Silver Rock Railway

The Silver Rock Railway is just outside the gate of the Royal Gorge Park and is part of the park. As far as the railroad, well lets just say, I rode it, it's off the list, I wouldn't ride it again. Not much to see but hokey, homemade sights, goes nowhere near the gorge, hard to understand the narration but hardly mattered. Don't bother unless you're killing time in the parking lot and it's about to leave.

Royal Gorge Incline Railway

Well, the Royal Gorge Incline Railway has to fall into the category of railroad like contraptions. Steel wheels on steel rails but not much other resemblance to a railroad. To quote a few specifications, 1550 feet long, 100% grade, 45 degree angle, powered by Otis. The cars (one blue, one red) hold 30 people each on 15 levels. The ride takes 5.5 minutes with all passengers standing. It's a cool ride though, taking you right down next to the river at the bottom of the gorge. I didn't manage to time it so the train was passing through but you are right next to the railroad tracks (except for a fence.) Sign at top says no bathrooms at bottom but as I was leaving I noticed some newly constructed ones right on TOP of the concession stand. Hmm.

Royal Gorge Scenic Railroad

Well, The Royal Gorge Scenic Railroad has got to be the ultimate park train for my trip. At least it's hard to imagine anything grander. It's not actually part of the Royal Gorge Park but rather a private enterprise on the road leading in and part of Buckskin Joe's Frontier Town. It was early in the day, so the ridership wasn't so great but it was worth the ten bucks. The lady in the gift shop was a real huckster, selling the train to all who entered ... "Three mile, 30 minute ride to a view of the gorge." Ten dollars a ticket adds up pretty fast for a family so not everyone was buying and it took a while to get enough for a trip. The ride starts off plain enough, through a grassy field with nothing much to look at. Gradually the terrain drops and gets rougher. Blooming cacti adjoined the track along with some rocks that glittered and turned out to have a large mica content. Around a curve and a huge trestle appears off in the distance. But before we crossed that one an even larger one appeared under us. There was a lot of engineering and labor that went into laying these tracks. The roadbed loops about as it descends toward the rim, just like a full size railroad that must take a round-about route to maintain a reasonable grade.

At the promised viewing platform, the engineer announces "five minutes." We actually stayed longer than that and he didn't seem too concerned. The platform was large, sturdy and shaded, with room for all to get their pictures etc. You can see down into the river and both directions in the gorge and are about 300 feet below the suspension bridge and 4860 ft away, according to my GPS.

Like most large park railroad, the layout is a loop to loop so the trip back offers a slightly different perspective of the same terrain.

BTW, the redheaded "fireman" next to the engineer is a large Irish Setter that rides on "most" trips.

Royal Gorge Route Railroad

Now this is a railroad ... sort of. Three engines and 16 cars on a passenger train far exceeds anything I've seen so far. Only problem, the train only goes 12 miles! But several of those miles are pretty spectacular. Two EMD F units lead the train out of town, followed by 15 assorted passenger cars, a midtrain power car and finally another F unit running backwards. They leave from a very pretty Santa Fe Depot in downtown Cañon City, CO. I'm going to have to do some more checking to see what a Santa Fe depot is doing on an old Denver and Rio Grande line, but it's a very nice depot. Shortly after leaving town the train enters the gorge and the ohs and awes start. Several trips I have taken so far had beautiful views down into gorges but this is the first one right through the gorge. At one point the gorge narrows to about 30 feet and rather than chisel out a ledge for the train to run on the engineers just bridged the gap above with some steel girders and hung the track over the river, the famous "hanging bridge." After going the 12 miles to Parkdale, which is actually just a siding, the train stops, the engineer gets out and walks to the other end of the train, and uses the rear facing engine to take the train back to Cañon City. One interesting railroading note ... on the return trip, we stopped a few minutes at the hanging bridge, as we were told is a long standing tradition. When we started up again, the engineer blew three short blasts on the horn, indicating that we were actually going backwards.

Ride it if you can.

