Vice
President Dave Schaaf and President Andy Dell in front of the Union
Pacific Rotary at the Cheyenne Steam Shops. April 22, 2023.©2023 Chip |
Union
Pacific Steam Shop Tour. Ed Dickens with Jim Ehrenberger. Our thanks to
Dave Schaaf for organizing the tour, April 22, 2023, at Cheyenne,
WY. ©2023 Chip |
Upcoming Programs: **** There will not be a meeting in June. **** July 11 - Program by Kit Courter at Barnes Hall. |
Upcoming Events: August 30 - September 2: National Narrow Gauge Convention at the Crown Plaza Hotel in Aurora, Colorado. September 16: Club visit to Colorado Live Steamers Open House in Byers, CO. |
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| Rocky Mountain Railroad Club - Rail Report Denver, Colorado |
Denver Address; PO Box 2391, Denver, CO |
President's Column It
was a busy May. I would like to thank those that were able to take time
away from Mother's Day and join us at our picnic. We enjoyed cool but
rain free weather and some great BBQ. The train consists were great and
the crew put together a special train for us. Two
of our donated cars, the Rico now painted in green as the B8 and the
0404 caboose were pulled by engine 20. 20 and both of those rolling
stock cars were saved by the club in the 1950s. They have been out at
the museum since the early days of the museum and receive restoration
work as time and budget permits. The club donated all three to the
museum around 2008 or so as we decided we no longer wanted to pay
insurance on them and the museum would then be able to take over their
care. Shortly after ownership transfer, an anonymous donor gave money to
help fund the restoration of locomotive 20 and it has run for several
years at the museum following a 10+ year restoration. We
were unable to mount our club drum head to the rear car for the rides.
But we were able to stage it on the rear for multiple photographs at the
loading platform. |
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Thanks
to the Colorado Railroad Museum volunteers and Dave Schaaf for a
memorable weekend at the museum with all the special trains. DRGW
#491, 2-8-2 K-37, and Rio Grande Southern #20, 4-6-0 class T-19, were
both under steam! ©2023 Chip |
Charles
Clegg (Paul Hammond) and Lucius Beebe (Rob Kramer) greeted RMRRC
members at our annual picnic and train ride in Golden, CO, May 14, 2023.
Thankfully, it didn't rain! ©2023 Chip |
Big Boy 4014 Begins Trip June 7th from Cheyenne, Wyoming |
On
May 19, 2023, Union Pacific's Steam Team announced that Big Boy 4014
would be making a trip to Omaha, NE, departing Cheyenne, Wyoming, June
7, 2023. Heritage Steam Manager Ed Dickens and his crew will be making
various stops en route to the Home Run Express Tour at Omaha,
Nebraska. UP 4014 will be on display for 11 days during the college
baseball championship. Check out the full UP 4014 Big Boy schedule by pressing the Learn More link. |
Warren
Mizell, the "last founding member of the Rocky Mountain Division of the
Train Collectors Association" passed away on April 28 at the age of 89.
Warren was a fixture at railroad swap meets and shows in the Denver
area and owned Mizell Trains and Hobbies for
35 years. Located in Westminster, the store was known for his impressive
"Wall of Trains" that was 70 ft long and 15 ft high. Services were held
in May. He will be missed. |
Book Review Tracking Rocky Mountain Railroad Club Excursions 1987�1990, by Mike Butler |
Author
Mike Butler participated in several club excursions starting with The
Silver Sky, March 28, 1987. He covers the event with photos, the route
map, background history, and a capsule summary of the trip. Mike
admits that some images are darker than he preferred, but they improve
and bring back many highlights of his excursion experiences. John
Dillavou was club president who, with numerous volunteers, offered
several club excursions; The Manitou & Pikes Peak Cog Railway
on May 9, 1987; The Cadillac & Lake City Railway, September 19,
1987; and three-day back-to-back Narrow Gauge Excursions on June 23-25,
1988. Mike
joined the club on several excursions and documented them with images
and informative captions. Mike is planning on publishing a series of
books in the regional interest series America Through Time®. His book is
available on Amazon or from Arcadia Publishing for $28.99. |
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Denver South Park & Pacific Historical Society Grant Update Hello RMRRC, I'm finishing up our grant request for 2023 and it made me think of providing an update on prior grant requests. Past grants have provided funds for the Como water tank and for switch components. Water
tank � Bob Revis and Chris Tome, the p;two local contractors who
are building the tank, have been milling wood over the winter with a
portable “Woodmizer” sawmill. We have had two truckloads of logs
delivered and they have been turning them into a lot of 3 X 6 inch
boards for the tank floor, side staves and roof boards. The first
floorboard has been installed. They also replaced several joists
that had been installed last year as they were not happy with their
quality. Some
of the 3 X 6 boards have been set out for tongue and groove assembly.
