Goin' to Colorado Soon & Need Advice

Cheyenne has lots of modern real trains to see.  And there is a Big Boy at Holiday Park on the east side of downtown.  The steam shop is generally not open to the public but I suppose you could always contact them and see if you can arrange something.

There is the Colorado Model Railroad Museum in Greeley, which has a huge HO layout that has been featured many places online and in print.  I think it is definitely worth the trip.  However, it is only open on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at this time of year, so your schedule may not match up.

The Appalachian & Ohio is a very nice O scale 2 rail layout under construction in Milliken I believe.  It too has been featured in Model Railroader and online.  The website indicates visitors may be accommodated if you email ahead of time.  This layout visit would dovetail nicely with the Fort Collins/Greeley component of your trip.

I'm curious why you are heading to Leadville.  To the best of my knowledge, there are no revenue trains currently running on the Tennessee Pass line.  There is the excursion railroad in Leadville, and the Royal Gorge Train on the east end of the route, but nothing else that I know of currently active.  Perhaps that time would better be spent elsewhere, unless it is just fill-in time between the two narrow gauge trips.

If I think of anything else, I'll add it to the thread.  Hope this helps in the meantime.

Jim

P.s. Just an fyi, but Garden of the Gods is in Colorado Springs, not Golden.  That may be what you meant, but I sure would hate to have you thinking of pairing that with a visit to the museum in Golden and find out the hard way!

And duh, there is the Forney Museum on the east side of downtown Denver.  They also have a Big Boy on display, as well as plenty of other rail and transportation items.

Caboose Hobbies in Denver.

And also BST hobbies/Only3Rail in north Denver.

And Tim's Toy Trains in Louisville.  Tim (Tim Dude here on the forum) has a store, but really the attraction is the other side of the shop which features a large layout that you can come run your trains on.  If you have ever watched Erik Lindgren's videos, many of them are shot on this layout.  Nothing fancy, but if you happen to pack an extra suitcase full of trains to bring with you on vacation, you could run them here.  All scales, and 2- and 3- rail supported.

While I have stopped by the Antonito station of C&T, I have only ridden the west side of the line, from Chama.  Grade is steeper; the day we rode, it was double-headed.  The Chama yard seems to have more than Antonito.

It's a good haul between Golden and Colorado Springs.

If you ever have a chance, it's not a bad drive between IL & CO.  US30 runs a few miles north of I-80, and is right next to the 3-track main line of the UPRR all the way from Omaha to Cheyenne.  Always a train in sight.

Personally, I wouldn't even bother going north to Cheyenne. The brew pub in the Cheyenne Depot is excellent but, not with the drive north. If it were me, I would spend more time with my daughter and visit the brew pubs in Ft Collins and the Colorado Railroad Museum in  Golden.

I wasn't impressed with Cheyenne, either, HW, and for security reasons access to steam shop was barred (I guess terrorists wanted to destroy ther heart of US transportation).

There's so much to see in CO, that I'd skip the brew pubs anyway.

I couldn't figure out either how/why you'd drive to Leadville, and then back to Antonito,  out of Durango.  And that is a long trip that might blow a whole day.

Also, I'd ride the western end, out of Chama, for that end crosses the high trestle...

(I rode the eastern half, but think I should have ridden the western half, IF not

riding the whole route)

I haven't been to Ft Collins since 2011, but if things haven't changed you can see some interesting "street running" there as well as Longmont.  Both are fascinating towns.

I don't want to burst your bubble, but frankly, I think your itinerary is overly ambitious. FYI, Garden of the Gods is in Colorado Springs about 90 minutes south from Golden. The Georgetown Loop is west about 45 minutes.

My recommendation is that you go to Google maps, find all these places, click on the little star and plot the trip. The way you're going you could put 1000 miles on that car.

Your wife must be a saint.

Edit: Chuck, I took the liberty of plotting out your plan on Google maps. You have have routed yourself a minimum distance of 1300 miles and almost 24 hours behind the wheel.

I don't know what the schedules are for the three train rides, but you would save yourself a lot of miles going to Cumbres and Toltec first, then Durango Silverton and finally Royal Gorge. Or better yet RG, C&T then DS. That way you might be able to go back through Leadville and even hit the Loop on the way to Ft Collins.

BTW you might be thinking of Red Rocks and not Garden of the Gods. Red Rocks is about 10 minutes from the museum in Golden. Spectacular concert venue. Been there many many times. I lived in Colorado for 7 years, studied geography in Boulder.