Rio Grande Scenic Railroad

The Rio Grande Scenic is a relatively new operation and only started running with a steam locomotive this year. When it comes to scenery they compare to Durango and Silverton or Cumbres and Toltec but the scenery starts slowly. Alamosa is located in the middle of the San Luis Valley and as the train leaves east out of town the land is flat and the mountains seem quite distant. After 23 miles of perfectly straight track, the train passes through the small town of Fort Garland and turn northeast along the Sangre de Cristo Creek toward La Veta Pass. Soon the terrain can only be described as mountainous as the railroad leaves the highway and climbs higher and higher toward the 9200 ft. crest of the pass. The area through here shows no signs of habitation for miles and miles ... no cabins and no roads. It is not far from the summit, called Fir on the railroad, to the small town of La Vita, but the grade is a steep 3 percent so the train stops and the train crew sets the retainers that will insure that brakes are applied continuously as we descend. The trip down is as scenic as the one up, though with more signs of habitation, and the smell of hot brakes is evident. Soon we deboard for a two hour stop in La Vita. The town is geared up for tourists, both from the train and folks visiting just for the "quaintness," so a meal is easy to find and my salmon sandwich was quite tasty.

As much as I enjoyed the trip, I wish I could say nice things about the cars we rode in. Used passenger equipment is hard to find and expensive as more and more excursion trains get started. There were three passenger cars on the train and one ex RPO, used for concessions. There were no assigned seats except for the back half of the last car which was designated the Parlour Car. One car had only two back to back rows of church pews down the middle. These seats were quite popular but getting to the concession car meant walking in front of everyone on one side or the other. The other two seating cars were ex commuter cars from the Long Island Railroad. One even had 3-2 seating and almost no one sat in that car. The other had 2-2 seating but half the seats faced one way and half faced the other and they could not be rotated or flipped. Since the engine was turned in La Vita but not the train, you were riding backwards for half of the trip is you stayed in the same seat. The train was not crowded however and everyone in my car was able to find a new forward facing seat for the return trip. The seats BTW had been often used and sagged badly with almost no cushioning left. Don't know if that was the cause but I had a sore back that night. The interior of the cars themselves was clean and modern and simply putting in new, turnaround seats would make a great difference.

Over all, well worth the trip.

Friends of the Cumbres and Toltec

First let me say thanks to Terry, Sherii, Jeff, Bob, Mark, Bryant and G. O., I had a great time even if I was moving pretty slow.

Every summer, the Friends of the Cumbres and Toltec host six volunteer sessions to work on various projects around the railroad. Projects range from baggage cart restoration to painting of buildings to complete rebuilds of rail cars. Or, in the case of the project I chose to volunteer for, the rebuild of a Jordon Spreader.

A Jordon Spreader is a machine/contraption that, in various incarnations, dates back to at least the early 1900's. To many it is just a complicated snowplow but it was originally intended to be a ballast spreader and maintainer. The one we were working on was used primarily as a snowplow but, judging from the damage it has incurred, was probably used to push a little dirt around also.

In most all of it's models, the Jordan Spreader was an ungainly looking machine. It worked mostly by brute force, being shoved ahead of a locomotive and just pushing stuff out of the way with wings that traveled folded in but could be swung out and adjusted in height using air powered cylinders similar to train brake cylinders. There was usually a cab for the operator where he could move valves to operate the cylinders. The one we were working on still lacks it's new cab though many of the cab parts have been pre-constructed.

The work on the C&TSR Jourdan Spreader, designated OU, has been going on for 4 or 5 years now. The scope of the project has changed from a cosmetic restoration to a full mechanically operational rebuild that will allow the railroad to use it out on the line. Age and some severe damage have made this an ambitious project. The week I spent there involved installing back various parts that had been removed for repair or rebuild. We acomplished most of that with only some piping left to hook up. In addition, it was hoped to get the wooden deck attached and the operator cabin built. Because of the intricate fitting required to get the ship lap deck installed, only about a third of that was complete. Several parts of the operator cabin have been prefabricated but since the cabin requires the deck first, none of the cabin parts have been installed. It's possible another session will be scheduled in August of this year to finish up the leftover work.

Jordan Spreader

Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad

It seems like every time I ride a new railroad it becomes my favorite. The Cumbres & Toltec is going to be hard to beat though, at least in terms of scenery. As for sheer awe factor, the Durango and Silverton may have the high point as it clings to the canyon wall but there isn't much variety on that trip. The C&T scenery is changing constantly, through different types of terrain and a variety of types of vegetation. We started at about 7800 ft but soon got into aspen country and topped out at over 10,000 ft. At times it seemed we were above the tree line but I think we were just entering a more arid area that didn't support as many trees. We started seeing wildflowers as we descended to Antonito, some looked like pale versions of the bluebonnets so familiar in Texas. I guess they were just another form of lupin. As we approached Antonito the land leveled out into a very broad treeless valley.

