Riding The Rails, Skiing The Trails

Thinking of skiing this winter? Take a train, the Denver Post advises.

RMRA Presents I-70 & I-25 Options To DRCOG Today

The Rocky Mountain Rail Authority will meet with the Denver Regional Council of Governments today. They plan to present the framework for their Colorado Department of Transportation study to use rail or other fixed guideway technology to alleviate congestion along the I-70 and I-25 corridors. The study will look at feasibility of different technologies as well as plan station locations along both routes. The meeting is planned from 3 to 5 p.m. at the DRCOG offices, 1290 Broadway in Denver. Similar meetings are planned for Pueblo and Ft. Collins. More information...

RGS Goosefest Photos

Donald Tallman of the Colorado Railroad Museum has put his pictures of the Thanksgiving Goosefest on Webshotz (fair warning about ads). With the snow they got that day, the Geese looked right at home.

Could it be that a contraption built to help a railroad survive the Great Depression finds new relevance helping the museum bring in customers on a regular basis by running low-cost exhibitions of Colorado history? It could very well be.

D&SNGRR Offers Annual Pass

The Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad will offer annual passes for the first time in its 28 years operating the railroad between its namesake cities. Annual passes were nothing new in the days of Otto Mears, whose Rio Grande Southern Railroad connected with Durango and issued its annual passes in solid silver for a brief time. This time, no silver. But you will part with a nice C-note to grab one of the adult passes and half that for the half-pints. Visit the site to find out more.

Grade Crossing Accidents Claim Two

Two grade-crossing accidents in Colorado exactly 36 hours from each other claimed the lives of two men. That's where the similarities of the two end.

The first accident happened Tuesday December 2nd at 12:45 a.m. in Mesa county near Clifton, CO when 28 year-old Aaron David Rudder of Grand Junction was struck near a grade crossing by a Union Pacific train bound for Provo, UT. The train went into emergency but was unable to stop before colliding. Rudder was last seen at a bar about a quarter-mile from the scene where he had drank a pitcher of beer. He had refused a ride home from the bar owners. His remains were scattered by the accident and it's believed he died instantly. He leaves behind a wife of three months.

The second accident happened Wednesday the 3rd at 6:45 p.m. in Denver at 66th and Franklin Street where Jerry Rivera, a 33 year-old switchman for the Denver Rock Island shortline railroad was riding the end of a local freight train backing through the crossing at 5 m.p.h. when a Freightliner semi rig entered the intersection and pinned Mr. Rivera between the railcar and the rig. He died at the scene, leaving behind a wife and three daughters. The driver of the semi was taken to the hospital with minor injuries. The grade crossing is marked by crossbucks, but no lights or gates.

Two lives cut short at Christmastime. Both accidents were preventable by safety precautions that were ignored. It didn't have to end this way, but it did. Our prayers are with the families affected by these accidents.