DENVER — Denver International and Alstom have signed a seven-year contract for Alstom to continue operation and maintenance of the airport’s People Mover system. The contract, effective Jan. 1, 2024 and valued at approximately $228 million, maintains the employment of 91 Alstom employees. Under the contract, Alstom provides 24-hour-a-day maintenance and operations for the vehicle […]
Compared to the likes of the Southern Pacific and Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe, the Western Pacific Railroad can be considered the “runt of the litter” for Class I U.S. railroading in the Far West. Yet these five traits of the Western Pacific help paint a bigger picture of this San Francisco-Salt Lake City system […]
Ride the waves with railfan/videographer Tom Danneman, as he makes another epic summertime trek into Big Skies & Iron Rails territory! But this time, he’s hard-pressed to keep his feet on dry land…especially when there are so many captivating angles to be found in, on, and along the trackside waterways on Montana. Join Tom and […]
Photographer John Crisanti John Crisanti is a railroader, photographer, and model railroader residing on Colorado’s Front Range. His creative use of light, weather, and wide-angle allows him to capture dramatic scenes of everyday freight. His interest in rail photography does extend beyond The Centennial State. Crisanti recently shared (with Trains) the story of going off-the-grid […]
GRANTSVILLE, Utah — More than three years after the project began seeking regulatory approval, and seven months after that approval was granted, construction has begun on the Savage Tooele Railroad, Utah’s first new railroad in decades. The 11-mile short line will build five miles of new track and restore a 6-mile former Union Pacific branch […]
Four ballot initiatives with at least some rail transit component all appear to have passed on Tuesday, based on results available this morning (Wednesday, Nov. 6). — In Maricopa County, Ariz., which includes Phoenix, voters appear to have approved an extension of a half-cent sales tax for transit, the Arizona Republic reports. The tax, introduced […]
DENVER — Following several years of growing ridership and sold-out trains on many weekends, this ski season’s version of Amtrak’s Winter Park Express will advance its previous January debut into December, and then will operate five days per week beginning Jan. 9. The train will operate Friday, Saturday, and Sunday on Dec. 20-22, Dec. 27-29, […]
The Union Pacific hump yard at Pocatello, Idaho, receives cars from various branch lines, sorts them by destination, and forwards them east or west to other points on the rail network. The yard is located on the Oregon Short Line route between Ogden, Utah, and Portland, Ore., that UP leased in 1936. Union Pacific photo […]
1. Take the train from Cripple Creek Our list of 10 must-see Colorado railroad attractions starts with a trip back in time. Railroads arrived in the mining town of Cripple Creek in 1893, and today the best way to see the “World’s Greatest Gold Camp” is aboard Colorado’s only 2-foot narrow-gauge steam railroad, the Cripple […]
Denver Union Station’s predecessor established the city as the transportation hub of the West and the primary gateway to the Rocky Mountains. Opened on June 1, 1881, where 17th Street dead-ends into Wynkoop Street, Denver Union Depot was 504 feet long and 65 feet wide, the largest structure in the West. Within a decade, 100 […]
SALT LAKE CITY — Stadler and the Utah Transit Authority have signed a contract calling for construction of up to 80 new light rail vehicles for UTA’s TRAX service in the Salt Lake City area. The contract signed today (Oct. 23, 2024) following approval by the UTA board of trustees includes an initial $129 million […]
The eastbound California Zephyr passes the monument to the dome car at the spot where the idea for such a passenger car was conceived near Colorado’s Glenwood Canyon. Such a magnificent train, indeed, such an incredible car, might not have been possible without the Centennial State. Everett L. DeGolyer Jr. photo […]
