# Colorado Tourist Steam Trains - Am I Missing Any?



## Koploper (Apr 3, 2011)

Hallo,

I'm travelling to southern Colorado next week for a two week holiday. I have made plans to ride the following scenic railroads/trains:

Royal Gorge Dinner Train
Rio Grand Scenic
Cumbres & Toltec
Durango-Silverton 
Georgetown Loop

(I've already ridden on the Cripple Creek train and I know about the Pike's Peak Cog Railroad).

Just wanted to know - am I missing any that are really cool and worth looking into?

Thanks!


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## Jim Francis (Dec 29, 2007)

Don't forget the Colorado Railroad Museum.


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## Mike Reilley (Jan 2, 2008)

Ditto...the museum has a train ride too...


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## Steve Stockham (Jan 2, 2008)

Doesn't Leadville or possibly Breckenridge have a diesel train ride that goes over the old C&S trackage?
Also, it's in miniature but it IS steam and that is Tiny Town and Lakeside Amusement Park. Both are worth visiting if they are running and both are in or near Denver (along with the CRRM.)


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## Tom Leaton (Apr 26, 2008)

Colorado towns were once linked by a circuit of narrow-gauge lines. Many of the abandoned lines can still be spotted, and some towns have monuments and park displays consisting of old engines and cabooses that once ran there. You are missing a good bet if you don't bring along a book like Narrow Gauge in the Rockies, and rediscover some of these lines.

Cheers


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## toddalin (Jan 4, 2008)

Leadville, Colorado, and Southern


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## chuck n (Jan 2, 2008)

The Denver South Park & Pacific used to go to Breckenridge, but there are no longer any trains in or around Breckenridge. 

Chuck


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## Naptowneng (Jun 14, 2010)

Suggest you do the yard tour at Durango. I happened to do it on a cool rainy day, was the only person on the tour, spent 1.5 hours with a guide, saw it all behind the scenes, took some great shots of the real work behind the railroad.

Emjoy!

Jerry


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## Paul Burch (Jan 2, 2008)

The Royal Gorge is not steam but a spectacular ride and very good food. We did the lunch train so as to see it in the middle of the day. Not to be missed. It would be well worth the extra dollars to book on the Alamosa parlor car for the Durango Silverton ride. Private table,bar service and open end observation.


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## rhyman (Apr 19, 2009)

Don't miss taking a ride behind RGS #73. She was probably the least photographed locomotive on the entire Rio Grande Southern roster. Only two surviving photos of the loco in RGS livery are known to exist and both show it partially obscured behind #455 while double-heading. One of the best references for this engine is this famous Otto Perry shot. 















This photo was taken on 5/20/1930, while she was still being leased to the C&S. Notice that she still sports the Burlington and Missouri River paint scheme from her Black Hills days. The shop in Denver was in the process of rebuilding #537 using many parts from scrapped locomotives. This probably accounts for the odd look of the engine at that point. After being renumbered to #73, she was sold to the RGS in November 1948, along with #74.
Unlike #74, which was a normal inside frame 2-8-0 design, #73 was an outside frame engine with external counterweights similar to the K class locomotives. This arrangement was similar to the D&RGW C-21 and C-25 2-8-0s. Although #73 outweighed her sister #74 by 3000 pounds, she only generated a tractive effort of 20,800 pounds, compared to the 21,170 pounds of the #74. 
#73 was not a popular engine to fire on the RGS, as most firemen were not used to firing her wide square firebox. She was seldom used on the runs over Lizard Head and usually spent most of her time between Rico and Mancos. This probably accounts for the lack of good photos in the RGS sunset logo paint scheme. Most photographers of era tended to concentrate on the more scenic locations north of Rico. 
Engine #73 was used sporadically on the RGS after 1953. She was donated to the city of Telluride in 1959 when the RGS converted over to diseasels. She remained on static display in the city park for twenty-five years. After being totally rebuilt in 1985, she was leased to the Silver San Juan Scenic Railroad. This tourist line continues to run daily excursions from Telluride during the summer months. During the week, the short run goes from Telluride to Vance Junction and back. On weekends, the run continues from Vance Junction up to Lizard Head. If you get a chance, take a ride behind #73 on your next trip to Colorado. There’s nothing quite like rounding the loop at Ophir and climbing the high line behind an authentic narrow gauge iron horse.

P.S. Only in my dreams!


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## afinegan (Jan 2, 2008)

I rode in the Silver Vista Car, Great Views and Sights from the engine, open sides (hope you get a sunny day!), glass sight seeing top. Beverages, food(doughnuts and other stuff), stories, great time!
Taken from outside the window










If you would like to see more pictures from my 2009 colorado trip Click Here


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