Bob Richardson

Update: The Denver Post had a nice write-up on Richardson's life. HT: Stourbridge Lion, Linkman

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Update: Confirmed

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There is an unconfirmed report that Robert W. Richardson, 96, has died this morning, February 24, 2007. He was born May 27, 1910.

Few people have done more than Bob Richardson to preserve the history and memory of the narrow gauge in Colorado. His legacy remains the Colorado Railroad Museum in Golden, where most of his preserved engines, rolling stock and railroad memorabilia are on display. Richardson started the Narrow Gauge Motel in "South" Alamosa, which grew into a museum and eventually relocated to Golden. Richardson was also an author, photographer and "abandoned line reporter" for much of the narrow gauge empire that circled Colorado. People who knew him characterized him as a railfan's railfan and a patient teacher of railroad science and history, especially when he frequented the museum. His numbered Rail Annuals were published under the Colorado Railroad Museum. Prior to that, they were often circulated on mimeographed sheets to the community of interested historians and narrow gauge-minded ferroequinologists.

With his passing, the narrow gauge fans of the world have lost one of their best.

A (Sort of) Familiar Face

Update: as of 2/16, the regular motive power (F40s) are back on point, not that they look all that bad either.

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Kevin Morgan of coloradorailfan.com captured the photo below along with several others near Tunnel 1 on the Moffat Route. The Ski Train is powering it's way up to Winter Park along the Front Range of Denver using 2 of it's 3 F40PHs along with Union Pacific engine 1989, the Rio Grande unit of UP's heritage series. Ski Train F40PH unit 289 was down due to a bad bearing, opening the roster for UP to put a (sort of) familiar face in a very beautiful place.

The UP1989 was unveiled in June 2006 at the North Yard facilities in Denver to a crowd of enthusiastic rail veterans and railfans.

Kyle Plow Train In Action

A plow train for Kyle out on the eastern plains of Colorado busts 20 foot drifts in this awesome 2 minute video. It's hard to ignore this much horsepower, but snow can plow like cement sometimes. FYI, the plow was not permanently stuck.

HT: Friscobob

Video Of C&S 9 On Georgetown Loop

Thanks to Karl S. of Trainboard. He put up video of Colorado & Southern No. 9 that he shot vertically using a small handheld back during the short fall season. Yes, that's real snow coming down. To quote Karl, "...On the next run, it was snowing so hard you couldn't barely see from one end of the train to the other. Riding behind No. 9 in an open car in the blinding snow was AWESOME!!!"

Thanks, Karl, for some decent video of Colorado's newest old locomotive!

Two Derailments In 36 Hours

Great Western had a road unit in the ditch on Monday out on US 34 west of I-25 near Kelim just south of the bedroom community of Windsor. No injuries were reported. A crane was brought in from Cheyenne to lift it out of the mud. Longmont FYI has the story.

HT: John Barnhill

Additionally, BNSF lost some coal hoppers at the stock show in Denver on Tuesday. The mainline was cleared relatively quickly. No injuries reported at this derailment either. Additionally, no cause has been determined in either derailment, but no one has ruled out the recent spate of cold weather that's been in the state for weeks.

HT: Steve Brown

Governor Takes UP Train Today

According to the Denver Post's coverage of freshly inaugurated Governor Bill Ritter, the Governor is embarking on a special UP train today from Brighton to Pueblo. The Post says,

Early Saturday, Ritter and O'Brien plan to continue the inaugural festivities with a whistle-stop tour along the Front Range. ... They'll board a vintage Union-Pacific train - described as the Brown Palace Hotel on wheels - in Greeley and make stops for rallies and speeches in Brighton, Littleton, Colorado Springs and Pueblo. The day will end with a spaghetti dinner at the Pueblo Union Depot.

DRGW.net reports that the power for this trip is unknown. However,

The tentative schedule, as posted by "mojaveflyer" on Trainorders, is as follows:

• 9:30 AM - Train arrives in Greeley
• 10:00 - Depart Greeley
• 10:45 - Arrive Brighton
• 11:20 - Depart Brighton
• 12:00 Noon - Arrive Denver (19th and Little Raven St. The train will not apparently be able to use Denver Union Station)
• 12:35PM - Depart Denver
• 2:35 - Arrive Colorado Springs
• 3:05 -Depart Colorado Springs
• 4:45 - Arrive Pueblo
• 5:00 - 7:15 Reception and spaghetti dinner at Pueblo Union Depot
  

The freshman Governor will be touring the rest of the state by plane next week. There are no indications as to whether this indicates Ritter's openness toward commuter rail service along the Front Range or a rail-oriented option for the I-70 corridor, but given most liberal's favorable predisposition towards collective mass transit, it is certainly a possibility that there may be new passenger routes within the Centennial state by the end of his term.

