We feature beginner and advanced help on all model railroading scales, including layout track plans, model railroad product reviews, model train news, and model railroad forums. Interestingly, this attempt ultimately fell through. Model Railroader is the worlds largest magazine on model trains and model railroad layouts. The railroad is also attempting to sway the Surface Transportation Board into denying the KCVN's attempt to acquire the property through legal wrangling that insures rail service. The group originally offered $10 million for the line (its liquidation value) but UP has balked at the proposal. The mileage would include the Dotsero to Parkdale, Colorado segment as well as trackage rights into Pueblo. The proposal was first announced in November, 2019 as the group is interested in running grain shipments over the corridor. Arkansas River flows through Parkdale, and it is home to whitewater rafting and the Parkdale Recreation Area, a unit of the Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area. Highway 50 at an elevation of 5,732 feet (1,747 m). The future of Tennessee Pass may be altered drastically if a limited liability company, KCVN, LLC (and their subsidiary, Colorado Pacific Railroad) is successful in acquiring the 228-mile line from UP. Parkdale, is an unincorporated community in Fremont County, Colorado, United States. Over the years but after the Union Pacific merger of 1996 it redundantĭue to its stiff grades and north/south heading.ĭormant although it remains under UP ownership. However, it allowed the railroad to directly Route was a bit circuitous in that it headed north before returning to a Narrow-gauge line it already had in place west of Salida. Guide to scenic train rides, tourist railroads, steam trains, and railroad museums in Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Wyoming, Utah & Montana. Reach Salt Lake City, Utah through a standard-gauge route rather than a That we’re helping to rebuild it safely for the long-term is a major contribution to Colorado Springs.The Rio Grande's Tennessee Pass, north of Salida and Leadville, Colorado, was a means for the railroad to

It’s a part of this area’s lore and adventure. “Taking the cog railroad is an entirely different way to see the mountain,” he says. Says the most rewarding part of the project will be when the railroad resumes operation in May 2021. While working with the contractors has been enjoyable and the high-profile project is helping establish Parkdale across the region as a great source of certified railroad ballast, Sheahan Today, Sheahan says, about 500 tons of ballast are being moved daily from Parkdale to its new home on the mountain. In May, crews with Stacy and Witbeck Inc., the project’s lead contractors, began laying the first tracks on the new railway. Because of its location and product offerings, Parkdale is helping keep the project’s cost reasonable.” FREIGHT SERVICES We’re a federally chartered Class III railroad operating as a common carrier with stations in Colorado, Nebraska and Wyoming. There were no sites in southern Colorado that could provide it until Parkdale became certified about two years ago. “They began sourcing materials from much closer to home, but what was missing was railroad ballast. “There are only two cog railroads in the United States, so when they first started planning this project, the owners were thinking about importing everything from Europe, which would have been very expensive,” he says. Sheahan says the project’s timing and location couldn’t have been more perfect.

The Broadmoor Hotel, which owns the railway, then pledged $100 million for repairs. Known as “America’s Mountain,” Pikes Peak served as the inspiration for Katharine Lee Bates’ “America the Beautiful.” The cog railway – the highest railway in the country – allowed visitors scenic and easy passage to the top of the peak for 126 years, but was shuttered three years ago after engineers found its infrastructure deficient. Sheahan and others in the southern Front Range are working to provide 40,000 tons of ballast as part of a complete overhaul of the Manitou and Pikes Peak Cog Railway, a 9-mile stretch to the summit of Pikes Peak billed as “one of the most unique experiences in the world.” This railroad has been around since the 1890s and it’s a destination that draws people to Colorado from all over the country.” “This is a great way to promote Parkdale as a viable source of railroad ballast, but more than that, it’s a great project for the community. “We really wanted to be part of this,” says West Division Aggregates District General Manager Mike Sheahan. Completing the overhaul of the cog railway will require 40,000 tons of ballast from Martin Marietta’s Parkdale Quarry. Now, ballast from Parkdale Quarry will help ensure millions more have the same opportunity. Millions have taken the ride since the first trek in 1891. By the time the journey peaks, you’re scraping the sky at more than 14,000 feet.

Parkdale colorado railroad