Since 1867 & 2006
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: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.
- 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
… 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.
According to the Colorado Railroad Museum, Rio Grande Southern engine #20, long stored on the museum grounds on loan from the Rocky Mountain Railroad Club has been officially donated to the Colorado Railroad Museum, along with Business Car Rico and D&RGW caboose 0578.An anonymous donor has donated $400,000 to fund a rebuild of the 20 to operating condition, specifying that all work would be done by the Strasburg Railroad shops in Pennsylvania. Another $100,000 has been placed as an endowment to maintain the engine. The 20 and its tender, plus the tender for 346, have been trucked to Strasburg, and work on determining the condition of the boiler and running gear will commence as soon as possible.To my knowledge, the museum has been without owning an operating steam engine since work was begun to overhaul D&RGW #346, which was due for some time. However, since the Georgetown Loop Railroad Inc. lost it's lease with the State Historical Society to operate over the Georgetown Loop, their locomotives and cars have been stored on the grounds and operated occasionally.