Update: 4:12 PM - Nevermind.
Update: 9:42 PM - DRGW.net has a trip report

Plow Trains

Kevin Morgan of coloradorailfan.com has photos of the plow train extras that were run by the UP on the old Kansas Pacific line to counteract the effects of the Christmas and New Years Eve blizzards. As always, the photos are excellent. Here's a sample:


Of particular note is the DRGW Jordan spreader, which Kevin notes was used on Tennessee Pass before the UP closed it.

Colorado Railroad Museum 2007 Steam Up Dates

The Colorado Railroad Museum (www.crrm.org) has announced the steam up dates for 2007. They are,

• February 10 -- Valentine's Express
• April 7 -- Bunny Express
• April 14 -- ARM Conference
• June 16-17 -- Father's Day
• July 21 -- Wine and Cheese Train
• July 22 -- General Steamup
• September 15-16 & 21-23 -- A Day Out With Thomas™
  (This is a special event - Tickets $16.00 each, ages 2 and up, on sale June 1st)
• October 27 -- Trick-or-Treat Train
• December 1-2 -- Santa Claus Special

If you love steam or want to give your kids a memorable experience, consider taking them down to Golden on one of these dates between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Any day is a good day to visit the railroad museum, but these days have an air of excitement and enjoyment.

Note: The SCFD days (free admission days) have yet to be announced.

Cumbres & Toltec News

Chama Steam has announced their dates for 2007 fall photo freight specials.

In other Cumbres & Toltec Scenic news, the governors of New Mexico and Colorado have revamped the state board that supervises the operation of the C&TS line with the intent of getting more experienced members. What this holds for the future of the Cumbres line, only time will tell.

DRGW Tunnel Motor To Be Preserved?

The last remaining untouched Rio Grande unit, number 5371, a tunnel motor, has not been patched. For years now, this diesel has soldiered on in relative obscurity in Utah. Nathan Holmes of DRGW.net has been watching this unit for several years, reporting on its status. In his December 8 report, Nathan said,

… a letter from Union Pacific president Jim Young had arrived at Roper regarding 5371. The letter was essentially a reprieve for 5371, stating the unit was to continue unpatched until such point that it suffered a major failure. At that point, it would be donated to the Utah State Railway Museum in Ogden. The letter arrived just in time, as 5371 was set to be patched later that same day.

If indeed it is true, this news would be welcomed by more than a few fans of the fallen Rio Grande. Such a donation would preserve not only the last remaining example of late Rio Grande power, but also assure the preservation of the unique design of the SD-40T-2 diesel. It appears from this and other similar acts such as the heritage locomotives that the Union Pacific values history not only of its own heritage, but also that of its acquisitions.

Slack Action

With preparations for Christmas, I realize that I’ve left several critical bits of information unpublished that should be known to anyone interested in Colorado railroads. For that, I apologize.

Then again, when I see that the Iron Horse News from the Colorado Railroad Museum has not updated since August, I don’t feel all that bad. In the meantime, get ready for a little slack action as the news (such as it is) comes quickly along.

Colorado Santa Trains

Editor's note: For your best option by location, please see the Map: Colorado Christmas Trains, updated every year, or for a recent and more accurate listing than the post below, see 2012 Christmas Trains. Here's the original post, published in November 28, 2006:

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Colorado has a long list of Christmas traditions, both local and regional, like the lighting of the Denver Civic Center or Christmas parades at night. One tradition that has an international impact is NORADs tracking Santa as he makes his way across the world.

But when it comes to railroads, it seems the jolly old elf is a railfan too. He's making a list of trains he wants to ride to spread some Christmas cheer before the big day. Here's his Colorado itinerary:

• The Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad will run it's Polar Express out of Durango on Dec. 1-2, 8-10, 15-23 and an afterglow run on the 27. Trains run at 5:10 p.m., 6:45 p.m., and 8:15 p.m. Reservations are required, tickets can be purchased online at www.durangotrain.com or by calling the D&SNG ticket office at (877)-TRAIN-07.
• The Manitou & Pikes Peak Cog Railway west of Colorado Springs will be running a Santa Claus Special Train twice a day (10:30am & 1:20pm) on Dec. 2, 9, 16 & 23 to their Four Mile siding for a rendezvous with Kris Kringle. Tickets are $15 and seating is extremely limited. You must call to make reservations at (719) 685-5401, as no Christmas trains will be booked online.
• The Royal Gorge Route in Canon City will host Santa on Dec. 2-3, 9-10 and 16-24th on 12:30 pm departures. Call for reservations or make them online.
• The Colorado Railroad Museum in Golden has a Santa Claus Special on Dec 2-3. Santa will be in a big red caboose at the museum and food will be available. The train will be running between 10 am and 4 pm. Train ride and visit with Santa are free with regular admission.

Now you may wonder how Santa is going to ride 4 different trains across the state on December 2nd. I happen to know that Santa's administrative assistants are extremely efficient and have not double booked him. He will be at all of these locations through his special magic. However, if you happen to miss him, you can always drop by and visit him at the North Pole, which just happens to be slightly west (?) of Colorado Springs.