A Long Tradition
This November issue of the Colorado Railroad Museum Rail Report continues a long-standing tradition of keeping members of the Rocky Mountain Railroad Club informed and connected. Now that the Club has joined the Museum, we’re excited to carry that legacy forward, sharing news and updates with the broader Museum community—bringing the Rail Report to a wider audience that is passionate about Colorado railroading, preservation, and the stories that keep our shared history moving.
If you have received this email as a forward from someone else, please click here to continue receiving the Rail Report monthly. And if you know of someone who might be interested, please forward and share!
We’re delighted to continue a long tradition with a new look and feel. All aboard!
Paul Hammond Dave Schaaf
Executive Director Rail Report Editor
| |
Rail-Related Updates
- Amtrak had record ridership and revenue during the fiscal year that ended September 30, 2025. Their year-end report says they provided 34.5 million rider trips, a 5.1% increase over FY24 and a new record, and collected adjusted ticket revenue of $2.7 billion, a first in Amtrak’s history and 10.4% higher year over year.
This ski season, the Amtrak Winter Park Express from Denver has announced this schedule:
- Dec. 19 – Jan. 4 service from Fridays to Sundays.
- Jan. 8 – Mar. 29 service from Thursdays to Sundays.
- The Durango & Silverton has acquired D&RGW narrow-gauge caboose 04343. It arrived in Durango on November 17th, and will be restored there and brought back to operational status.
- The Center for Railroad Photography & Art is hosting a Zoom presentation, “Railroad Photography — The Old Way” with longtime Rocky Mountain Railroad Club member and former president James Ehernberger, on Tuesday, December 9, 2025, at 7:00 PM Central Time (8 PM Eastern, 6 PM Mountain, and 5 PM Pacific). Mr. Ehernberger will share unforgettable stories and photographs from his lifetime of adventures documenting the end of the steam era in the United States. This is a rare opportunity to experience the work of one of the few living photographers who captured this historic period. Click Here to register.
- The Colorado Railroad Museum sent Rio Grande Southern (RGS) Locomotive No. 20 via two lowboy tractor-trailer rigs to Durango, where it will pull special winter excursions on the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad (D&SNGRR) in January and February 2026. After safely delivering No. 20, Museum crews traveled to Antonito to pick up Denver & Rio Grande Western (D&RGW) No. 315, which has now arrived in Golden. No. 315 will assist No. 491 in powering sold-out THE POLAR EXPRESS™ trains this holiday season and will also be featured in the 2026 Colorado Crossings event next May.
These locomotive moves could not have been completed without the support and partnership of the Durango Railroad Historical Society and the D&SNGRR. Thanks to these collaborations, we are able to keep Colorado’s narrow-gauge heritage in motion!
| |
Photo taken at Lizard Head Pass in southwest Colorado © 2025 Dusty Thomson
| |
D&RGW 2-8-0 No. 315 arrived at the Colorado Railroad Museum just after dark on November 19th, 2025. © Jeff Taylor
| |
Rail Watch
Current highlights and regional happenings.
| |
Rocky Mountaineer RMRX 2013 coach (with the new Canyon Spirit logo) was unloaded from it’s last 2025 season trip at Denver Union Station on November 12. For 2026 the train will run once a week to Salt Lake City as the Canyon Spirit. ©2025 Chip
| |
BNSF’s Pueblo Local moved four retired Chicago Metra F40s to MxV Rail at the former Pueblo Army Depot east of Pueblo, Colorado, on November 4, 2025. The units were numbered 154, 158, 159 and 161. The train is seen here under I-25 on its way east. ©2025 Chip
| |
Kyle Railroad C44-9W No. 4460, painted to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the USA. It made its first trip to Goodland, Kansas, on November 9.
