Three-day excursion with passengers provides test for service to begin in 2026
A green signal is visible through the exhaust of two Rocky Mountaineer GP40s on an eastward climb to Utah’s Soldier Summit on July 26, 2025. The train is a test of the three-day “Rockies to Red Rocks” excursion that will be offered between Salt Lake City and Denver beginning in 2026, an addition to the current two-day Denver-Moab, Utah, trips. Bob Johnston
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 Armstrong Collective is currently running a three-day trip with passengers from Salt Lake City that began on Saturday, July 26. Here is a look at the trial run, which concludes in Denver today (Monday, July 28, 2025).
The wide windows of SilverLeaf cars allow travel writer Nancy Mueller to capture a photo of Castle Gate, west of Helper, Utah, on the July 26 portion of the trip. Rocky Mountaineer had the ex-Canadian National 1950s single-level coaches remanufactured to enhance its Canadian Rockies excursions, then utilized them to begin Denver-Moab, Utah, two-day trips in 2021. Amtrak’s California Zephyr passes this scenic area in darkness most of the year, unless the eastbound train is late. Bob JohnstonThe excursion train gingerly backs into a newly built layover track at Seven Mile, Utah, near Moab, on Union Pacific’s Cane Creek branch on July 26. The current two-day excursion trains make a same-day round trip between Glenwood Springs, Colo., and Moab, but the new layover track was necessary to store the equipment overnight for three-day Salt Lake City trips. Bob JohnstonCar hosts Olivia Lopez and Mike Hannifin serve passengers across eastern Utah on Sunday, July 27. The hosts also provide commentary, and the weekend’s preview trip was the first opportunity for Olivia and Mike to share the new facts they had learned for the Salt Lake extension. Bob JohnstonThe eastbound excursion snakes through Ruby Canyon west of Grand Junction, Colo., on July 27. The ability to take in the fresh air and photograph scenery from open Dutch doors is a significant plus; the train never exceeds 60 miles per hour. Bob JohnstonThe eastbound excursion has unloaded passengers at the Amtrak station in Glenwood Springs, Colo., on July 27 and prepares to back to the yard west of the station for overnight servicing. Bob Johnston
3 thoughts on “News photos: On board first Rocky Mountaineer trip from Salt Lake City”
Remember that this train sets a new standard for railway excellence, and as a result, has been hailed as the gold standard for train travel since its inaugural route in 1990.
Via is planning to replace the cars for the Canadian. Now wouldn’t it be great if the Rocky Mountaineer could acquire some dome observation cars and run them on the Rio Grande?
Remember that this train sets a new standard for railway excellence, and as a result, has been hailed as the gold standard for train travel since its inaugural route in 1990.
Dr. Güntürk Üstün
Via is planning to replace the cars for the Canadian. Now wouldn’t it be great if the Rocky Mountaineer could acquire some dome observation cars and run them on the Rio Grande?
Good test run next year Denver to Salt Lake on the Rocky Mountaineer.