Colorado Autumn By Rail Tour 2008
September 15-26, 2008
Land tour from $2999.00
This Tour is SOLD-OUT! Waitlist is
Open.
Quite possibly our most “classic” train tour is this
in-depth exploration of the Colorado Rockies at the peak of autumn color,
riding standard and narrow gauge railways to summits of over 14,000 feet.
Also included is a ride on the legendary Rio Grande route through the
depths of the Royal Gorge. Passenger service to the “hanging bridge” in
the Royal Gorge ended in 1967, but since has resumed, restoring service to
Colorado’s most renowned railway ride.
Teddy Roosevelt described a train journey through
Colorado as “the trip that bankrupts the English language”! Our itinerary
makes a great circle of the Rockies round-trip from Denver and timed for
the stunning peak of the autumn aspen colors. Numerous train rides include
the Light Rail (trolley) line in Denver; Amtrak’s
CALIFORNIA ZEPHYR; both
the legendary narrow gauge
SILVERTON and the
Cumbres and Toltec scenic
railways; the
Pikes Peak Cog Railway; the
Leadville, Colorado and Southern
Railroad to the Climax Mines; the
Georgetown Loop narrow gauge circle
line; a visit to the excellent
Colorado Railroad Museum; the miniature
Royal Gorge Scenic Railway and, in contrast, the restored standard gauge
Royal Gorge Route train through the depths of the canyon. New for 2008 is
the reopened former Rio Grande route, the
Rio Grande Scenic Railroad, on
which we travel from Alamosa over La Veta Pass to the little village of La
Veta. This is one of the most remote and beautiful standard gauge lines in
the west, and Sunday trains are usually steam-powered. On the return, our
motorcoach visits
Great Sand Dunes National Park!
 This tour has significant interest for both train buffs
and others. Even those with no interest in railways will love the
remarkable vistas from Colorado’s trains. Non-rail sightseeing includes
traveling through the mountains between Ouray and Telluride, ancient
Anasazi Indian cliff dwellings, ghost towns, and sublime scenery ranging
from vast deserts to alpine peaks. We visit the great resorts of Glenwood
Springs, Ouray, Durango, Silverthorne and Colorado Springs. Please join
Rail Travel Center tour manager Denny Thompson, a favorite of our clients,
on our ever-popular Colorado rail tour, which often sells out early. All
aboard!
Day One, Monday, September 15
Independent arrivals into Denver. Accommodations are
included at the Comfort Inn Downtown, a full-service hotel associated with
and sharing public rooms with the legendary Brown Palace Hotel. No
activities are scheduled today, as trains and planes can arrive in Denver
throughout the day. Downtown Denver has a vibrant historic district and is
served by Denver’s great new Light Rail System. A nice option would be a
ride on the new Southeast Line, which is nearly 25 miles long! An all-day
pass is only $6.00.
Day Two, Tuesday, September 16 (B)
California Zephyr along the Colorado River near Dotsero by Kevin
Morgan. Photo Courtesy of
www.Coloradorailfan.com
CALIFORNIA ZEPHYR through the Rockies. We depart this
morning for the finest scenic journey on the entire Amtrak system, the
CALIFORNIA ZEPHYR crossing of the Rockies. Our streamlined double-decker Superliner follows the Union Pacific’s former Denver and Rio Grande
Western RR Moffat Route west. We begin with a 4,000-foot ascent to the
East Portal of the
Moffat Tunnel through the yawning abyss of the South
Boulder Canyon. At Plainview, the view encompasses three states. The great
6.2 mile-long tunnel takes us through the Continental Divide (the “Crest
of the Continent”) and into the drainage of the mighty Colorado River. We
follow a succession of ever deeper and grander canyons: the Fraser, Byers,
Gore, Red and Glenwood.
Glenwood Canyon, a 6,000-foot deep slash in the
ranges of the western slope, ends at the lovely resort of Glenwood
Springs. We detrain here and overnight at the
Glenwood Hot Springs Lodge.
The world’s largest outdoor hot springs pool is right at the hotel and
open this evening for a swim. Pool admission is included in the tour.
Day Three, Wednesday, September 17 (L)
Grand Mesa; Ouray. Our first scenic drive occurs as we
follow the increasingly arid canyons of the Colorado River west through
Rifle and Palisade, and then begin the ascent and crossing of
Grand Mesa.
The nearly flat summit of this 10,000-foot mountain is incised with dozens
of tiny lakes. The slopes are cloaked in an immense aspen forest, which
should be blazing gold at this time. After descending to the apple
orchards and ranches near Delta, we have an included lunch at the Apple
Shed Gallery before continuing south into the awesome San Juan Mountains.
Our hotel is the
Ouray Chalet in the spa town of
Ouray. This picturesque
village lies in an amphitheater of giant peaks with waterfalls plunging
into the village from the heights above.