The C&T also has everybody beat as far as food. The train from Antonito and the train from Chama meet in Osier. Everybody gets off and goes in to eat a meal that's included in the ticket. You have your choice of a turkey plate or a meat-loaf plate or soup and salad. There are a variety of hot and cold drinks. Dessert is pick what you want, take all you want but eat all you take. I didn't hear any complaints.

Then everybody gets back on a train. Some continue the way they were going, some go back where they came from. Those that go on have a bus waiting to take them back to their starting point, about a one hour trip. Since the bus takes a different route from the train, that's a sightseeing bonus.

BTW, the post was made with the assistance of the WiFi site of Chama Steam, a little shop in downtown Chama. Check'em out at www.chamasteam.com

Mesa Verde National Park

Mesa Verde is another one of those none railroad venues I had in mind when the trip started. I was last here in 1964 and have since visited dozens of Mesoamerican sites in Mexico and Guatemala. I wanted see how Mesa Verde compared in the way the people lived and the way the government was preserving and presenting the cultures in each country. My impression was that the Mesa Verde culture was less advanced (no writing for instance) but the Mexican government was doing a better job of preserving and presenting the sites in their country. I was struck by the fact that at the site I visited, Spruce Tree House, they were doing what appeared to be basic archeological investigations, measuring the walls and floors and sketching them. I asked the Park Ranger why it had taken so long to get around to this and was told it was a lack of funds. Although they had received funds to do this work several years ago, they had two big fires in the park and spent all the money, I think he said three million dollars, fighting the fires. It was only recently that they had those funds replaced. In general, the facilities I saw were old and often in need of repair. They were improving the roads in the park so that was a good sign that some money was coming in. I hope the trend continues.

Going back 50 years.

Five Branches RV Campground is the name of an RV park that sits on the land where I spent three great summers attending a boy camp. That was almost fifty years ago however so not much remains from that camp. What was the mess hall is now the office and store for the RV park. What was the boys camp office is now the Rec Hall. Can't say I recognized anything else except the cabin where the owner of the boys camp lived and that has been sold off to someone else. So, not as many memories as I had hoped but it's still a pleasant place to spend a few days in the Colorado woods.

Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad

The Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad is one of the premier excursion railroads in the US, a celebrity if you will. They work hard at keeping that reputation and certainly deserve it. The only thing in the whole setup that might improve their operation would be to move Silverton a little closer to Durango. The seven hour round trip is a little bit too long for some. Of course you always have the option to take the bus back which shortens the day but you have to decide that when you make your reservation. Another thing to remember is that narrow gauge cars have narrow gauge seats and todays wide gauge folks don't fit too well.

All that said, it was a great trip. Luckily I checked the weather in Silverton before I left and found the high was to be about 43. I dressed warmly and was comfortable even though it SNOWED most of the time we were in Silverton. Not a serious snow, no accumulation, but unusual even for there in June. There were times when I couldn't identify a source for the snow (like no clouds) and there is a chance it was actually old snow being blown off of the nearby snowcapped peaks. Who knows.


BTW, the same company that operates the Durango and Silverton also operates the Great Smoky Mountain Railway in North Carolina. If things go as it appears they will, this company will soon take over the operation of the Texas State Railroad in Rusk/Palestine. It will be quite interesting to see what the results will be.

Durango and Silverton

Arches National Park

I have returned from the Fiery Furnace! In case you're wondering, that result was in doubt. The ranger guided hike through the Fiery Furnace is considered a "moderately strenuous" hike but if you are over 60 and overweight, it's a little more difficult. It was worth the effort however, just wish I had taken more pictures. Even if you are an experienced hiker, don't go in there, unguided, on your first visit. You will get lost! I still don't understand the exact geology that formed this maze but it works in three dimensions, not two and there are no maps. The narrow canyons keep a GPS from being useful so even backtracking with that would not help. Just go with the ranger. You do have to plan a bit to set that up however. Trips are limited to 25 people, one in the morning, one in the afternoon. You have to get your ticket in person at the visitor center, up to 7 days in advance, and they often sell out early.

BTW, back to railroading, there is a railroad close to Moab though not in it. Just North, across the Colorado river, an old spur, once abandoned has been rebuilt to carry out a pile of tailings from a shutdown uranium mine. The tailings have been there for years but will now be moved to a safer location. This will require the movement of 12 million cubic yards of material.

Fiery Furnace

Moab?

