Rs and charge up the batteries. Opening days are not far away at all!

Announcing the Special Events Calendar

"When is Railfest this year?"

"What chapter meetings are coming up in the next month?"

"My railfan friend is coming to Colorado 6 months from now. I wonder what we could do together?"

One of the biggest challenges for the railfan in Colorado is to keep up with all the different events and activities that they can be a part of. Colorado Railroads blog now has its own public Google calendar to give you one place to look for special events and activities conducted by the railroads and organizations in Colorado!

If you want to stay up to date on the latest happenings, click the Events tab the events tab at the top of the page, or you can bookmark this entry and come back often. If you are a Google Calendar user, you can add it directly to your own calendar. Just click the (+ Google) button below the calendar.

Update 3/21:
If you want to put this up at your own site, here's your links:

• XML
• iCal
• HTML

Slightly OT: Dog Found in Railroad Tunnel Now On the Mend

A lot of railfans have picked up on this story about Hogan, a dog in the Utah desert taking shelter in the Hogan tunnel. She was rescued and is receiving the care she desperately needed. A heartwarming story and one that's worth a slight departure from Colorado Railroads.

Rare Power - Alaska RR GP-49s En Route To Texas

The Alaska Railroad sold its GP-49s for a second life in Texas and they recently made their way through Denver on a BNSF "dead in consist" move. Kevin Morgan has the pictures and the specs on these one-offs over at ColoradoRailfan.com. According to AlaskaRails.org, these two are the only ones going to Specialized Rail Transport in Houston. The rest have already been sold.

Steam Engine Moved to Royal Gorge Route

The Royal Gorge Route owners and former operators of the Georgetown Loop Railroad relocated their steam equipment left on Georgetown Loop proper, Shay engine Number 8, down to the Royal Gorge Route in Canon City. As there's a difference in gauge, it may take some time in getting a third rail laid down to Parkdale, the western terminus of today's Royal Gorge Route.

That must have been an interesting sight coming down I-25!

Man Allegedly Throws Chair At Train, Lands In County Jail

Blogger is slow this morning, probably a slashdot effect. If you can read this on the site, it may be letting up. You can avoid this aggravation by signing up for the feed by e-mail (use the form at the end of this post) or by adding it to your feed reader.

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Sunday morning, in Arvada, 28-year-old Alan Cardenas of Aurora was accused of throwing a chair at a passing train. The train was either on the BNSF branch to Golden or the UP Moffat Tunnel main line near the point where the two lines diverge. The initial report of a rifle being fired at a train prompted police to close down the area, including a portion of Sheridan Boulevard just north of I-76. The police interviewed the man and later arrested him when they found debris of a chair next to the tracks.

There is no reported indication which train was involved (freight, Ski Train or Amtrak) or whether the chair was actually thrown or placed in the path of the train. The charge against Cardenas is throwing missiles and also endangering public transportation.

9News.com

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RTDs Northwest Rail Corridor Hits Hurdle With BNSF

BNSF and RTD are at odds with each other over the planned FasTracks commuter line between Denver, Boulder and Longmont, also known as the Northwest Rail Corridor. The question is who gets the rails between Boulder and Longmont around lunchtime? RTD had planned on running the entire commuter rail route all through the day between rush hours to keep the passenger traffic moving. BNSF seems to think that they need that time to move freight in addition to the off-peak night hours. From the Rocky Mountain News,

The $684.4 million, 41-mile line would use BNSF's existing single track and add a second track between Denver and Boulder. The second track would permit RTD to continue commuter service throughout the day while BNSF serves its freight customers.

But the existing single track between Boulder and Longmont would be closed to passenger service for four hours during the day for freight trains and maintenance.

The issue, of course, is capacity. Can RTD pay an estimate $45 Million for a second set of tracks to keep trains moving between Boulder and Longmont or are they going to need to shift passengers to the bus route? Negotiations continue between RTD and BNSF.

C&TS Unveils New Website

The Cumbres & Toltec Scenic has unveiled its new web site with its new logo. The old site was nice, but this is taking it up a notch. Take a look!

2008 Friends of C&TS Work Sessions

The non-profit, volunteer organization Friends of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad has recently posted their forms to be completed by volunteers to assist on one of the six scheduled work sessions in 2008. These sessions are the primary way the Friends complete their primary mission to restore and maintain the historic property of the C&TS. Whether you can simply paint a wall or machine new bearings, please consider supporting Colorado's unique and storied past by signing on for one of the sessions listed below.

• Work Session A - May 12-16
  
• Work Session B - May 19-23
  
• Work Session C - June 16-20
  
• Work Session D - June 23-27
  
• Work Session E - August 4-8
  
• Work Session F - August 11-15
  

R. H. Kindig Day

March 1st was R.H. Kindig Day, as proclaimed by Governor Ritter. Mr. Kindig is a legendary photographer of western railroads and is known especially for his work during the twilight of the narrow gauge. Now that Mr. Kindig is himself in his twilight years, the Colorado Railroad Museum hosted him aboard restored 19th century passenger car 284 as it was pulled around the loop by the museum's engine D&RGW #346.

