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The tour is being run using minibuses, which will allow flexibility. We have deliberately not included meals in this tour – there is such a wide variety of options, and meals are so cheap by British standards (with enormous portions), we feel it is better to deal with meals on an informal basis when you decide whether a full meal or a snack is appropriate!
Saturday 30 August
We leave Britain today for the flight via Chicago to Denver. There are flights from either London Heathrow or Manchester via Chicago. Arrival in Denver will be in the early evening, and we’ll be taken to our base for the next few days, the Motel 6 at Wheat Ridge, a suburb of Denver
Included: flight, meals on flight, transfer from DIA, accommodation. Not included: travel to Heathrow, other meals, incidentals.
Sunday 31 August
Today sees our first foray into the Rockies. We’ll head up to Moffat tunnel, calling at Blue Mountain, Pinecliffe, Rollins (for the icefields and the world’s smallest Tesco) and some wonderful views of the Moffat tunnel itself. We should be able to photograph the daily Amtrak ‘California Zephyr’ somewhere on this stretch. We’ll go a little way up the old Rollins Pass route, which reached 11,160 ft and was a nightmare to work – hence the Moffat tunnel, completed in 1929. We’ll return to the Denver suburbs for the night – there should be time for a little light shopping for those who wish.
Included: Minibus travel, accommodation. Not included: other meals, incidentals.
Monday 1 September
After breakfast, we visit the Colorado Railway Museum at Golden, with plenty of steam and diesel locomotives, both standard and narrow gauge to see. Then it’s the Joint Line. This heads south from Denver is jointly owned by the two big rail companies in the West – Union Pacific and BNSF (as successors to the Denver and Rio Grande Western, and the Santa fe). We can expect to see coal trains – 15,000 tons with three locomotives, all working flat out going south. There are some beautiful spots for photography (with a compulsory stop at Castle Rock for cinnamon buns like you’ve never tasted before), and we’ll head south to spend the night at Colorado Springs – the recommended restaurant here is Giuseppe’s – it was the railway station, but now serves an awesome salad buffet (plus the usual steaks for those with big appetites!).
Included: Minibus travel, accommodation. Not included: other meals, incidentals.
Tuesday 2 September
A short road journey takes us to Manitou Springs for a train trip to the summit of Pikes Peak at 14,100 feet – the views from here are fantastic. The line uses Swiss-built diesel units running on a rack line, much like the Snowdon Mountain Railway. The afternoon will bring a short excursion to the United States Air Force Academy. Just to the south is Cheyenne Mountain – the command bunker the United States maintains in case of nuclear attack.
Included: Minibus travel, rail travel, excursion, accommodation. Not included: other meals, incidentals.
Wednesday 3 September.
A short journey west to Cripple Creek has us back a century or so, with this small line giving us a 45 minute ride through this old gold-mining district. We then head south down the dirt road that was once the Florence & Cripple Creek Railroad, and arrive at the Royal Gorge Railroad for a ride through the Gorge with its famous ‘hanging bridge’ behind an old E unit GM diesel. In the late afternoon, we’ll take the long drive towards Antonito ready for the next day’s Cumbres & Toltec trip. We’ll stop for the night (and dinner) in Alamosa.
Included: Minibus travel, train travel, accommodation. Not included: other meals, incidentals.
Thursday 4 September
Today, we’ll take a ride on Colorado’s newest steam operation, the La Veta Pass route on the Rio Grande Scenic Railroad. Steam takes us from Alamosa station up to the summit of the pass with some incredible S-curves. The loco should be the ex-Southern Pacific Baldwin 1744.
Included: minibus travel, rail travel, excursion, accommodation. Not included: other meals, incidentals.
Friday 5 September
A full day out on the Cumbres and Toltec Railway, Our steam-hauled train leaves Antonito at 10:00 and runs behind steam over the San Juan mountains to Chama via the fabulous Tanglefoot Curve and Windy Point, over the summit at 10,000 feet. We’ll spend the night at the historic Chama Inn opposite the railway station in Chama. There’s a great local steakhouse here – it’s the favourite eatery for most of the railroad staff!
Included: Minibus travel, train travel, accommodation. Not included: other meals, incidentals
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