Private railway wins federal grant

JOHNSTOWN – As hundreds of Colorado businesses raced to get loans to help rebuild their flood-battered companies late last year, one of Colorado’s wealthiest businessmen received a federal grant to repair his privately held rail network.

Great Western was the only railroad in Colorado to receive federal grant money, which doesn’t have to be repaid, after last September’s devastating floods, according to the Colorado Department of Transportation.

The grant to rail and real estate magnate Pat Broe came after Colorado’s Democratic U.S. Sens. Mark Udall and Michael Bennet wrote letters to the Federal Railroad Administration supporting the grant request. The funds were…