As one Fred T in Wichita put it, "It's great to see [the museum] honor one of the greats while still alive. Too many fail to get the deserved accolades until they are gone."

The Last Unpatched Rio Grande Unit Is Retiring

What a time to come up lame with carpal tunnel syndrome! Let's start with the most recent news.

The Union Pacific's last un-patched tunnel motor from the Rio Grande, #5371, is retiring. It headed east this morning from Utah presumably to be retired. Kevin Morgan of Coloradorailfan.com got pictures of the train as she came the east. As you can see, someone has already grabbed her number boards.

Her future is in doubt, but this Grande fan hopes and prays she is donated to a good museum.

More posts will follow.

2008 State Fair Express Canceled

Union Pacific has canceled the Colorado State Fair Express for 2008. This was supposed to be the second year of the special run from Denver to Pueblo. However, organizers have found too many conflicts arising between equipment used for the two political conventions in Denver and St. Paul and the special. Something had to give and the State Fair special took lower priority.

Last year's event drew hundreds of railfans and even casual observers to the tracks to watch a steam engine show it's heels as it swept over the rare mileage. Our chase ended at the Pueblo depot, surrounded by hundreds of other railfans and interested visitors. It was a beautiful sight. Main line steam is truly exciting. One can only hope 2009 sees it's return.

Follow up, 1:20 PM: Pueblo isn't exactly happy.

Commerce City Quiets Crossings With BNSF

Commerce City is the first city in Colorado to implement the Quiet Zone. At designated grade crossings, BNSF engineers are to refrain from using their horns in the area. This means that the "two longs, a short and a long" will be no more as they approach the crossing. Instead, the crossings are guarded by 2 quadrant gates and reinforced medians that block the car from pulling around the lowered arm. These obstacles meet the Federal Railroad Administration's requirements for a Quiet Zone crossing.

The Denver Post has more of the story. Here are the intersections referenced.


View Larger Map


View Larger Map

Are these new quiet zones safer? Will the code for strong safety measures be uniformly enforced? Time will tell, but this is one rule from the FRA that I'm keeping my eye on. It may sound good, but so did low-flow toilets.

BNSF Train Runs Over Man Sitting On Tracks

A BNSF train crew got a nasty scare early this morning when their train ran over a man sitting on the tracks in Longmont. 9News.com reports,

LONGMONT – A 34-year-old man was expected to survive after being run over by a train early Saturday morning.

Longmont Police say Todd Hirsh was sitting in the Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad tracks in the 400 block of Atwood Street at about 3:11 a.m. when the incident occurred.

According to police, a southbound train pulling 76 freight cars had to make an emergency stop, attempting to avoid running over Hirsh.

Authorities say the train didn't stop until it had gone 75 feet south of where Hirsh was sitting.

Longmont Firefighters and Paramedics were able to remove Hirsh out from under the second engine of the three engine train. He was then transported to Longmont United Hospital where his injuries were said to be non-life-threatening.

Police charged Hirsh with trespassing. They say, according to preliminary reports, Hirsh smelled like alcohol.

Alcohol or some other form of substance abuse is the only reason I can think of that would make someone consider sitting down between the rails. Hirsh is lucky, very lucky to have survived such stupidity. I hope he understands he survived for a reason, if only to warn others about the dangers of railroads.

History
The route itself is the original Colorado Central line between Longmont and the Union Pacific in Wyoming built in 1877. The town was built around the tracks and Atwood Street runs at grade on both sides with car traffic medians at intersections to divert traffic around the rails. Only 0.2 miles south of the accident, the tracks wye off for Lyons and Boulder to the west and Idaho Creek to the east, both lines eventually reaching Denver. The Colorado Central line from Ft. Collins to Boulder became C&S in 1899 and the Denver Utah & Pacific route between Idaho Creek and Lyons came under Chicago, Burlington & Quincy control. Both railroads were consolidated into the Burlington Northern.

Reminder - Train Show

Those in the Denver area, don't forget about the train show this weekend.

A Bad Case of Locomotivation

If you head down to Greeley at the right time of the month from now until June, you might just be able to see this amazing, ultra-realistic model railroad layout. Watch the video for more details. The museum opens Memorial Day 2009.

HT: Stourbridge Lion

Southeast Stations Suffer Shutdown

RTD keeps making news. The Southeastern Corridor suffered a snafu that shut down the two most southern stations on the line, likely for the rest of today. 9News.com has more.

From the RTD web site:

RTD will continue to run shuttle buses between the Lincoln, County Line and Dry Creek stations to connect with the operating portion of Southeast Line. The Southeast Line is in normal operation from the Dry Creek station heading north..

