The Train
On Sunday March 12 my wife and I took Amtrak’s new Winter Park Express out of Denver for a day of skiing. The 2 hour train ride far exceeded our expatiations – first rate for convenience, friendliness, and especially the scenery along the route. UP’s (former D&RGW) curving 2% climb up the Front Range passes through 29 tunnels and several horseshoe curves before entering 6.2 mile Moffat tunnel under the Continental Divide. The views from our high level coach were ever changing and spectacular at times (IMO the equal of those from the Silverton train). As we entered Moffat Tunnel the car host (1 per car – 8 cars) advised us to put on our ski boots so we would be ready to go when the train stopped. The Winter Park station is virtually at the west portal of Moffat tunnel, and has recently been upgraded with snow free heated platforms. After leaving our coach we walked to the middle of the train where the Amtrak crew handed us our skis that had been stowed in racks under two of the cars. The train stops only several hundred yards from the lifts and base facilities. Skiers with previously purchased lift tickets were on the slopes within minutes of leaving the train. Our car hosts were enthusiastic local skiers who were ready to offer advice and assistance. One benefit of their job was that they got to ski while the train waited several miles down the line for the afternoon return trip.
While Winter Park doesn’t have the ski acreage and amenities that the big name Colorado ski resorts have, it is family friendly, slightly lower cost, and has lots of interesting trails. The big advantage of taking the Winter Park Express is that you can relax and enjoy the scenery coming and going to the slopes, while others fight heavy weekend traffic on I70. In 2017 the Winter Park Express will run weekends from January 7 through March 26. For non-skiers I’d recommend the ride just for the scenery.
Below are several photos we took at the Denver and Winter Park stations.
The UP freight car derailment along the route
Several miles below Moffat Tunnel we were surprised to see 12 wrecked empty covered hoppers lying on a steep slope along the tracks. Over the loudspeaker in our coach we were told that 2 days before our trip several cars in the middle of a very long eastbound (downgrade) freight derailed on the sharp curve. From the vantage point of our train the area appeared very remote with no immediate road access. A short distance up the line we saw a large assortment of heavy off- rail wrecking equipment staged in an open area. We were told that heavy special purpose dozers were used to push several of the derailed cars clear of the right of way in order to re-open the line as soon as possible – however not in time for Saturday’s 7 AM Winter Park Express. Amtrak cancelled the train and attempted to contact the estimated 500 hundred passengers by phone in time to avoid a fruitless trip Union Station. Later that day the route was re-opened allowing the east and westbound California Zephyrs to pass the site. Apparently the track was not severely damaged by the derailment and by the time our Sunday morning Winter Park Express passed the site no slow orders were in effect. The official word on the cause of the wreck is not out, but our Amtrak crew speculated that it might be related to braking issues. Hopefully I’ll learn more about the cause of the derailment in the Trains Newsletter. Given the terrain, it also would be interesting to learn how the UP goes about retrieving the 12 cars.
Below are several photos of the train and derailed cars we took with our I-phones.
