This year, my mom has suprised me and dad with an Amtrak trip insted of a Carribian cruise! Wo Hooo! I love my mom very mutch. We will get off the SWC at Denver, rent a car, drive to I think Boulder is wehere we will probably stay. and then go where ever from there. We are going to Rocky Mountian Ntl. Prk. We know that for sure. But any other things we should see while we are there? Also. The train # 51 A.K.A. the Cardnial has no checked baggage at the station we are getting on at. Our suit case is a little bit larger than the max baggage restrictions. (measurements.) Is Amtrak going to whip out the tape measure and check our baggage, and if it’s not the right length the conductor will throw us out from the rear end coach, and we get run over by the next CSX manafest train tailgating us by only a few signal blocks!?? (I exsagurrate a little.) Or wil we need to pack more suitcases insted of our big luggage? Any advice on traveling with Amtrak? We went to Chicago a few years ago, but that’s been before 911. So has anything changed? Any tips? I really can’t wait for this trip. 65 days seem like an eternety. I hope it comes soon! Thanks in advance for the tips! Sinceraly, Justin S. PS, I guess I should have posted this in the Passenger section of the forum… OOPS-EY DASIES!
The SWC goes thru Pueblo CO. Maybe you’re riding the Cal Zephyr to Denver?
If you are staying in Boulder, you need to make a side trip to Colo Springs and go to Garden of the Gods and ride the cog rwy up Pikes Peak.
When we were out there a couple years ago, we made a day trip out of driving from Cripple Creed to Royal Gorge via the old RR ROW that is now a dirt road. Then visited the gorge, the back via I-25. I think I would skip the gorge itself and ride the train from Canyon City through the gorge instead, if I were to do it over.
Downtown Denver is interesting. There is a nice transit mall from the train station up to the Capitol that’s fun to visit. Lots of touristy things to do.
Boulder itself is a very nice college town.
Whoa!..Southwest Chief (#3/#4) does not go through Denver or Pueblo (try stops at Lamar, La Junta and Trinidad in Colorado) …California Zephyr (#5/#6) stops in Denver (Brush/Akron/Ft. Morgan)…If you’re grabbing a rental car, your chances are MUCH better in Denver.
Peoples’ Republic of Boulder is off in an alternate universe…Estes Park maybe?
ps - Don’t go looking for mountains at the CO/NE or CO/KS border…Prior to 1876 Eastern Colorado was part of the Kansas Territory for a reason…
Colorado Railroad Museum at Golden - NW suburb of Denver. See many photos on various other threads here by Chris/ CopCarSS.
UP 844 may be in town for the Cheyenne Rodeo Days trip during your stay, depending on how long you’ll be there. Probably sold out by now, but you could watch it go by. Check the schedule on UP’s web site.
Non-Railroad places: Celestial Seasonings’ (herbal teas and other stuff) plant on the NE side of Boulder is a fun place. A prairie dog town is in a little preserve along the entrance road (prairie dogs can be hugely controversial out there). The Leanin’ Tree art museum is also nearby.
Check out the “Tourist Railroads” insert and ads in May Trains - there are many there.
- Paul North.
EDIT: Misc. clarifications & corrections at 9:15 AM.
I think you need to convince Mom to go on past Denver and ride the Zephyr to Glenwood Springs. Best mountain scenery in the world! 30+ tunnels and several canyons, and it’s all in daylight hours.Stay in Glenwood for one or two nights, then take the train back to Denver and rent your car. (No need to rent a car in GS, hotels are as close as across the street from the Amtrak station.) As far as baggage, Amtrak information gives some restrictions but I’ve never seen anyone with a tape measure or even counting. Just be sure to have enough hands and shoulders, collectively, to carry all your items. Good luck!
Yes, Boulder is very nice. There’s an old narrow gauge caboose (was there a loco there too?) in a park which unfortunetely were found by an arsonist… Does anyone know if they’re still there?