Day Four, Thursday, September 18
Uncompahgre Canyon; Red Mountain Pass; Telluride; Lizard
Head Pass. This morning we take a drive through Uncompahgre Canyon, past
Black Bear Falls, to the summit of Red Mountain Pass. We then return to
Ridgeway and turn west over Dallas Divide for Telluride. Enroute to Red
Mountain Pass we see narrow gauge railway traces and well-preserved ghost
towns. From Ridgeway to Telluride and Durango we closely follow the
abandoned grade of the
Rio Grande Southern RR across the top of the world.
San Juan Mountains near Ouray by Denny
Thompson
The RGS was the most remote of the Colorado Narrow Gauge
Lines. Briefly (in the early 1890s) this route was so successful it minted
silver passes. After the Silver Panic of 1893, it staggered on for 60 more
years, ultimately inventing the “Galloping Goose” railcar. This was a
Buick on rails for use on days when traffic wouldn’t justify a real
steam-powered train (and there were all-too-many such days for the RGS).
We see a preserved “Goose” in Telluride during our mid-day stop for
optional lunches and shopping. Telluride lies on the floor of a box
canyon. At the head of the valley, waterfalls cascade over a thousand feet
down the slopes. The entire center of town is a National Historic
Landmark.
The RGS route includes the open Dallas Divide with
excellent views of Mount Sneffels and Lizard Head Pass, traces of the
Ophir Loop, and vistas of lovely Trout Lake. As an added treat, we visit
the
Anasazi Heritage Center to learn of the “ancient ones”: Native
Americans who built the cliff dwellings of the Southwest. Our home for two
nights is the landmark General Palmer House Hotel in Durango, adjacent to
the active depot of the steam-powered SILVERTON train. This hotel is a
Victorian treasure.
Day Five, Friday, September 19 (CB)
The Silverton Train. The entire day is devoted to the
grandest of all Colorado rail journeys and one of the most spectacular in
the world, the steam-powered
SILVERTON train’s ascent of the Animas River
Canyon to the “ghost town” of Silverton. Built as the Silverton Branch of
the Denver and Rio Grande (D&RG), today’s Durango and Silverton Narrow
Gauge Railway operates 45 miles north from Durango through scenery that
approximates Switzerland.
The climb begins in the broad lower valley of the Animas
River before the canyon narrows, all roads vanish, and for 30 miles there
exists only the railroad, the glacial green waters of the Animas and the
12,000 to14,000-foot peaks of the San Juan Mountains mantled with blazing
aspen forests. We have a mid-day layover in Silverton for lunch and time
to explore the shops and galleries before an afternoon return to Durango.
Our return opens new vistas of the High Line and the mighty San Juans.
Day Six, Saturday, September 20 (CB,L)
 Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad. Early this morning we
drive to Chama, NM to board the longest narrow gauge steam railway in
North America. The
Cumbres and Toltec Scenic RR follows the former Denver
and Rio Grande San Juan Extension for 64 miles over 10,033 foot Cumbres
Pass through the heart of the San Juan Mountains. Powerful 2-8-2 “Mikado”
engines power the train up the 4% grade to the Pass, often double-heading
for the ascent. Past the divide, the train enters the deep canyon of the
Rio des los Pinos (River of Pines). For 50 miles no paved road crosses the
tracks. We stop for an included luncheon at Osier, then descend steeply
past Toltec Gorge. Los Pinos Canyon is covered with aspen trees, which
should be in radiant color as we cross and recross the Colorado/New Mexico
border enroute to our destination at Antonito in the vast San Luis Valley.
We overnight for the next two nights at the
Inn of the Rio Grande in
Alamosa.
Day Seven, Sunday, September 21 (L)
Rio Grande Scenic RR over La Veta Pass. Today we enjoy
Colorado’s newest (yet historic) rail line, the standard gauge
Rio Grande
Scenic RR which we ride from Alamosa to La Veta. This line restores
passenger service to wildly beautiful La Veta Pass, a summit last crossed
by regularly scheduled passenger trains over 50 years ago. Weekend service
on the line is normally powered by a restored former Southern Pacific
2-6-0 steam engine. We have an included lunch at the historic Spanish
Mission-style La Veta Inn before returning to Alamosa via
Great Sand Dunes
National Park. Here the endless easterly flow of the winds across the vast
San Luis Valley has created towering sand dunes which rise up to 750 feet
above the valley floor against the westward flanks of the Sangre de Cristo
Mountains.
Day Eight, Monday, September 22 (L)
The Royal Gorge via three different trains; Buckskin
Joe. The Royal Gorge beckons. The Arkansas River bisects a tall plateau
between Parkdale and Canon City, creating a gorge over 1200 feet deep with
sheer cliffs towering above. The canyon is so narrow at the bottom that
the D&RG railroad constructed a unique “Hanging Bridge” anchored
on both sides of the canyon, thus running the tracks
suspended over center of the river! Once this was the most famous train
stop in the west; and all services on the original Rio Grande RR mainline
paused here for pictures. A thousand feet above is the spectacular
Royal
Gorge Suspension Bridge, the highest such span on earth.