Denver – This morning at about 2:30 a.m., the Regional Transportation District (RTD) experienced a break in an overhead power line that provides the electrical power directly to the light rail trains. This was likely caused when an insulator on the power line broke, which resulted in the power line snapping. The emergency shut-off system instantly cuts the power in milliseconds

RTD crews began repairs to the power line early this morning, and those repairs are expected to continue throughout the day and into the evening. This will affect only the two southernmost stations on the Southeast line during this evening’s rush hour. The rest of the light rail system remains in normal operation.

Overhead power line break cut power to two southernmost stations on Southeast Line, shuttle buses running between Lincoln, County Line and Dry Creek stations to connect with the operating portion of Southeast Line; rest of light rail system running normally

It is unknown at this time when the repairs will be completed, and this may affect those two southernmost stations on the Southeast Line for the Friday morning commute. RTD will provide an update later this afternoon.

For route and schedule information, please call RTD’s Telephone Information Center at 303.299.6000. Call 303.299.6089 for the speech and hearing impaired. Visit RTD’s web site at www.RTD-Denver.com.

FasTracks Follow Up

I want to amend something I left out in my first post. It can hardly be said that the Union Pacific has ever been favorable toward Colorado or Denver. In 1870, Coloradoans had to fund the Denver Pacific, their own connection with the Union Pacific, when UP placed their route through Cheyenne in 1868. For over a century afterward, UP connected with Denver through their acquisition of the Kansas Pacific and sent all standard gauge traffic north to Cheyenne or Julesburg. It had little apparent interest in Denver except as a backwater, and this attitude seems to remain so to this day.

The Denver Post just followed my train of thought on FasTracks Slowing Down with their own special on RTDs right-of-way woes with the Union Pacific. The closing line of the Denver Post article was most ominous for RTD:

...RTD may have to consider acquiring much more private property for the FasTracks lines at a time some in the Colorado General Assembly are proposing to curb RTD's power of eminent domain.

I had hoped that Coloradoans, especially Denverites, had the sense to keep the public transit ball rolling to improve the quality of life in the Mile High City with rail-based rapid transit. Those hopes are fading. Let's hope that legislators keep the big picture and give RTD what it needs to complete FasTracks. Denver doesn't need another I-470 debacle.

More importantly, I hope that Union Pacific can see reason in allowing Denver to use the right of way for a more reasonable figure than $700 million. Doing so would increase goodwill and possibly give them the public support to build a new route further to the east to increase efficiency over the Palmer Divide, ease rail congestion and improve grade crossings. With all the coal headed south from the Powder River Basin and the Craig coal fields, you'd think they'd want some improvements.

Old Railcar Burns At Burnham Yard

According to 9News, an old railcar caught fire near 10th & Osage in Denver in the railyard next to the Burnham shops yesterday around 9:30 a.m. At this point, personal effects found in the railcar suggest it was being used by vagrants and probably caught fire when someone burned material to heat the inside of the car.

There is no word on the history of the car or the ownership of the car, but given the boarded up condition, it was likely a work car or a car awaiting restoration. It doesn't appear to match any livery used in Colorado, past or present. I will follow up with more details as they become available.

Interview With Claude Wiatrowski

A brief interview was in today's Denver Post with Claude Wiatrowski.

Model Railroading - A Cure For The Mid-Winter Railfan Blues

Model railroading is for those born too late or too far away for the real thing. If you're one of them, you wish you could feel the thunder and awe of a Rio Grande 3600 class locomotive rumbling past on its way up Tennessee Pass. The beauty of a Mikado hauling a photo freight should never be a semi-annual treat. The words Denver, South Park & Pacific still mean something to you and a C&S engine with a butterfly plow working past a small station warms your heart in a way that most people wouldn't understand.

On cold winter nights, while the typical railfan falls asleep watching a DVD, the scale railroader is applying scenery, laying track or simply enjoying the fruits of his labor by watching his own train make its way through the layout of his own design. It's not the cheapest hobby, by any measure, but it is rewarding to build, layout, scenick, maintain and run your own scale railroad, especially on dark, cold winter nights.

If you want to find out more about model railroading, you could buy books about model railroading or read magazines, but the best way to learn about model railroading is to meet other model railroaders and spend time with them. The easiest way to do that is to find out when your local scale railroading club has its monthly meeting that's open to the public. Ask the questions that come to mind and watch what's involved in making a layout work. If you'd like to try it out, ask how you can get involved more in what they are doing. If the club is worth investing in, they will make it easy for you to get involved.

To find a model railroad club near you, visit the National Model Railroader's Association -- Rocky Mountain Region and click on the area you live near or in. That will put you in touch with that area's supervisor and they can find a club closest to you.

Take a look at the following video from the Denver Society of Model Railroaders, an O-scale (large) club that has built a gigantic layout in the basement of Denver's Union Station.

A Trip On the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad

Here is some weekend reading from JetsetterMagazine.com about a trip on the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad from Chama, New Mexico to Antonito, Colorado.

Incidentally, Chama was recently blasted with heavy snow. From the Friends of the C&TS site.

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.