Riding the rails

If you don?t have the stamina to hike, the nerve to mountain bike or the stomach to drive the winding trails and roads to Colorado?s mountain scenery, a summer train ride is the way to travel.

?There?s not a bad train ride in the state,? said Bill Gould, curator of the Colorado Railroad Museum in Golden.
Gould should know. He and other train enthusiasts like him have gone on just about every tourist train ride in Colorado. Some people go for the relaxing ride through steep canyons and over mountain passes. Gould goes for the history.
Most of Colorado?s scenic rail lines are remnants of railroads developed during the state?s mining hey day of the 1870s and 1880s. The lines that make up the Georgetown Loop, Durango and Silverton, Royal Gorge Route, Leadville and Southern and Cripple Creek/Victor railroads were originally constructed to haul gold and silver over the mountains.
These narrow-gauge railroads were so-named because the tracks are three feet apart, compared to the standard gauge of 4 feet, 8-inches apart. Legend has it Gen. William Jackson Palmer, Colorado?s railroad pioneer, implemented the narrow gauge to prevent men and women from sleeping in the same bed on passenger trains.
But Gould said that theory is false. Narrow gauge rails were less expensive to install, easier to build on rough terrain and could make sharper curves around the mountains.
Tourism in the West revolved around railroad excursions on narrow-gauge lines in the late 1800s. The advent of automobiles in the early 1900s brought more tourists to Colorado, but train travel decreased. Railroads abandoned many of the narrow gauge lines. In the 1970s and ?80s, portions of the old lines were preserved, ushering in a new era of tourist train excursions.
Not all of Colorado tourist trains are old mining routes. Construction on the Pikes Peak Cog Railway started in 1889 to transport people to the top of Pikes Peak, west of Colorado Springs. A cog railroad uses a gear that meshes into a special rack rail, which allows the train to climb a grade up to 48 percent. The Pikes Peak Cog Railway has a maximum grade of 25 percent and travels at 9 miles per hour to keep the train from dislodging from the rack rail.
The Winter Park Ski Train, which offers rides on Saturdays during the summer, has been transporting outdoor enthusiasts from Denver to Winter Park Ski Resort since 1940.
The only summer train ride that travels through Northern Colorado is the $225-$325 per person Cheyenne Frontier Days train on July 23. Unless you already have reservations ? tickets went on sale in mid-May and go fast ? you?ll probably have to drive south or west to catch a ride on a train this summer.
Gould said the scenery alone is worth the travel and cost of most of the rides. If you?re watching your budget this summer, try the Georgetown Loop Railroad ($6 for adults, $4 for children) or the Cripple Creek/Victor Railroad ($9.50 for adults, $5 for children). Both rides travel past historic mining sites.
For kids ? especially younger ones with short attention spans ? the Colorado Railroad Museum in Golden offers 25-minute rides on a steam engine June 18-19 and July 30-31. Or take the kids to ?A Day Out with Thomas the Tank Engine? ? a blue engine with a smiling face based on the PBS television character ? Sept. 17-18 or Sept. 24-25.
The Royal Gorge Route Railroad, which winds along the Arkansas River through the Royal Gorge near Canon City, offers gourmet lunch and dinner train rides and an evening of entertainment with its murder mystery trains.
For die-hards, Gould recommends the Durango and Silverton Railroad in southwestern Colorado and the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad, which runs along the Colorado-New Mexico border through Toltec Gorge. Both offer all-day trips.
The Cumbres and Toltec Railroad stops halfway for lunch, and passengers have the option of cutting the journey short by taking a bus back to their point of origin.
The Cumbres and Toltec is Gould?s favorite, mostly because the railroad equipment is older ? the railroad is considered the most authentic steam era railroad in North America. The Cumbres and Toltec journey weaves back and forth across the Colorado-New Mexico border over 10,015-foot Cumbres Pass.
?The train takes you places you can?t get to by car,? Gould said. ?The scenery is remarkable, and so is the history.?

rendezvous

All aboard!

Cheyenne Frontier Days Train
Date: July 23
The ride: 3-hour trip from Denver?s Union Station to Cheyenne Frontier Days; includes breakfast, barbeque lunch, rodeo and entertainment on the train.
Tickets: $225-$325 per person, www.cfdtrain.com

Winter Park Ski Train
Dates: Saturdays during the summer
The ride: 2-hour, 15-minute trip from Union Station to Winter Park Ski Resort; passengers can bring their bicycles for mountain biking at Winter Park.
Tickets: (303) 296-4754 or www.skitrain.com

Colorado Railroad Museum
Dates: June 18-19, July 30-31 for steam train rides; Sept. 17-18, Sept. 24-25 for children?s ?A Day Out with Thomas the Tank Engine.?
The ride: 25-minute ride on track at the museum, 17155 W. 44th Ave., Golden.
Tickets: Rides are free with museum admission, $7 adults, $4 children ages 2-16, (800) 365-6263 or www.crrm.org.

Georgetown Loop Railroad
Dates: Daily, May 28-Oct. 2
The ride: 1-hour, 20-minute roundtrip between Georgetown and Silver Plume. Historic silver mine tour included.
Tickets: $6 adults, $4 children, (888) 456-6777.

Leadville, Colorado and Southern Railroad
Dates: Daily, May 28-Oct. 2
The ride: 2 -hour roundtrip from Leadville to the Continental Divide.
Tickets: $26.50 adults, $15 children ages 4-12, (866) 386-3936 or www.leadville-train.com

Pikes Peak Cog Railway
Dates: Daily, April 9-Jan. 1, 2006
The ride: 3-hour trip from Manitou Springs to the top of Pikes Peak.
Tickets: $28 adults April 9-June 30 and Aug. 23-Jan. 1, $29 adults July 1-Aug. 22; $16 children April 9-June 30 and Aug. 23-Jan. 1; $17 children July 1-Aug. 22. (719) 685-5401; go to www.cograilway.com for coupons.

Cripple Creek/Victor Railroad
Dates: Monday-Friday, May 15-June 13; daily, June 14-Oct. 15.
The ride: 45-minute round trip ride from Cripple Creek to historic mines
Tickets: $9.50 adults, $5 children, $8.50 seniors, (719) 689-3256 or www.cripplecreekrailroad.com.

Royal Gorge Route Railroad
Dates: Daily, May 28-Oct. 9
The ride: 2-hour ride through the Royal Gorge along the Arkansas River. Gourmet lunch, dinner and murder mystery trains also available.
Tickets: $28.95 adults, $18.50 children, (888) 724-5748. For schedule and rates for lunch, dinner and murder mystery trains, go to www.royalgorgeroute.com.

Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad
Dates: Daily, May 7-Oct. 29
The ride: All-day trip between Durango and Silverton. Half day Mountain Express available June 27-Aug. 11. The
Tickets: Full-day: $62-$109 adults, $31-$38 children. Half day: $59 adults, $29 children.
(970) 247-2733 or www.durangotrain.com.

Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad
Dates: Every day except Fridays, May 28-Oct. 16
The ride: All-day trip along the Colorado-New Mexico border between Antonito, Colo., and Chama, N.M. Trains leave from both locations. Trains stop at Osier, Colo., the mid-way point, for lunch. For a shorter trip, passengers can take a bus from Osier back to point of origin.
Tickets: $54.75-$75 adults, $29.50-$37 children. (888) 286-2737 or www.cumbrestoltec.com.

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