Rocky Mountain Railroad Club Rail Report February 2025

Twenty Years Down the Barrel

A Joint Line Native's Perspective

Zach Green grew up a stone's throw from the world famous railfan hotspot of Crews, CO, MP 654, today's MP 87 give or take on the BNSF Pikes Peak Subdivision. A railfan from the time he could hold a camera, he worked his way up from a Kodak 110 Camera (the OG Point and Shoot) to a second-hand Minolta X-GM and access to his Dad's lenses and Kodachrome at the age of 10. Nearing the end of high school, the X-GM was upgraded to a Minolta X-700. All was well until Kodak pulled the pin on KR-64, Fujichrome didn't quite match the results, and a search and lots of research went into finding his next photographic upgrade. About this time, Canon had launched their 10D DLSR and more research was done. A full time job as a Land Surveyor enabled him to sample an early Canon Point and Shoot S50, which after 6 years of use has been mostly in the field while surveying. After several years of working out of town, Zach was able to save up enough extra per diem to make a major splash. Canon had recently launched the EOS 30D, a 16 megapixel DSLR. In the Fall of 2005 Zach, purchased a Canon 30D kit with a 17-85mm zoom lens and for close up work a 100-400 f4 L Series mini-bazooka. With his photographic abilities starting to run into the limits and capabilities of the Canon 30, a savings measure and new research performed. In the fall of 2016 an upgrade was made to the Canon 5D MkIV, Zach's first full frame digital camera. Over the years Zach has added to his arsenal of lenses to include: f4 100mm Marco L Series, f4 70-20mm IS USM Ver II L Series, f4 24-105mm IS USM L Series, f4 16-35mm L Series, and a Sigma Contemporary 150-600mm IS USM Bazooka. Zach's show represents 20 years of digital railfan photography, not only in Colorado but in many states he has traveled to for work and even several job sites. Zach specializes in railroad-related land surveying and has had the opportunity to work on railroad-related projects in Nevada, Wyoming, Texas, Washington, Indiana, Idaho, New Mexico, Kansas, Nebraska, Illinois, and Indiana. Please join us as Zach takes us on a journey across Colorado and the western US in "20 Years Down the Barrel - A Joint Line Native's Perspective".

Please join us for an enjoyable, educational evening in the meeting hall at Christ Church at 2950 S. University Blvd. in Denver. There is off-street parking on the south side of the complex. All programs are intended to provide an educational experience on railroading. The general public is welcome to attend. There is no charge for this meeting that starts at 7:30 pm.

Or Join the Zoom Meeting ---

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86251105134?pwd=VWRwRUVCbVoyTzhwMWhYbm5scTlqdz09 Meeting ID: 862 5110 5134 Passcode: 496652

President’s Letter by Dave Goss February 2025

As I mentioned in last month’s Rail Report, Jim Ehernberger, Dave Schaaf and I met with Paul Hammond, Rob Kramer and Sharon McGee at the Colorado Railroad Museum on January 14. We went over most of our thoughts about possibly transferring the Club’s membership and assets to the museum. Paul and his staff were very open to suggestions. As you can imagine, there are many details to be worked out and at this point in time nothing is final. Once

our dues renewals are complete, we will provide the museum with a listing of our members so they can compare them with their membership list to identify duplicate memberships. Paul also indicated that he needs to brief the museum’s Board of Directors, which will take place in March. I know everyone would like a firm answer, but I believe that we jointly agree that

this integration makes a lot of sense to both the club and the museum. Paul also wants feedback from his staff and the Board before we make any formal

announcements.

As to 2025 dues, I want to thank all of you who have renewed. Of the 308 members listed in 2024, more than 270 have renewed as of January 21st. We

are going to continue to accept renewals until mid-February. It is remarkable how many of you have, despite the somewhat uncertain future of the organization, committed to stay with us through this year. To recognize what might be the Club’s last year, we are researching a special membership card that will be a unique memento and commemorative way to mark our 87 years of preserving Colorado railroad history. Additionally, we are planning several special activities including a 2025 Membership Directory and a

proposed picnic at the Colorado Railroad Museum similar to what we did in 2024.

We are also in the process of cleaning out our “World Headquarters” which is a storage unit located on South Broadway. As you saw at the December annual meeting we have many VHS tapes, publications, and memorabilia that need to find a home. In February we will continue this process and over the next few months, make additional items available to Club members and other organizations. We thank you for your continued support of the Board’s officers and committee members as we go through this important transition.