OmniTrax to provide rail service to Wyoming mine

Side view of blue locomotive with OmniTrax lettering

GREEN RIVER, Wyo. — OmniTRAX has been selected as the switching partner for Tata Chemical Soda Ash Partners’ mine in Green River, one of North America’s largest soda ash mines and home of one of the world’s largest reserves of trona ore. The agreement, effective as of Aug. 1, will provide dedicated shipping and track […]

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BNSF worker seriously injured in derailment in Denver rail yard

DENVER — A BNSF worker was seriously injured in a derailment at the company’s Globemaster Yard in Denver today (Aug. 5, 2025), KMGH-TV reports. The injury led to amputation of his right leg. The National Transportation Safety Board announced it will investigate the incident. The Denver Fire Department reported on social media that the worker […]

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News photos: On board first Rocky Mountaineer trip from Salt Lake City

Train traveling through area of red rock hills

Rocky Mountaineer, the luxury cruise train operation that will rebrand itself as Canyon Spirit next year, has offered a preview of its new Salt Lake City-Moab-Denver service set to launch in April 2026. To test all the operational logistics of the once-weekly, round-trip expansion of the current Denver-Moab service, the operation owned by Canadian company […]

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News photo: Airo on the move

ARVADA, Colo. — Amtrak’s first Airo trainset — a diesel-powered version destined for use in Amtrak Cascades Service — arrived in Colorado on Wednesday, July 23, en route to an extended stay for testing in Pueblo, Colo. P42 No. 22 was in charge special train No. 964, ferrying the new equipment from Siemens Mobility’s Sacramento plant. […]

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Climbing the Front Range

Climbing the Front Range

Denver & Salt Lake train No. 1, the day train to Craig, rounds a sharp curve in Rollins Canyon just east of Rollinsville, Colo. The D&SL’s low-drivered 2-8-0s like No. 122 were ideal for its route, but not much good for heavier trains. Few lasted long after the 1947 merger with the Denver & Rio […]

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Three superlative Union Pacific steam locomotives

People line fence to photograph smoking steam locomotive

No railroad was better equipped to shoulder the heavy burden of wartime traffic thanks to the three types of Union Pacific steam locomotives that constituted its front line of defense: the 4-6-6-4 Challenger, arguably the most successful simple articulated ever made; the 4-8-8-4 Big Boy, which easily wore the mantle “world’s largest steam locomotive”; and […]

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News photo: A ‘Big’ deal in Colorado

Large steam locomotive surrounded by spectators

GREELEY, Colo. — Union Pacific’s Big Boy began its only scheduled trip of 2025 today (July 17), heading from its home base in Cheyenne, Wyo., to Denver as part of a round trip for the annual Cheyenne Frontier Days rodeo. The 4-8-8-4 is accompanied by the railroad’s Abraham Lincoln diesel, No. 1616. Today’s servicing stop […]

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Nevada Northern launches fundraising sweepstakes

black locomotive No. 93 with gray smoke

ELY, NEVADA — With all three of its restored steam locomotives down for repair and the busy summer season in full-swing, Nevada Northern Railway in Ely, Nev., has launched a “Steam Up Sweepstakes” to fund needed repairs and restore its iconic locomotives to full steam before the season slips away. More than $100,000 in prizes […]

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Pueblo pause

Pueblo pause

Chicago, Burlington & Quincy’s Texas Zephyr, with Colorado & Southern-lettered E5 No. 9955 on the point, pauses at Pueblo on Jan. 23, 1966. The Burlington acquired control of the C&S in 1908, gaining a route from Denver to the Gulf of Mexico at Galveston, Texas, and a route from Denver north into Wyoming. Steve Patterson photo […]

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