©2025 Chip
| |
AT&SF 2-6-2 Prairie-type locomotive No. 1819 on display in Lamar, Colorado, in the early morning sunlight. ©2025 Rick Malo
| |
BNSF Railway has recently been sending new locomotives north through Colorado, bound for the coal fields of Wyoming. This train came through Pueblo on November 21 with six clean units. These are designated as ES44ACH, and are Tier 4 emissions compliant. On the closer shot, the digits seem almost invisible. This is merely due to the angle of lighting, as they are made of reflective material. From most angles, they will look black. Both photos above ©2025 Daren Genau.
| |
Rocky Mountain Rail Preservation
By John Bush
| |
A brief follow-up to last month’s column regarding Denver & Rio Grande Western (D&RGW) No. 223. There is some very good news. The City of Ogden has now de-accessioned No. 223 to the non-profit 223 Locomotive Foundation. For more information, please visit 223locomotivefoundation.org.
Railroad and rail preservation in the Rocky Mountain region has followed several models:
Private for profit: Colorado Central Narrow Gauge Railway 1968-1980 (Central City), Durango & Silverton (Silverton train), Royal Gorge Route Railroad 1998, Leadville Colorado & Southern, and Cripple Creek & Victor Narrow Gauge,
Government/Private for profit partnership: Georgetown Loop Railroad 1973-2004, Rail Star (Georgetown Loop 2005-2008) Historic Rail Adventures (Georgetown Loop 2009 - current) Scenic Railways (C&TS 1971-1981), Kyle Railways (C&TS 1982-1996), Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Corporation (C&TS 1997-2000), American Heritage Railways (C&TS 2012)
Government/Non-profit: RGRPC (C&TS 2000 – 2002) RGRPC2 (C&TS 2003 – 2006) CTSMC (C&TS 2007 – 2011) Cumbres Toltec Operating (2013 – current)
Government funded restoration: Bush Restoration, (Colorado Springs cosmetic restoration of No. 168, Manitou Springs cosmetic restoration of M&PP No. 2, Boulder cosmetic restoration of D&RGW coach No. 280, Craig restoration after fire DNW&P (private car MARCIA), Mammoth Locomotive Works (D&RGW No. 278)
Volunteer private, 501c3, or self-funded: Alamosa - D&RGW No. 169, Como - South Park Rail Society, Golden - Colorado Railroad Museum, Antonito/Chama – Friends of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic RR.
The above list is not exhaustive. There may be errors and omissions.
One organization that deserves special recognition for their impact is the Friends of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad (FOCTS). The FOCTS has been the leading organization in this arena. The model has been copied and adopted by other successful groups across the country.
| |
Recent photo from a Friends work session. © Friends of the C&TS
| |
The Friends of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad (the Friends) has played a major role in the preservation and restoration of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad. In 1970, the states of Colorado and New Mexico jointly purchased the railroad between Antonito and Chama, including 10 steam locomotives, over 130 wooden freight cars, and infrastructure, including water tanks, buildings, and a coal tipple scattered along the 64-mile route. No provision for the ongoing maintenance and preservation of the property was made. By 1980, it was clear that the operational revenue generated by running trains would never be sufficient to maintain anything beyond the operating locomotives and the cars used in passenger service.
In 1980, Spencer Wilson & Vern Glover published Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad The Historic Preservation Study, lamenting the deterioration of both railroad cars and buildings not a part of the regular operations of the passenger-hauling operation. Nearly 20 years of exposure to the weather without significant maintenance had taken its toll, and if something was not done soon, these assets would soon be beyond saving. Small at first and subsequently growing exponentially was a group of people who did not want to have that happen. With the encouragement of the operator, that group began to fill the need for maintenance and restoration of these irreplaceable historic assets handed down from the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad.
That initial group became the Friends of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad Inc. in 1988 and has gone on to accomplish major objectives, including:
· The designation of the C&TSRR as a National Historic Landmark.
· The return of tank cars from Alaska and elsewhere.
· The restoration to working condition of the D&RGW derrick, pile driver, and assistance with rotary OY.
· The preparation and hosting of numerous charter operations.
