The Great Railroad Tour of Colorado

I was lax blogging from the road this last trip. Mainly, I wanted to recover from the chaos of the flood, and unwind. A big part of the trip was the Mensa AG, but the other half which was just for my father and myself was our great railroad tour of Colorado. We got to six railroad-related landmarks. I enjoyed all six greatly.

The Monday before the AG, I went to the Colorado Railroad Museum. It's a nice museum. One highlight for me was seeing the Galloping Geese--the first time I'd seen one. (They have two: #2 and #6; I have always had an odd fascination for those railcars.) The other highlight was the Santa Fe Super Chief observation car Navajo; I kept going back in my mind to the thought that my mother may have ridden in that car on her west coast trip when she was young. (Perhaps a longshot, I know, but possible.)

The Monday after the AG, I rode the Georgetown Loop Railroad. That was my least favorite of the narrow gauge railroads--mainly because it's shorter than the others and is currently using diesels. However, I feel it's unfair to describe it negatively--it's still pretty good, and well worth the ride. Also, if you're there, take the mine tour.

On Tuesday, I took the Pikes Peak Cog Railway. That was definitely a high-point of the trip! (Sorry--I couldn't resist a pun.) I was pleased that I had few problems at 14,110 feet. (I was a little short of breath for a moment up there--enough to make me glad my dad elected to remain at the hotel.) I lucked out with my ticket--I had a seat right in front of the cab window of the downhill side of the train. I've never summited a mountain even nearly that high before, and that is definitely the easy way to do it.

On Thursday, my dad and I took the Royal Gorge train. That is a beautiful line--and I recommend spending the extra money for the dome car.

On Friday, we took the Cumbres and Toltec. As a libertarian, I hate to admit this--since this is the only government run operation of the five railroads--but this is probably the best of the five railroads. The scenery along the line is great. The only downside if the line is that you need to ride a bus one way to take the whole line in one day.

The final line we took was the Durango and Silverton. Like the Cumbres and Toltec, it is also a very well-run scenic railroad. The scenery is perhaps the most spectacular of the five routes I mentioned--especially along the High Line. They also have a nice museum at the Durango station. The biggest downside is that it was very crowded.

In short, if you're out in that part of the country, all five railroads are well worth taking and the museum is worth a visit, and all six attractions are very enjoyable.