Durango, to reach from the Denver area, is a lot of slow driving over high passes,

from two directions, but especially from the north, Ouray, and Red Mountain Pass.

Much of that other driving, Leadville, etc.,  is two lane roads over high, steep, mountain passes, too.

You have a schedule that might be too tight.  As the last post points out, except for I-70, driving in CO is slow, but very scenic and worth going slow.

First, thanks for all the tips, but I'm a little surprised to get no hotel or restaurant info.

Elliot, schedule is set the way it is because wife refuses to check-in to more than three hotels.  Also, two of the three planned rides are all day events.  So, decided to start far away from Ft. Collins and kind of work way back.  There will be two drivers and some rest on train rides, and wife and I are only 60 and 65 respectively, so hoping driving won't be too difficult.

Elliot, you will be happy to know that my first plan, vetoed by wife as "too" busy, was to stop in Canon City, ride there and move on to Alamosa that day, ride the C&T and move on to Durango the next day, ride the D&S and move on to Leadville, ride the LC&S, move on to and ride the Georgetown Loop, and finish very late that same day in Ft. Collins.

Colorado Hirailer, drive to Leadville from Durango and then back to Alamosa is only for scenic tour.  I've heard that Tennessee Pass area is beautiful.  Thanks for the tip about riding the C&T out of Chama.  Until I relooked at the website, I thought you went from Antonito to Chama by train, with lunch stop in Osler, and then took motorcoach back to Antonito.  Guess not?

Rob, I will look for street running in Ft Collins and Longmont.

Chuck and Jmiller320, thanks for the local train shop tips.  Might try to do them on Monday.

Thanks again, and more tips are always welcome.

Chuck

I'd skip the ride through Royal Gorge, but if possible, plan on stopping at the Park and going down into the Gorge.  There's a bouncy bridge over the Gorge, and the famous Hanging Bridge is at the bottom.

If you or the wife have any cardiac issues, be wary going over the high passes.  The air is notably thinner, so you'd want to avoid strenuous walking.  Even when I was your age, I was breathing deep on Independence Pass

If you can, I highly recommend the parlor car on the Cumbres. Worth every penny!

Also, Museum in Greeley can be seen during the week. Call ahead and talk to the director.She said it was often open, but no trains would be running due to maintenance.

Have fun. It is a beautiful drive. I criss-crossed the state last month.

Bob

You CAN do that - or - you can ride the train from Chama to Antonito and take a bus back to Chama -or- you can ride the train out and back out of Antonito, turning at Osier - or - you can ride the train out and back out of Chama, turning at Osier.

Well, if that's the way it has to be done, so be it. I wasn't actually trying to squeeze an extra hotel in, I was just trying to cut down the amount of driving and backtracking. You wouldn't have to do another hotel, but you would get more time at one of your chosen stops. To take that time in Ft Collins would probably make the most sense. Another reason for switching the order would be the quality of each ride would be increasing as you went with DS being the most spectacular.

When it comes to hotels and restaurants, two words: Trip Advisor. My wife and I took a 30 day, 6500 mile road trip earlier this year, and used it a bunch of times, mostly for restaurants. Hotels, we always stay at Hilton properties when available, mainly because we have a credit card that gives us points, and we use them for free nights stay. Hampton Inns are very nice as an entry level Hilton property.

Good afternoon Chuck,  Sounds like a fun time in Colorado.  Just got back Aug 2015 and enjoyed each and every day.  If I was to do it over again my first stop would be Cortez Colorado, used as a two day base. First thing It  get's old checking in/out of your hotels.  Get there in the afternoon day one as early as possible from New Mexico and you should have time to see Dolores and there small R.R. museum. (Total time 3-4 hours) Also spend the evening at the Cortez cultural center and see the show which is free. Hotel in Cortez try the BEST WESTERN ask for the second floor.  In the morning of your 2nd day go to Durango to ride the train.  Please buy your tickets for your ride and parking on line!  I would ride up/bus back. Reason is it could give you a few hours to see, eat and enjoy Silverton. Grumpy's service was quick, food was o.k. and the rag-time music hit the spot. If you take the bus you will see many great views and that's a bonus along with getting back early.  In my book i.m so glad I took the Silver Vista which was worth the $180 each. Gifts, drinks,and the view, but bring your warm jackets.    Alamosa Colorado try the San Luis Valley Brewing Company Great beer.  Have a nice trip in Colorado, Bruce