Work equipment demonstrations
Photo freight trains
Moonlight dinner trains
Wine trains
· The restoration of D&RGW No. 463
· The complete restoration of Narrow Gauge Pullman Sleeper No. 470.
| |
Above: The 1889 builder's photo of the tourist sleeper's interior. © Friends of the C&TS
Below: The restored interior of D&RG Tourist Sleeper 470. © Friends of the C&TS
| |
· The installation of a demonstration dual gauge track with cars.
· The major restorations of historic buildings at section towns of Cumbres and Sublette.
· The staffing of virtually every train with a Docent to interpret the railroad to its riders.
· The purchase of land and a storage building in Chama.
· The purchase of land and the erection of a car repair facility building and covered storage tracks in Antonito.
In the coming year the Friends will continue the projects underway in 2025 and will tackle the following projects:
Chama:
Roof replacement for night watchmen’s house
Fireproofing the shake roof on the log bunkhouse
Sublette:
Roof replacement for single bunk house
Construction of seats for overlook and sitting areas on walking trails
Reconstruction of back porch for section house
Cumbres:
Reconstruct 2-hole water closet for section house
Structural survey for windmill pumphouse (proposed replacement of windmill)
Antonito:
Work to Start on reconstruction of the 11th tank car
The Friends with almost 2,000 members publish an excellent quarterly publication of railroad history and activities and cooperates with the management of the railroad for the betterment and preservation of the railroad. The Friends is managed by an active Board of Directors with a small full-time staff to coordinate the thousands of hours of volunteer labor put into the work by its members. The Friends actively invites new members and tax-deductible donations to support its work. See more at friendsofcumbrestoltec.org.
It is clear that without the volunteer support provided by the FOCTS the C&TSRR would not exist in its present form and might not exist at all.
Most of this group were raised when steam locomotives still ran at least on branch lines. Freight trains were still a mulligan stew of boxcars from every corner of the country. Trains still had cabooses. Computers, cell phones, social media, and working from home were not even imagined. Most of us were tired and sweaty at the end of the day from physical labor not cubicle, video screen, and e-mail stress. We knew our neighbors and didn’t spend three hours a day in a car by ourselves fighting rush hour traffic.
| |
The continued success of rail preservation in Colorado and the rest of the Rocky Mountain region is dependent on strong volunteer action. The challenge as I see it is the need to develop and mentor a new generation of dedicated historic railroad fan/preservationists. Their experience of railroads is different.
In preparing this column I researched several other volunteer organizations. One of the comments that struck me was “I don’t believe that young people are the future of preservation. They are the present”. Other organizations are encouraging families, including kids to come and participate. Even pre-teens are being included, and tasks where they can be involved and have fun are being done. Another phrase I heard repeated in many of my conversations was “I came for the trains but returned/stayed for the people."
It is time to fully engage and empower the younger generation. Influencers need to be found who can communicate with Millennials and Gen Z in their own “language” and on their own terms.
| |
Above: The Wiscasset, Waterville & Farmington Railway Museum (WW&F) 2025 Fall Work Weekend track gang, 43 people ranging in age from upper 70s down to 4 -- the largest group since before COVID. © 2025 Oren B. Helbok.
Below: A young WW&F volunteer assists with window cleaning. ©2025 Oren B. Helbok.
| |
Over the years, I have learned
“YOU CAN’T SAVE OLD RAILROADS WITH OLD THINKING."
| |
On the topic of getting young people involved in rail preservation, Trains magazine publishes a monthly article profiling “Young Guns in Preservation.” The most recent feature was none other than the Colorado Railroad Museum’s own Marketing & Membership Manager, Maddie Schaaf. Click here to read her profile, or click here to peruse previous features.
| |
Content contributions this month from Dusty Thomson, Jeff Taylor, Chip Sherman,
Rick Malo, Daren Genau, John Bush, Oren Helbok, and Dave Schaaf.
Editorial assistance from Paul Hammond and Maddie Schaaf.
| |
| Thanks to our generous Sponsors & Partners
| |
|
|
|
|