We view this awesome sight on three different trains.
First we ride the miniature Royal Gorge Scenic RR, a three-mile long
journey on a 15-inch gauge train that leads to a sweeping overlook.
Following this ride, we make a visit to
Buckskin Joe Frontier Town, a
reconstructed mining town with log buildings dating from the 1850s. At
mid-day we explore the canyon’s depths, riding the newly restored
Royal
Gorge Route Railroad passenger train on the historic former Rio Grande RR
tracks. As an added treat, we travel in the First Class vista-dome car
today with an included lunch which we order from the “Dome Car Grille”
menu on-board. As in the past, the highlight of the journey is the stop at
“Hanging Bridge” in the narrowest point in the chasm. Finally we visit the
soaring Suspension Bridge and ride the inclined railway from the rim to
the river’s edge! After an amazing day, we drive to Colorado Springs, overnighting in the city center at the renowned Antlers Hilton Hotel.
Day Nine, Tuesday, September 23 (L, D)
Pikes Peak Cog Railway; Garden of the Gods. We drive
through the stunning red-rock monoliths of the
Garden of the Gods enroute
to Manitou Springs. Here we board the world’s highest cog railway, the
Manitou Springs and
Pike’s Peak Cog Ry., and ascend to the 14,110 foot
summit of Pike’s Peak, which inspired the writing of “America the
Beautiful”.
Pikes Peak Cog Railway at the Summit by Robert
Ciminel
Luncheon is included at Giuseppe’s Old Station Restaurant in
the former Colorado Springs depot of the Rio Grande. This afternoon we
drive west into the high peaks. We follow the abandoned routes of the
Colorado Midland and South Park railways to Summit County, on the shores
of Lake Dillon, staying at the
Lake Dillon Lodge in Frisco for the next
two nights
Day Ten, Wednesday, September 24 (L)
Explore Leadville; train to Climax. We visit the highest
city in North America today, the former silver mining town of
Leadville,
which lies at over 10,000 feet elevation. En route today we make two
crossings of the Continental Divide. We visit the historic
Tabor Opera
House, the Healy House, and the new
National Mining Hall of Fame and
Museum, and enjoy lunch at the National Historic Landmark Delaware Hotel.
This afternoon we ride on the last miles of the former Denver, South Park
and Pacific RR. The
Leadville, Colorado and Southern RR now operates the
former South Park route up Fremont Pass to the Climax Mines. This line was
built to three-foot gauge, then converted to standard gauge during World
War II to handle the huge surge in mine traffic during the war. The views
from this line are among the grandest in Colorado, offering open vistas of
the perpetually snow-capped high peaks of the College Range.
Day Eleven, Thursday, September 25 (L,D)
Georgetown Loop RR; Colorado RR Museum. We make our last
crossing of the Great Divide enroute to the ghost town of Silver Plume,
where we ride the steam-powered narrow-gauge
Georgetown Loop Railway.
 This
former Colorado and Southern narrow-gauge line faced an almost
insurmountable engineering challenge in conquering the dramatic rise
between the silver-mining towns of Georgetown and Silver Plume. In an
airline distance of just under two miles, the C&S engineers gained over
600 feet in elevation by resorting to a 4½-mile route including a high
trestle and a complete loop. Once a world-renowned landmark, the line was
torn up in 1937, then rebuilt by the Colorado State Historical Society as
a tribute to railway men of the boom era. The scenery is unbelievably
grand! We lunch at the Happy Cooker in the beautifully preserved Victorian
town of Georgetown and tour the landmark
Hotel de Paris.
Georgetown Loop Autumn
Later we explore the superb Colorado Railroad Museum
in Golden, which has a priceless
collection of Colorado standard and narrow gauge relics. The treasures
here range from 120-year-old steam engines to original “Galloping Goose”
railcars and the diesel engines that powered the “Rio Grande Zephyr” and
“Royal Gorge” trains. This evening we take Denver’s new Light Rail
(trolley car) line to dine at the landmark Buckhorn Pioneer Exchange
Restaurant. The café is decorated with mounted wildlife specimens
collected in the late 19th century, including some attributed to Teddy
Roosevelt. Our last tour night is again at the Comfort Inn Downtown in
Denver.
Day Twelve, Friday, September 26 (CB)
Tour ends. Our tour ends with independent departures by
rail or air this morning.
TOUR PRICES include all rail, and coach fares; all
sightseeing and hotels; admissions; meals noted as included above; luggage
handling; tour manager services; and transfers during the tour.
Arrival/departure transfers in Denver are not included, nor are
incidentals or items of a personal nature.
$2999.00 per person, double occupancy
$3549.00 single occupancy
Conditions and Booking Information (the fine
print)
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