Railroad hotspots in Colorado & Utah.

[Anonymous]

Hi,
Many thanks to you all for your replies.In reply to ''Mudchicken'' (how did you get that name)we will be over for 2 weeks with no fixed itinerary, the ''bosslady is quite happy to indulge my railroad interests as long as she has plenty of time to shop when we hit town, which suits me as I believe there are some very large model railroad shops in Denver. Would welcome as many suggestions as possible.
Roger[:)]

[RudyRockvilleMD]

Roger:
You might look into the western end of the ex Denver & Rio Grande between Helper and just east of Spanish Fork which is south of Salt Lake City, Utah. The line is double tracked between Martin - a few miles west of Helper - and Spanish Fork, and the Union Pacific (ex Denver & Rio Grande) owns one track while the Utah Railway owns the other track; US 6 runs parallel to the tracks most of the way between Spanish Fork and Martin.

Traveling eastbound from Spanish Fork US 6 passes through the Spanish Fork Canyon, and Castilla is a good location for photographing an eastbound train in the morning. Continuing eastbound US 6 runs through Gilluly which is known for the famous Gilluly Loops where the tracks climb to Soldier Summit in a series of 3 horseshoe curves. US 6 crosses the one of the horseshoe curves in Gilluly and you can see the line doubling back to the west up above. the second and the third curves are out of sight; thetracks are out of sight, and they are not accessible from public road between Gilluly and Soldier Summit.

US 6 picks up the tracks again at Soldier Summit, and it follows the tracks to Martin. Some interesting photo locations are at Soldier Summit, Colton, Kyune - off Kyune Pass Road - the Price River Canyon, and Castle Gate. The double track ends at Martin where the Utah Railway branches off to go to the coal mines.

The trains do not run very fast through this area so you can photograph the train at one location, and easily beat it to another location as you drive along US 6 because it is a wide, relatively straight road, and it does not carry a lot of traffic.

When I visited this area in June, 1998 I only found two Union Pacific eastbound freights - one of which was headed for the Scofiled branch - one Union Pacific westbound freight at Gilluly, one westbound Burlington Northern Santa Fe westbound freight between Colton and Soldier Summit, and a westbound Utah Railway unit coal train, which I photographed several times between Martin and Soldier Summit.

If you are going to Las Vegas, and if you have time, you might consider returning to Denver via the Grand Canyon, and riding the Grand Canyon Railway, which usually runs steam excursions between Williams, Arizona and the South Rim of the Grand Canyon; alternatively you could stay in Flagstaff, Arizona, and drive up to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, however, Parking at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon and traffic along the South Rim could be problematric. There are some interesting photography sites East of Flagstaff.

When you arrive in Denver I sugest you try to buy Delorme Atlases for the states of Colorado, Utah, and Nevada, and Arizona.

[Anonymous]

Roger: I would not miss the Cumbres & Toltec. It is one of the most authentic railroad experiences there is. Walking into Chama is like walking into 1960 .. or maybe 1930. It's THAT good.

The Durango & Silverton has, hands down, fabulous scenery and a great trip. It works out perfectly to spend lunch in Silverton. I don't think there's a better day trip to be had for the non railfan.

I like the Georgetown Loop because it's quick, accessible, fun -- perfect when you're with people who don't want to spend the whole day in a train experience. Lots of shopping in Georgetown for non railfans and good restaurants too.

I haven't ridden the train at Leadville, but that's a fascinating place, too. I spent many of my summers as a kid in Georgetown, Silver Plume, and Leadville, so I'm biased, of course.

I haven't been to the Royal Gorge since it was a main line railroad, but the scenery is, like the Georgetown Loop, also very fine.

The Joint Line has plenty of trains, but the scenery -- well, it's pretty urbanized now, and not in a quaint English way either. I grew up west of Castle Rock, graduated from the high school in a class of 115 students -- the total number of seniors in the whole county! -- and today it's just greater Denver. I wouldn't bother.

If you want big scenery and freight action, I'd get west of the Moffat Tunnel on U.S. 40 and work between Winter Park and Phippsburg on the Craig Branch. You'll probably get at least one coal train to chase for a few hours. It's worth seeing even just to drive the route: If you're heading west, get off I-70 at U.S. 40, take it to Kremmling, and take the county road (it's very good now) that goes to State Bridge. Locally it's called Trough Road. Then cut down the state highway to Wolcott, and you're back on I-70 with only about a two-hour addition to your trip -- but with fabulous scenery as a reward.

Don't hope to find trains on the Rio Grande west of Grand Junction. There are very few these days. Admire what was once wonderful and move on.

The LA&SL (UP) between Salt Lake City and Las Angeles, running through Las Vegas, has around 24 trains a day, but while fabulously scenic, it's mostly a long, long way away from any paved road. I would avoid any road that is not paved; you're risking mudholes and sand dunes and out in the middle of nowhere. I've spent a lot of time digging 4WDs out of sand, mud, and snow (not on the same day!) on the LA&SL. When you get stuck there, you are really stuck.

Once in Las Vegas, though, go to Cima Hill -- it's about a 90-minute drive on good paved roads. You'll see these on a Rand McNally atlas. Cima Hill is one of the most amazing mountain grades in the world, and it's all out in the open on a desert ramp: 17 miles of 2.2%. The county road parallels it nicely all the way from the top at Cima (Spanish for summit) to the bottom at Kelso, an old helper terminal where the beautiful Mission-style station still stands like something out of Lawrence of Arabia. Years ago, when the UP still ran it as a lunchroom for Las Vegas-Yermo crews, I had a number of excellent meals there, all served on UP china. And you could stay upstairs on a narrow iron bed for $4.50 a night. Every train that went by shook the hell out of the place!

My suggestion if you want to see lots of freight trains. Forget Utah, forget Colorado, go to Wyoming. The UP main line west of Laramie is full of trains, scenic, easy to get to, and out in the wilds. Genuine American railroading doesn't get any better than that. June will be really nice there!

[mudchicken]

Roger:

How much time do you have? .....and if you were to look at a rail map of the US, a straight line between Denver and Lost Wages would take you across one of the bigger voids (railroad no-mans land) in the country. How big a detour can you take without annoying the bosslady and manage to remain on time and on your itinerary?

Order your Cumbres & Toltec tix now! (sell out quickly on advance orders).....
Stay at the Best Western at Durango (overlooks D&S roundhouse)
Beware that June in Colorado is the Monsoon season here, but the weather and the sun conditions change quickly (If you don't like the weather, wait 15 minutes....)

Mudchicken

[Anonymous]

Hello,
Having recently become an ardent US railroad fan & modeller of same in n-scale but living in the UK, your help is needed to plan my holiday in June this year.Where are the best places to visit,not just to see lots of trains but also to include great scenery.The Cumbres & Toltec is already on my list as well as the Royal Gorge.My wife and I are landing at Denver staying at Colorado Springs & driving across country to Las Vegas & back.
Many thanks for your help.
Roger