My Railroad Vacation

[PRRThomas11]

I just got back from my 2 week vacation to the west. In the past weeks I got the chance to ride and see some of the greatest railroads and museums in the US. There is a lot so I am going to do them separately. I highly recommend all of them.

Enjoy,
  PRRThomas11

[PRRThomas11]

Black Hills Central Railroad (1880 Train)

Our first train stop was near Mt. Rushmore for the 1880 Train, as they call it. We took the train from Hill City, South Dakota, where their facilities are, to Keystone where Mt. Rushmore is although you can get on at either end.
We rode behind number 110, an articulated tank engine the same as the one in the Bachmann photo gallery. It went at a speed between 10 and 15 mph. The scenery was breathtaking. We rode at the front of the first car. The whistle blows loudly and very often. I like that though. I loved the ride.
http://www.1880train.com/

[PRRThomas11]

Colorado Railroad Museum

This museum was great. They had a lot of equipment, most of it from the Rio Grande. There were some engines you could go in. there was a round house where they keep their operating equipment. They have rides on the loop of track but it wasn't operating at the time. They had an area for observers to see inside the roundhouse. There is a library there. Inside the station where you buy tickets, there was a big train layout and some exhibits. The museum is in Golden, Colorado.
http://www.crrm.org/

[PRRThomas11]

Leadville, Colorado, and Southern Railroad

Located in Leadville, Colorado, the highest city in the US. The scenery is amazing. The line is on the side of mountains overlooking the valley. We rode in open air cars on the ride there and bought cab ride tickets for the way back the engine was a GP7. We talked to the engineer who writes articles for Model Railroader. We were allowed to stand on the platform on the front of the locomotive. You can also ride in the caboose. This ride was really fun.
http://www.leadville-train.com/

[Yampa Bob]

I was at the Colorado Museum last week, been there several times and still haven't seen it all.

I've lived here for 30 years and still awed by the scenery.  Glad you enjoyed your vacation.  We appreciate your support of our tourism efforts.

Thanks
Bob

[Santa Fe buff]

Can't wait till' I might go to one.

[PRRThomas11]

Stay tuned I still have more!

[WoundedBear]

Now this, is an interesting thread. Sounds like a young railfanners dream.

Sid

[Yampa Bob]

Thomas,
Remember what I said last month about PICTURES.  Hopefully they will all be small file sizes so we can ALL see them. (like, about 100 kilobytes or less).

Thanks
Bob

[PRRThomas11]

Grand Canyon Railroad

THis was my favorite part of the trip. We stayed at the railroad hotel where buffet meals, pool, spa, and game room are included. Just steps away is the Santa Fe depot. My train was pulled by a steam engine. We rode in coach class in a 20s Harriman car. All of the other cars were streamlined. The ride went at a pretty impressive speed. 30-40 mph. The ride ends at a log depot also just steps away from the Grand Canyon. The ride is just over 2 hours one way. It goes through the wilderness outside of Williams and near the canyon and through the desert in between. Highly recommended. http://www.thetrain.com/

[PRRThomas11]

Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad

This was tied with the Grand Canyon Train. We stayed at the Iron Horse Inn for this. Its trackside so we got to see some trains roll by. Its a ten minute drive to the station. I got to the station and took pictures of the first train pulling out. Too bad I didn't read the sign that warns you about the soot made by the departing train. I was black the rest of the day. We rode in the regular yellow coach for the ride there. The view from this train is just incredible. The highline is so amazing the car is almost silent. Either side of the train is okay to ride because with assigned seats, you see out the other side when the train is turned around. Its a long and relaxing 7 hour round trip (not including 2 hour layover). There are all kinds of restaurants and shops to keep you occupied for the 2 hours. There is a little freight museum there. The ride back we rode in the newly restored San Juan coach. It is red with a 2 1 seating arrangement. We got a free refillable mug for the concession car and  I had about 12 diet Cokes. The next orning we went to see the museum. The whole thing was an excellent experience that you shouldn't pass up.
http://www.durangotrain.com/

[PRRThomas11]

About pictures... I have over 6,000 but have yet to put them on my computer. I will have them on though. Stay tuned for more.

[TrampTrader]

PRR Thomas,

Looks like you had a wonderful vacation. Thanks for sharing some of what you've seen, and we all look forward to eventually seeing some of your photo-collection.


Pete  :-)

[Santa Fe buff]

Dude, too bad we won't ever go west anytime soon! But East is the route. But I'm going to Union, IL next week for the monster train museum! Over 20 steamer, 40 diesels, the Nebraska Zephyr- CB&Q-, plus a DD40X with a Turbine engine I got a picture with last time! 

[Yampa Bob]

A respectful reminder, said with a smile, the title "Dude" is not appropriate in mixed age circles. 

As a matter of trivia, here in the real wild west, the term denotes someone who looks like a cowboy, but has never seen a horse, let alone rode one, and thinks only bulls have horns, a "Rexall Ranger" of sorts. 

Thank you

Back on topic, 6,000 is a lot of pictures, we want to see them all  LOL. Just kidding, I took about 500 on my last trip, culled them down to about 100 special ones. One is of a full scale Super Chief mural painted on a block long building, I really should post that one someday. 

Keep up posted