Article by Ed Quillen
Transportation – June 2006 – Colorado Central Magazine
IF YOU LOOK at this region’s excursion trains as journeys through time as well as space, then the Canon City & Royal Gorge takes its passengers back about half a century to the 1950s, when air travel was a novelty and trains were the way to go. And 120 miles upriver, the Leadville, Colorado & Southern has the feel of even earlier times.
The CC&RG — perhaps better known as “the Royal Gorge Route” — runs two-hour excursions on the old Denver & Rio Grande Western main line from Canon City through the Royal Gorge to Parkdale and back.
It offers an open observation car available to all passengers, and its closed cars are air-conditioned and comfortable. Many of them were built for Canada’s Via Rail long-haul trains, and this year the CC&RG has three full-length dome cars to provide passengers an even better view of the canyon.
“We’re really excited about them,” said Mark Greksa, railroad president. “They’ll seat 64 people up on top, as opposed to the 24 that could sit in a Vista Dome.” They came from the Alaska Railroad, where Holland-America used them on “cruise trains” before getting new cars built. The dome cars were shipped by barge to Seattle, then by rail to Colorado last fall, where they were refurbished.
Starting Memorial Day weekend, the Royal Gorge Route will offer three trains daily, with lunch and dinner service available at appropriate times. It also hosts a weekly murder-mystery train, and special “raft and rail” excursions where passengers ride the river down to Parkdale before boarding the train to Canon City. Another special option is a cab ride with the engineer.
If you want to see the Royal Gorge from the bottom up, and not worry about rapids and suckholes in the Arkansas River, this is definitely the way to go. Back in 1885, guidebook writer George Crofutt said the spectacle was impossible to capture in words, but he tried anyway:
“Down this gorge rushes the accumulated waters of ages, which, together with the erosion of centuries, have weathered the soft corners and washed away much of the loose materials, leaving rocks — rocks of every shape, form and dimension; rocks with huge domes, towers and pinnacles, sharp corners and hollow recesses: rocks over 2,000 feet in height, standing perpendicular, with projecting spurs, almost locking and inter-locking from opposite sides. We say, imagine all these things, and you will then have only a faint conception of the ‘Royal Gorge’ of the grand canyon of the Arkansas.”
Aside from lofty canyon walls, the trip provides views of the underside of the famed Royal Gorge Bridge, and of the popular and raging stretch of whitewater beneath. The landscape also offers some surprises not generally found along Highway 50, including some of the most amazing stands of twisted cholla, grown to gargantuan proportions by clinging to steep slopes inaccessible to man, and for local history buffs there are fascinating remnants of pipes, flumes, and foundations testifying to more than a century of industry along the Arkansas.
Reservations are recommended. For more about the CC&RG, call 888-724-5748 or visit the website at www.royalgorgeroute.com.
THE CARS on the Leadville, Colorado & Southern aren’t air-conditioned, but that’s not really a concern since it starts at the highest city in the United States and climbs to 11,000 feet, the highest altitude reached by a standard railroad in this country. Indeed, the railroad recommends that you bring a jacket to ride its open cars toward timberline and back.
An LC&S trip takes about 2 and 1/2 hours. It’s a trip up what began as a narrow-gauge line originally built by the Union Pacific. It once connected Denver to Leadville via Como in South Park, then over Boreas Pass to Breckenridge, and up Fremont Pass from Frisco to Climax and then down to Leadville.
AFTER A UP bankruptcy, ownership passed to the Colorado & Southern, part of the Burlingon system. Most of the route was abandoned in 1937, but the Climax- Leadville portion continued to serve the Climax Molybdnenum Mine at the top of the pass. It was converted to standard gauge in 1943, and steam locomotive 641, on display at the LC&S depot, remained in service until 1962 — it’s the last standard-gauge steam locomotive in regular service on a Class I carrier in the United States. And since it was built in 1906, this year is its centennial.
The French Gulch water tank still remains as a reminder of the steam days, and every train stops there so passengers can get a better look. You can also enjoy a route that Crofutt described as “winding in, out, and around the weird and wonderful spurs far above the beautiful valley.”
The LC&S offers cab and caboose rides, and it allows pets. Daily trains start with 1 p.m. departures on May 27. From June 12 through August 25, there are two trains daily at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. From August 26 to October 8, it’s one train, again, departing at 1 p.m. daily, except for the peak aspen-viewing weekends of September 9-10, 16-17, and 23-24 when two trains will run, departing at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.
Kirstin Olsen, director of sales and marketing for the LC&S, said there will be several special excursions this summer. “The photo specials are really a blast,” she said, and they will run on June 24 and September 16. The train will make several extra stops so passengers can deploy their cameras in places that only the train can easily reach. There’s also a wildflower special, complete with an expert aboard the train, to catch high-country flora at the peak of its bloom on July 15, and on August 19. Another expert will be aboard for a history train.
Like the Royal Gorge Route, the LC&S excursion offers some spectacular, seldom-seen views, and both trains depart from lovingly restored historic depots with ticket offices and gift stores.
For more information about the LC&S call 719-486-3936, or see www.leadville-train.com
Ed Quillen has been a railroad buff for as long as he can remember.