As spring weather improves, progress will advance rapidly. The finished
tank will have an all-weather plaque attached to one of the vertical
base pillars. It will list project supporters, including the Rocky
Mountain Railroad Club. Switch
parts � Volunteer Bob McDougal has pproduced several head chairs for us
and we have also acquired adjustable gauge bars. We completed two more
switches last summer, and anticipate completing three more this year. I
will update our membership with an article in our quarterly news
magazine, The Bogies and the Loop, and will provide the RMRC with a
copy. Thank you, Bob Schoppe, Denver South Park & Pacific Historical Society |
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The
Rocky Mountain Railroad Historical Foundation is proud to announce our
five grant recipients for the summer 2023. For those who are not
familiar with the grant program, the RMRHF is the charitable arm of the
Club, and is focused on railroad history preservation and education. For
the last eight years, we’ve awarded up to five $1000 grants each summer
to small organizations with projects that align with our mission.
Our
first recipient, with unanimous support, is the
Nevada-California-Oregon Railway Preservation Society. What does this
have to do with railroading in the Rockies, you ask? A large amount of
narrow gauge equipment from Colorado’s Florence and Cripple Creek
Railroad was sold to the N-C-O following the closure of the former in
1915. The N-C-O group is currently restoring F&CC boxcar #518, one
of the few that survive. The car was sold following the standard-gauging
of the N-C-O in 1928 and served as a goat house and storage shed until
2021, when the group acquired it. The car was up on blocks and in a dry
area, so overall it’s in good condition. However, the doors are not
original and the group asked for a grant to cover the cost of lumber and
missing door hardware. When restoration is complete, the N-C-O Society
will display the car in Alturas, CA. We felt that this helps save a
piece of Colorado narrow gauge history, and gets the RMRC's name out to a wider audience.
The
second grant goes to the Galloping Goose Historical Society of Dolores,
CO. Many of you are familiar with their main piece of
equipment, RGS “Goose” #5. However, over the last few years they’ve
been building a display of historic narrow gauge freight cars in the
park behind the recreated Dolores depot (which the group also built).
They’ve been restoring D&RGW #3688, a narrow gauge box car proven to
be used on the RGS to transport ore from the Tom Boy Mine in Telluride.
They requested funding to truck the car from its restoration site to
the park for the public to see, and we’re happy to help.
Coming
in at number three is the Tracks Across Borders Scenic and Historic
Byway Commission. The Byway is an officially designated state byway in
both New Mexico and Colorado from Chama to Durango that highlights
the history of the Rio Grande’s narrow gauge mainline through the
region. The commission is setting up a display in the Jicarilla
Apache Nation’s Cultural Center in Dulce, NM. They asked for a grant to
help purchase artifacts and to help create additional educational
information for display highlighting the railroad’s importance to the
region. We think it’s a great way to help educate the public about the
region’s history as well as get the club’s name out there, and with John
Bush involved in the organization, we know the project in good hands.
Grant
number four goes to one of our perennial winners � the Denverr, South
Park & Pacific Historical Society. Many years ago, the Galloping
Goose Historical Society acquired about 750 sticks of 75-pound rail from
the former Rocky Mountain Arsenal. The GGHS hasn’t been able to
procure the rights to build any operating track, so they’ve agreed to
transfer about 500 sticks to the DSP&PHS to be used to rebuild track
at Como. That’s enough rail for about 1.5 miles of track. All
the DSP&PHS has to do is move it, and they’re planning to use
volunteers with their own trucks and flatbed trailers. However, the fuel
costs for the 33 required trips is expected to be around $8000. Our
funds will go towards getting the rail to its new home, where hopefully
we can ride over it in a year or two on one of our annual Como visits.
