A New Chapter
With this issue of the Rail Report,
the Colorado Railroad Museum begins a new chapter in keeping Centennial
State rail enthusiasts up-to-date, with news (from current-day
railroading as well as the world of railway preservation), plus a quick
journey each month into past activities and accomplishments of the Rocky
Mountain Railroad Club. This continues a tradition of information sent
out regularly to Rocky Club members, while broadening the network to
hopefully include a whole new generation of rail enthusiasts!
The
Museum is excited to be taking on this new monthly e-newsletter, with
contributors including some of the Rocky Mountain Region’s most
respected journalists and photographers. A big thank-you this issue goes
out to Dave Schaaf, John Bush, Jim Ehernberger, Chip Sherman, and Rick
Malo.
If
you’re a current member of the Rocky Club, it’s likely that you
recently received a card in the postal mail letting you know your Club
membership will soon be transferring to one with the Museum. If you’re
not a Rocky Club member, you may want to consider joining the Colorado
Railroad Museum as a member yourself! For information and to join, visit
https://coloradorailroadmuseum.org/membership/ or call the Museum Tues-Sun 9-5 MT at (303) 279-4591.
If you have received this email as a forward from someone else, please click here to continue receiving the Rail Report monthly.
Paul
Hammond
Dave Schaaf Executive Director
Rail Report Editor Bringing
Up the Rear: The Rocky Mountain Railroad Club will have its final,
annual membership barbecue picnic on Sunday, August 17th, at the
Colorado Railroad Museum in Golden. More details will be forthcoming
soon, but please save the date and plan to attend if you are a 2025
Rocky Club member!
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Rail Watch
Current highlights and on-the-ground happenings in railroading today.
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Genesee
& Wyoming’s Kyle Railroad moved 65 loads of natural gas pipe from
BNSF at Courtland, Kansas, to Stratton, Colorado, on June 5-7, 2025.
The unit train rolled west over the former Chicago, Rock Island
& Pacific RR, seen here at Edson, Kansas, early Saturday morning,
June 7th. Photo ©2025 by Chip
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This
westbound Kyle Railroad unit pipe train passed the abandoned former
Rock Island depot at Burlington, Colorado, on June 7, 2025. The
load of natural gas pipe was headed to Stratton, Colorado. Photo
©2025 by Chip
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Utah
Railway 5003, an MK50-3, Goodland, Kansas, at sunrise on 7 June
2025. Welcomed rains provided ranchers and farmers with water that
left puddles in the Kyle Railroad's Goodland railyard. Utah
Railway lettered unit awaited its next call to duty. ©2025-Chip
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With Amtrak units 176 and 167 as motive power, the eastbound Southwest Chief arrives in Lamy, New Mexico at 12:42pm on Sunday, May 25th, 2025. © Rick Malo
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Tumbledown walls at Yeso, New Mexico.
Eastbound at 11:43 am, May 26th, 2025. © Rick Malo
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At 11:43 am, May 26th, 2025, an eastbound BNSF freight rolls past the
old gas station in Yeso, New Mexico. © Rick Malo
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Down on the Southern Transcon between Fort Sumner and Vaughn, a
westbound BNSF freight rolls past the old post office in the ghost town
of Yeso, New Mexico at 12:11 pm on May 26th, 2025. © Rick Malo
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Current News Updates
Amtrak
recently put out its annual legislative report and grant request which
has a plan for becoming “operationally profitable” by fiscal year
2028. A highlight was record ridership in fiscal 2024, ending in
September of last year. Amtrak had nearly 33 million intercity
passengers, which was more than pre-pandemic volume.
Standard-gauge steam in the West this summer:
1. Grand Canyon Railway will run steam on July 5, and August 2, 16, and 30. 2.
Union Pacific #4014 will run south to Denver from Cheyenne on July 17,
and then return north on July 19. No public visit is planned in
between.
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Union Pacific UPP 210 Mobile Laboratory in Colorado, June 2025
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Originally built and owned by Pullman Car Company as a sleeper named Balsam Fir
in 1930. In 1962, it was removed from the Pullman Lease, and in 1963 it
was rebuilt to become Dynamometer Car 903001. In 1964 it was modified
by Union Pacific to be a mobile laboratory.
UPP
210 was used extensively across the UP System during Positive Train
Control (PTC) testing, typically positioned between two locomotives.
Union Pacific obtained an AMTRAK car number for it - AMTRAK 800847. It
moved to a testing facility near Pueblo, Colorado in June. This car is
seen here on the westbound California Zephyr in Arvada, Colorado, on March 17, 2015. ©2015 Chip.
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Union Pacific Derailment
In
early June, a catastrophic wheel bearing failure caused the derailment
of over 90 freight cars near Walcott, which is west of Laramie, Wyoming.
Two Union Pacific trains were involved in this incident, which blocked
all tracks temporarily. No injuries were reported.
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A bit of Rocky Mountain Railroad Club History By Jim Ehernberger
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Seventy-
two years ago, on May 17, 1953, the Rocky Mountain Railroad Club
operated its first Union Pacific excursion. Challenger engine 3967
was requested and handled this train between Denver, Colorado, and
Laramie, Wyoming. A press release in the Denver Post
newspaper provided advance information. The Cheyenne U.P. Ticket
Agent sold me a round trip ticket from Borie station to Laramie.
The
cost was a whopping $2.53! It was my first experience with true
rail fanning, as up to that point I was a loner. The train took
the siding at Buford, where passengers disembarked and proceeded to
photograph the double-headed westward trains. One week later, a
new main line was set to open via Harriman, and the helper engines would
then cease operations. From Buford, the train proceeded to
Laramie to be turned and provided passengers ample time to visit the
roundhouse and watch train activities. Several passengers got off
at Borie, and the train then returned over the cut-off to Denver.
This was the beginning of many great and memorable experiences with the
Club.
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Rocky Mountain Rail Preservation By John Bush
The
purpose of this column is to explore the reasons why rail preservation
is important, and how it helps tell the story of the development of the
west. Speaking broadly, the role of museums is not only to collect and
hopefully protect old things but to tell a story of the past that helps
provide context and insight into past events. Ultimately
“Understanding where you have been can provide guide posts for where you
are headed”. That understanding can help us get where we want to
go..
Going forward, this column will discuss the goals of rail
preservation projects in the Rocky Mountain region. It will also
discuss the status of projects as varied as the cosmetic restoration of
cars and locomotives on public display, operational rebuilds, the
relocation / repurposing of buildings, and changes in the protection /
preservation of abandoned grades and bridges.
A quick perusal of available information indicates that 18 steam locomotives are preserved in New Mexico.
A quick perusal of available information indicates that 84 steam locomotives are preserved in Colorado.
A quick perusal of available information indicates that 17 steam locomotives are preserved in Wyoming.
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In
early May, well-known railroad photographer J. Parker Lamb passed away
at age 91 at his home in Austin, Texas. His images began to appear
in Trains magazine in the mid-1950s. He has
authored several books, and his archive has been donated to the Center
for Railroad Photography and Art. In 1991, the Railway &
Locomotive Historical Society recognized Lamb’s body of work with its
Fred A. and Jane R. Stindt Photography Award. Lamb later served as
the president of R&LHS from 2007-2010. Information Courtesy of trains.com
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Content
contributions this month from Chip Sherman, John Bush, Jim Ehernberger,
Dave Schaaf and Rick Malo. Editorial assistance from Dave Schaaf, Paul
Hammond and Maddie Schaaf.
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Thanks to our generous Sponsors & Partners
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