Slightly OT: Dog Found in Railroad Tunnel Now On the Mend

A lot of railfans have picked up on this story about Hogan, a dog in the Utah desert taking shelter in the Hogan tunnel. She was rescued and is receiving the care she desperately needed. A heartwarming story and one that's worth a slight departure from Colorado Railroads.

Rare Power - Alaska RR GP-49s En Route To Texas

The Alaska Railroad sold its GP-49s for a second life in Texas and they recently made their way through Denver on a BNSF "dead in consist" move. Kevin Morgan has the pictures and the specs on these one-offs over at ColoradoRailfan.com. According to AlaskaRails.org, these two are the only ones going to Specialized Rail Transport in Houston. The rest have already been sold.

Steam Engine Moved to Royal Gorge Route

The Royal Gorge Route owners and former operators of the Georgetown Loop Railroad relocated their steam equipment left on Georgetown Loop proper, Shay engine Number 8, down to the Royal Gorge Route in Canon City. As there's a difference in gauge, it may take some time in getting a third rail laid down to Parkdale, the western terminus of today's Royal Gorge Route.

That must have been an interesting sight coming down I-25!

Man Allegedly Throws Chair At Train, Lands In County Jail

Blogger is slow this morning, probably a slashdot effect. If you can read this on the site, it may be letting up. You can avoid this aggravation by signing up for the feed by e-mail (use the form at the end of this post) or by adding it to your feed reader.

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Sunday morning, in Arvada, 28-year-old Alan Cardenas of Aurora was accused of throwing a chair at a passing train. The train was either on the BNSF branch to Golden or the UP Moffat Tunnel main line near the point where the two lines diverge. The initial report of a rifle being fired at a train prompted police to close down the area, including a portion of Sheridan Boulevard just north of I-76. The police interviewed the man and later arrested him when they found debris of a chair next to the tracks.

There is no reported indication which train was involved (freight, Ski Train or Amtrak) or whether the chair was actually thrown or placed in the path of the train. The charge against Cardenas is throwing missiles and also endangering public transportation.

9News.com

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RTDs Northwest Rail Corridor Hits Hurdle With BNSF

BNSF and RTD are at odds with each other over the planned FasTracks commuter line between Denver, Boulder and Longmont, also known as the Northwest Rail Corridor. The question is who gets the rails between Boulder and Longmont around lunchtime? RTD had planned on running the entire commuter rail route all through the day between rush hours to keep the passenger traffic moving. BNSF seems to think that they need that time to move freight in addition to the off-peak night hours. From the Rocky Mountain News,

The $684.4 million, 41-mile line would use BNSF's existing single track and add a second track between Denver and Boulder. The second track would permit RTD to continue commuter service throughout the day while BNSF serves its freight customers.

But the existing single track between Boulder and Longmont would be closed to passenger service for four hours during the day for freight trains and maintenance.

The issue, of course, is capacity. Can RTD pay an estimate $45 Million for a second set of tracks to keep trains moving between Boulder and Longmont or are they going to need to shift passengers to the bus route? Negotiations continue between RTD and BNSF.

C&TS Unveils New Website

The Cumbres & Toltec Scenic has unveiled its new web site with its new logo. The old site was nice, but this is taking it up a notch. Take a look!

2008 Friends of C&TS Work Sessions

The non-profit, volunteer organization Friends of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad has recently posted their forms to be completed by volunteers to assist on one of the six scheduled work sessions in 2008. These sessions are the primary way the Friends complete their primary mission to restore and maintain the historic property of the C&TS. Whether you can simply paint a wall or machine new bearings, please consider supporting Colorado's unique and storied past by signing on for one of the sessions listed below.

• Work Session A - May 12-16
  
• Work Session B - May 19-23
  
• Work Session C - June 16-20
  
• Work Session D - June 23-27
  
• Work Session E - August 4-8
  
• Work Session F - August 11-15
  

R. H. Kindig Day

March 1st was R.H. Kindig Day, as proclaimed by Governor Ritter. Mr. Kindig is a legendary photographer of western railroads and is known especially for his work during the twilight of the narrow gauge. Now that Mr. Kindig is himself in his twilight years, the Colorado Railroad Museum hosted him aboard restored 19th century passenger car 284 as it was pulled around the loop by the museum's engine D&RGW #346.