Our
last grant of 2023 goes to another fine Colorado organization, the
Ridgway Railroad Museum. Ridgway has been restoring RGS coach #252
for several years now, and it’s nearly complete. One of the last
remaining restoration projects is the lighting. Like other early narrow
gauge cars, these coaches were lit by large oil-burning chandeliers
mounted to the ceiling. The #252 has one of its originals, but is
lacking the second. Only one company makes the replicas, and they’re
extremely complicated and expensive to manufacture due to all the custom
castings and machining. If you’ve ridden in the C&TS’s recently
completed historic cars, these are the same lantern replicas used in
those. Our grant will go towards assisting the Ridgway folks with the
down payment on the replica, and getting the car finished.
We’ll keep you updated later in the year as these organizations report back on their progress.
It
was a fairly tough field this year, with a large number of proposals to
evaluate, and we’d like to thank every organization that took the time
to submit a proposal. Even if you weren’t chosen this year, don’t let
that discourage you from applying again in the future. (from
Nathan D. Holmes) |
Boeing Planes Moved on Dedicated BNSF Trains |
Boeing
is stepping up their aircraft production and moving fuselages built at
Spirit Aero in Kansas by BNSF special dedicated trains. April 29,
2023, three fuselages, two 737 MAX 8's and one P-8 Poseidon, moved by
BNSF train from Newton, KS, to Interbay, Washington, via the Brush
Subdivision. ©2023 Chip |
Colorado Pacific Loads First WESKAN Grain Train - May 2023 |
Colorado
Pacific RR employees moved an empty Union Pacific unit grain train from
NA Junction, east of Boone, CO, to Stuart, east of Sheridan Lake, CO,
May 2, 2023. The newly built WESKAN Grain elevator, a three-million
bushel facility loaded the grain train. UP #5490 led the 2x1 DPU setup.
The train was loaded at WESKAN Grain May 3rd. ©2023 Chip |
Colorado
Pacific RR roadmaster Larry Taylor stood next to UP #5490 at sunset,
May 2, 2023, at WESKAN Grain elevator at Stuart, Colorado. This was the
first unit grain train to load at the state-of-the-art WESKAN Grain
elevator. ©2023 Chip |
Colorado
Pacific RR operated their first unit grain train to load at the massive
new WESKAN Grain elevator at Stuart, east of Sheridan Lake, CO, on May 2
& 3, 2023. Union Pacific delivered the train via BNSF trackage
rights at NA Junction east of Boone, CO, on May 2nd. WESKAN
Grain is part of the Soloviev Group based in New York, NY. Stefan
Soloviev acquired and rehabilitated the former Missouri Pacific RR
Towner Line (Towner, CO, to NA Junction, CO, 120 miles) in 2020. He
leases two SD40-2 units from National Railway Equipment (NRE) and has
them painted with a sharp paint scheme. Those units are based
at Eads, CO. The
new WESKAN Grain elevator loaded the 102-car unit train with its
state-of-the-art loader. The train returned to NA Junction where it
proceeded via La Junta, CO, BNSF trackage rights, to Houston,
Texas, May 4, 2023. Stefan
Soloviev is the son of the late New York City real estate developer and
art collector Sheldon Solow, who died in 2020 after building a
real estate empire reportedly worth $4.4 billion. (https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/17/realestate/sheldon-h-solow-dead.html). Soloviev began using the original Russian spelling of his family’s name about a decade ago.
Soloviev’s
Crossroads Agriculture has amassed 400,000 acres of cropland and ranch
land in southeastern Colorado, Kansas and New Mexico. His Colorado
Pacific Railroad revived the 122-mile Towner Line in eastern Colorado,
which connects his farms’ grain elevators with national rail lines east
of Pueblo. |
Denver RTD Operator Sleeping - March 11, 2023 The operator was likely asleep at the controls when the speeding light rail train left the tracks at the W-Line’s end-of-the-line station in Golden, CO, a few weeks ago, the Regional Transportation District said in a regulatory filing Tuesday. It
disclosed plans to revamp its “fit for duty” checklist process and
conduct a fatigue awareness campaign among operators in the near term.
