1/16/2024 0 Comments Parkdale colorado railroad![]() ![]() Trinidad to Walsenburg has a better chance of being abandoned before Tennessee Pass. ![]() greedy/ irrational trails people have been told repeatedly "Hands Off!" and they still don't get it)Īvon to Dotsero still has an active Gypsum Wallboard plant plus two other industries, UP is still storing spine cars & coal hoppers out there on occassion. Parkdale to Avon: Out of service, UP does patrol monthly (Not railbanked, the line is removed from service "Discontinued Service" by STB rule. (tourist train people are gonna get in trouble sooner or later with their operating and maintenance lack of commitment) Canon City to Parkdale: Owned jointly by CC&RG (Lindsay Ashby's Tourist Line) and RRRR (Aggregate Mines, always broke and changing hands), UPRR retains trackage rights, owns the signal system & dispatches.Schmucky Mess. Pueblo to Canon City: UPRR owned, RRRR has trackage rights from ATSF sale to RRRR.RRRR keeps plenty busy switching the cement plant at Portland off the old ATSF main track remnant. In any event it's good to learn that the UP is doing some work on the Royal Gorge line and may reactivate it sometime in the future. Even more so if there are capacity problems on the Moffat Tunnel line. It seems to me this would be the best way to route this traffic in spite of the grades and winter snow problems of Tennessee Pass. This route is 65 miles longer than one thru the Royal Gorge and over Tennessee Pass would be. That amounts to a 3 hr difference in run time plus probably another 12 hr yard dwell time in Denver making the Royal Gorge route some 18 hours faster. I expect there is a fair amount of traffic from connections at Trinidad and Pueblo that now runs to Denver then west over the Moffat Tunnel line. On the eastern end doesn't the UP operate only between Pueblo and Canon City? I don't think there is any freight service west of Canon City to Parkdale and that trackage is used only by the Royal Gorge tourist train. I thought that that the UP had railbanked the entire line west of Canon City and was surprised to learn that Dotsero-Avon was still active. It looks like somebody ripped off some cable or wire from along the UP ROW somewhere near the Springs. Thanks for the post.Įdit: Speaking of copper thieves, we had to take in some scrap copper from work, and we saw a UP signal maintainer in there digging through the bins of wire that had been brought in recently. The ROW as a whole looks like it may need a major re-hab, but I may be wrong as I don't do that sort of work for a living. I did notice that was not CWR through there, and the ties looked really rough. Fishing and trains would make for a great weekend!!! There are a lot of really nice pull-offs and campsites along the way. The drive itself is awesome, so some trains along the way would be icing on the cake, although you really should keep your eyes on the road through there. It didn't seem like it would have been abandonded, but who knows. I was hoping you would reply to this, as you seem to be in the know for all things CO. ![]() (Hint: Phelps Dodge has begun to reactivate the Climax Mine which means the old C&S and DRGW tracks at Leadville are going to get busy - There just was a butt-ugly court case for two new crossings at Edwards that proved just how adamant UP is about reopening the line.) (They caught several of the thieves).UPRR has been out there surfacing and doing other work (slise fences, etc.) the past two falls before the snow flies. Major portions of the CTC Code line are gone due to wire theft. Probably will return to service in less than two years as TWC Dark territory and as a relief valve to the Moffat line. The train is a destination attraction that carries passengers under the Royal Gorge suspension bridge.EMARGOED AND OUT OF SERVICE, PARKDALE TO AVON (WEST OF MINTURN) The Royal Gorge Route Railroad operates trains year-round through the Royal Gorge from Canon City, Colorado to the western terminus in Parkdale, Colorado. Although it has been strengthened over the years, this unique structure has served on a main rail line for over 118 years. The bridge cost $11,759 in 1879, a princely sum in those days. Shallor Smith, a Kansas engineer, designed a 175-ft plate girder suspended on one side by "A" frame girders spanning the river and anchored to the rock walls. Here the railroad had to be suspended over the river along the north side of the gorge as sheer rock walls go right down into the river on both sides. The 1950s-era train departs the Santa Fe depot in Canon City daily.Īn interesting part of the Santa Fe construction through the gorge is the hanging bridge at a point where the gorge narrows to 30 feet. The railroad transits the Royal Gorge on a 2-hour scenic and historic train ride along what is considered to be the most famous portion of the former Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad. The Royal Gorge Route Railroad is a heritage railroad located in Cañon City, Colorado. ![]()
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