So what am I doing in Moab? No trains here, at least as far as I know. This is not exclusively at train riding trip, there are plenty of other things to see and a friend recommended Arches National Park so here I am. Tomorrow I go into the Fiery Furnace.

This will be my last stop in Utah. There are many kinds of deserts and I've seen a lot of them on this trip, in Arizona, Nevada and Utah. Each has it's own appeal and many people are very attracted to them. But I like trees ... and there aren't many trees in any kind of desert. Wednesday I head for Colorado and trees, trees, trees. Hooray! When I first started planning this trip, it was going to be confined to Colorado and the Cumbres and Toltec Railroad in northern New Mexico. But then I thought about going to SLC to do a little genealogy research and why not stop along the way to see whatever there was to see railroad wise. Anyway, it sort of grew. I'm glad I went to all those places, there are some very nice excursion railroads out there and chasing down some of these park railroads sent me places I never would have seen otherwise. But I now know a bunch of places I don't need to go back to and maybe one or two that might be worthwhile to see again, if I'm in the neighborhood.

Tooele Railroad Museum - Tooele

Hmm, notice something strange about this train? Aha, no engine. Actually, the engine was in the rear, pushing instead of pulling. Didn't ask why. Also, apparently they have a problem with the cars tipping over so, almost visible in the photo, the car in front of me had "training wheels," no pun intended. Sticking out from each side but not touching the ground was a axle with a small rubber wheel on it. If the car started tipping, due to rambunctious riders I assume, the wheel would touch the ground and stop the tip. We made it safely around with no problems.

The museum itself was quite interesting, a steam engine and several cabooses from the Tooele Valley Railroad, a depot containing tons of railroad memorabilia as well as equipment from the nearby copper mines and smelter, long closed down. A couple of stranded passenger cars contained an HO model railroad and a nice exhibit of WW II soldiering equipment. Very friendly folks also. If you're ever in Tooele, go by and visit.

Tooele Railroad Museum

S&S Shortline - Farmington, UT

I don't have much to compare the S&S Shortline to. This is really a hobby railroad that got out of hand. They are only open to the public on limited occasions, first and third Saturday of June for instance ... I was really lucky. It appeared to have started in their backyard, expanded to the front yard then to the back forty. They have two gauges of track, a round of two foot gauge that is confined to the back forty and a maze of 7 1/2 in gauge that wanders all over the property, including ducking through a tunnel and circling the owners home twice before returning to the back forty. The small gauge train was by far the most popular though not as comfortable to ride. Besides the riding trains, they have a room full of O scale trains that will start up for a quarter, a birthday party pavilion with a play ground, a small mini-golf course and some little hand powered cars on a circle of track. In general, the grounds were very well kept and attractive. They also operate a small museum/souvenir store/snack bar where I had a very economical lunch. Since S&S doesn't "fit" anywhere, it is hard to compare but this has easily been my favorite "small" railroad so far.

Midway Mystery Solved

While at the S&S Shortline railroad, I found the answer to the Missing Midway Mystery. I spotted this building parked on a trailer in the back lot so I asked the engineer of the train I was riding why it was there. The gentleman who had owned and operated the Midway Shortline Railroad had become ill and had approched the S&S shortline about buying his equipment. They accepted his offer and the Midway Shortline is no more, explaining why I couldn't find it. I didn't see any other examples of Midway equipment around the facility so I guess the change happened long enough ago to have repainted at least the rolling stock.

Hogal Zoo Train - Salt Lake City

This is the second of the zoo trains I will visit so it's inevitable that I should compare this one with the zoo and train in Phoenix. To be fair, the zoo in Phoenix is not even in Phoenix but in one of the many suburbs. But still, the zoo in Salt Lake City is so much nicer an experience it's hard not to notice. The animals are presented better, the grounds have paved walkways rather than gravel/sand/dirt and the grounds are free of litter. That said, I liked the railroad in Phoenix better.

At Hogal, the ride was were too short, the train moved too fast to really enjoy the animals you did pass and except for some bored looking American Bison and a cage of ravens, you never really saw anything you couldn't see while walking around. The Phoenix train was a much more relaxed trip through several gates that took you right into the enclosures with some of the animals. Other than the ostriches, the animals pretty much ignored the train but you were much closer to them than the folks on the viewing platforms.

BTW, I just discovered two more Zoo Trains to ride, both in Albuquerque. Actually, one is a zoo train and the other connects the zoo to the aquarium and botanical garden. There's an easy bus connection from the downtown RailRunner station to the zoo so I still won't have to take my truck into town.