It also proposed an evaluation of operators’ starting times and the
duration of shifts, among other final corrective actions. On March 11, 2023, two of four passengers on a mid-morning train were hospitalized with minor injuries after the train sped into the Jefferson County Government Center station and hit a bumper at the end of track. |
Southern Pacific Bay Window Caboose Moved to Denver by Steve Disher |
Former
Southern Pacific caboose SP #4763 was moved from the Darrel Brehm
home at Pratt, Kansas, by Steve Disher. Steve's truck was at
the Love's Gas Station, May 2,
2023, at Eads, CO. SP #4763 bay window caboose was sold by the
Brehm estate after the owner passed away, and is being moved to a Bed
& Breakfast off of Pecos Street in Denver, Colorado. ©2023
Chip |
Kyle Railroad Rare Utah Rly #5005 MK50-3 Returned to Service |
Kyle
Railroad's Utah Railway lettered 5005 & 5006, MK50-3, were at
Flagler, CO, May 6, 2023. Utah Rly 5005 had been out of service in
recent weeks. This was 5005's first Goodland, Kansas, to Limon, CO,
turn, to gather loaded grain cars. ©2023 by Chip. |
Rocky Mountaineer at Winter Park, CO |
The
Rocky Mountaineer RMRX 8020 & 8021 handled their 10-car train at
Winter Park, CO, April 23, 2023. Rocky Mountaineer was operating their
Rockies to the Red Rocks (Moab, Utah) train twice a week starting in
mid-April, 2023. ©2023 Chip |
Santa Fe Steam Returns at Albuquerque, NM, and Abilene & Smoky Valley RR in 2023 |
Abilene
& Smoky Valley RR operates Santa Fe #3415 Pacific out of the two
stall enginehouse in Abilene, Kansas. Beginning Memorial Day
weekend ATSF #3415 will operate on most weekends in June, July, and
September until October 7, 2023. ©2023 Chip |
On
Saturday, May 6, 2023, the restored Santa Fe 4-8-4 #2926 ventured
outside of it's storage site for the first time, under her own
power. Engine #2926 made a
1/2 mile trip to the Tractor Brewery and back for a fundraiser on what
is known as the sawmill spur in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Former
Santa Fe #3415, a 4-6-2 Pacific, will operate on the Abilene &
Smoky Valley RR out of Abilene, Kansas, starting Memorial Day weekend,
May 2023. Per general manager Ross Boelling, there's still service
time on #3415's boiler, allowing operations this year. The engine is
expected to run most weekends in June and July. No steam trips are
scheduled for August. Steam operations resume in September, until
October 8th. It will then be shopped for necessary maintenance work, for
perhaps two years. It will cost an estimated $3 million in shop work to
keep this handsome engine running.
Check out their website by clicking on Learn More- |
BNSF Katie Farmer Officer Special Detoured After UP Rock Slide |
BNSF
#3805 North was at Prospect Junction, Denver, CO, May 11, 2023. The
train was originally going west to Utah over the UP Moffat Tunnel route
but a rock slide detoured the train north on BNSF's Front Range
Subdivision. ©2023 Chip |
BNSF's
chief executive officer Katie Farmer's 15-car office car special
visited Colorado on May 10 & 11, 2023, with plans to travel on UP's
Moffat Tunnel and Glenwood Springs Subdivisions. The train arrived in
Colorado from Omaha, NE, via BNSF's Brush Sub. BNSF #3805, an
ET44C4, was at 31st Street Yard, ready the morning of May 11th at
Denver, CO, to head west. Word came of a rock slide on UP's Moffat
Tunnel Subdivision at milepost 71.9 Fraser Canyon, between Tabernash and
Granby, CO. The BNSF
officer special was then routed out of Denver via the Front Range
Subdivision through Fort Collins to Cheyenne, WY. The ultimate
destination was Portland, Oregon. |
BNSF
32, the William B. Strong track inspection car on a 15-car officer
special passed Norfolk Southern #1071, the Central RR of New Jersey
heritage unit. NS #1071 led BNSF loaded unit frac sand train from
Wisconsin via Denver to Fort Collins, CO. BNSF Front Range
subdivision at Fort Collins, CO, May 11, 2023. ©2023 Chip |
BNSF
#3805 north, on this passenger car special, passed Norfolk Southern
#1071, the Central RR of New Jersey heritage unit on a BNSF loaded unit
frac sand train U CPFFCL-007. Seen here at BNSF North Yard, Fort
Collins, CO, on May 11, 2023. ©2023 Chip |
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ENSCO
is proud to support the Federal Railroad Administration’s (FRA)
Transportation Technology Center (TTC) as the prime contractor
conducting research, engineering, testing, and training as well as
operating and maintaining this important US Department of Transportation
facility. |
| | Click above INTERMOUNTAIN CHAPTER NRHS link to go to their website. |
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| | Click above COLORADO RAILROAD MUSEUM link to go to their website. |
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