Rio Grande Utah and
Colorado Picture Index

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The battles with the Santa Fe over Raton Pass and the Royal Gorge are legendary. They set the course of the Rio Grande west toward Salt Lake City instead of south through Albuquerque to Mexico. The original narrow gauge mainline between Denver and Ogden via Tennessee Pass was completed in 1883. It was converted to standard gauge in 1890. Since most of the trips I made following the Rio Grande were eastbound, I will start at the west end of the system in Utah and go east into Colorado.

Springville, UT to Rio

Rio to Gilluly

Soldier Summit to Helper

Wellington to Whitehouse

Akin, CO to Bond

Toponas to the Moffat Tunnel

Minturn over Tennesse Pass

The Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad Company had a phrase "Through the Rockies not Around Them." To move trains between Denver and Salt Lake City required muscling tonnage over two major mountain passes. The Rocky Mountains were finally conquered with the completion of the Moffat Tunnel in 1927. This lowered the top of the grade over the Rollins Pass from 11,617 feet to just 9,239 feet. The second pass was in Utah and went over the Wasatch Range at Soldier Summit. Trains operating out of Pueblo had to conquer Tennessee Pass at 10,230 feet. Mountains had to be overcome to reach the train's destination no matter which route a train took.

My first train chasing adventure following the D&RGW was in December 1975. I had less than a year to go in the Navy and was returning to my base in Virginia after visiting family in California. The weather was perfect. The daytime temperature was around 55 degrees and all of the snow had been cleared off the roads. My second trip in November 1976 was mixed. There was no snow and it was cloudy and cold the first day. The second day was sunny and mild, but there were very few trains running. The third day started clear, but soon turned to snow showers. All subsequent trips were made during the summer.