As one Fred T in Wichita put it, "It's great to see [the museum] honor one of the greats while still alive. Too many fail to get the deserved accolades until they are gone."

The Last Unpatched Rio Grande Unit Is Retiring

What a time to come up lame with carpal tunnel syndrome! Let's start with the most recent news.

The Union Pacific's last un-patched tunnel motor from the Rio Grande, #5371, is retiring. It headed east this morning from Utah presumably to be retired. Kevin Morgan of Coloradorailfan.com got pictures of the train as she came the east. As you can see, someone has already grabbed her number boards.

Her future is in doubt, but this Grande fan hopes and prays she is donated to a good museum.

More posts will follow.

2008 State Fair Express Canceled

Union Pacific has canceled the Colorado State Fair Express for 2008. This was supposed to be the second year of the special run from Denver to Pueblo. However, organizers have found too many conflicts arising between equipment used for the two political conventions in Denver and St. Paul and the special. Something had to give and the State Fair special took lower priority.

Last year's event drew hundreds of railfans and even casual observers to the tracks to watch a steam engine show it's heels as it swept over the rare mileage. Our chase ended at the Pueblo depot, surrounded by hundreds of other railfans and interested visitors. It was a beautiful sight. Main line steam is truly exciting. One can only hope 2009 sees it's return.

Follow up, 1:20 PM: Pueblo isn't exactly happy.

Commerce City Quiets Crossings With BNSF

Commerce City is the first city in Colorado to implement the Quiet Zone. At designated grade crossings, BNSF engineers are to refrain from using their horns in the area. This means that the "two longs, a short and a long" will be no more as they approach the crossing. Instead, the crossings are guarded by 2 quadrant gates and reinforced medians that block the car from pulling around the lowered arm. These obstacles meet the Federal Railroad Administration's requirements for a Quiet Zone crossing.

The Denver Post has more of the story. Here are the intersections referenced.


View Larger Map


View Larger Map

Are these new quiet zones safer? Will the code for strong safety measures be uniformly enforced? Time will tell, but this is one rule from the FRA that I'm keeping my eye on. It may sound good, but so did low-flow toilets.

BNSF Train Runs Over Man Sitting On Tracks

A BNSF train crew got a nasty scare early this morning when their train ran over a man sitting on the tracks in Longmont. 9News.com reports,

LONGMONT – A 34-year-old man was expected to survive after being run over by a train early Saturday morning.

Longmont Police say Todd Hirsh was sitting in the Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad tracks in the 400 block of Atwood Street at about 3:11 a.m. when the incident occurred.

According to police, a southbound train pulling 76 freight cars had to make an emergency stop, attempting to avoid running over Hirsh.

Authorities say the train didn't stop until it had gone 75 feet south of where Hirsh was sitting.

Longmont Firefighters and Paramedics were able to remove Hirsh out from under the second engine of the three engine train. He was then transported to Longmont United Hospital where his injuries were said to be non-life-threatening.

Police charged Hirsh with trespassing. They say, according to preliminary reports, Hirsh smelled like alcohol.

Alcohol or some other form of substance abuse is the only reason I can think of that would make someone consider sitting down between the rails. Hirsh is lucky, very lucky to have survived such stupidity. I hope he understands he survived for a reason, if only to warn others about the dangers of railroads.

History
The route itself is the original Colorado Central line between Longmont and the Union Pacific in Wyoming built in 1877. The town was built around the tracks and Atwood Street runs at grade on both sides with car traffic medians at intersections to divert traffic around the rails. Only 0.2 miles south of the accident, the tracks wye off for Lyons and Boulder to the west and Idaho Creek to the east, both lines eventually reaching Denver. The Colorado Central line from Ft. Collins to Boulder became C&S in 1899 and the Denver Utah & Pacific route between Idaho Creek and Lyons came under Chicago, Burlington & Quincy control. Both railroads were consolidated into the Burlington Northern.