I would also reccomend the Colorado Railroad Museum in Golden, CO. The massive Coors Brewery is just across the tracks, where they operate a fleet of early EMD switchers to switch their brewery. The actual museum has a lot of both narrow and standard gauge equipment, as well as a massive model railroad display in the basement of the depot.
Good luck, and we want to see some photos after you go! [;)]
For lots more information and photos, check out Kevin Morgan’s excellent Colorado Railfan - “Contemporary Railfanning in Colorado” website - esp. the “Data / Data Warehouse” page, with its Railfan Guides, Maps, the Siding Gallery, and the Moffat CTC Display, etc. - at:
http://www.coloradorailfan.com/
- Paul North.
I’ve never been there but I want to see everything from the Kansas Border to Utah, Wyoming and New Mexico…from Pikes Peak and the Contenetal Divide to the deepest canyons, Leadville, Georgetown, Los Alamos, Silverton, Durango, Montrose, Grand Junction, Denver, Steamboat Springs, narrow guage, standard guage, Tennesee Pass, Royal Gorge, abandoned roadbeds and, well, never been there, so I must be missing something!
In Denver:
The Colorado Railroad Museum
The Forney Transportation Museum
16th Street Walking Mall
Union Station
Coors Field
Invesco Field at Mile High
Your dad will probably enjoy a trip to the Coors Brewery. (Although the Budweiser brewery is up in Ft. Collins if he has a preference)
If you guys head to Colorado Springs,
Definitely see Pikes Peak and the Garden of the Gods, also near there in Manitou Springs see the Cliff Dwellings and the Cave of the Winds. And if you want to travel a little farther south check out the Royal Gorge.
Hi all! Those sound like some interesting places! I bet we will be alright on baggage. And thank you all for jaring my memory! The SWC doesn’t go theought Denver! Duhhh, it’s the good ol’ CZ! Well I will show this too mom. Ohh the teacher just told me to get back on task. I’d better get off now! Thanks all! PS, Is Chris lost? I’ve been looking for him all over. Maby on a rail fanning spree?
We went to Colorado last summer on vacation. Estes Park is a traffic jam/ madhouse. Try to go through there early in the day. Take a jacket. It can be cool up on top. Last July there was still some snow in places at the RMNP Visitor Center. The other thing we found that worked for us, was to stop at a grocery store, and pack a lunch. You’ll have 100 places to stop an picnic under a tree. Unless you’re a Rockefellar with a lot of patience, dining in tourist areas isn’t much fun.
The Colorado Railroad Museum is a must: http://www.railroadphotoessays.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1197
If at all possible, visit The Durango & Silverton and/or the Cumbres & Toltec.
Closer to Denver is the Royal Gorge Route: http://www.railroadphotoessays.com/forum/showthread.php?t=797
Hey Justin -
I agree, you’ll probably be OK on the baggage. There’s normally plenty of room at the end of the cars for the big bags, and in the overhead racks for the smaller ones. Keep in mind that a train only has 4 people per row of seats, as opposed to 6 in most airplanes - and the Amtrak rows are spaced out more than in the planes - so there’s just about 1/3 less need and competition for the overhead rack space for each row. I think Amtrak just put those rules in so that people who normally fly would feel more “at home” on the trains . . . [swg] Plus, so that if somebody went crazy with lots of big and heavy bags, then Amtrak would have a way to limit that or make them pay more. Also, to keep what the baggage guys have to lift within reasonable limits. My wife and I have traveled long-distance by Amtrak and VIA Rail in Canada and never had a problem with the number, size, or weight of the bags. For the CZ portions - as with airplanes - it might be a good idea to pack essential items and a day’s worth of clothes in carry-ons or a small suitcase, and put everything else in bigger bags or suticases and check those as “through” baggage, so they will go in the baggage car.
Other topics: I see the CZ is scheduled to Dep CHI at 2:00 PM, Arr DEN 7:15 AM, and Dep DEN 8:10 PM, Arr CHI 3:50 PM, which means you’ll be on-board overnight both ways across the Great Plains. Have you and your family decided yet if you will you be going coach, or in a sleeping car ? That would affect recommendations for that aspect of the trip.
Food: Mostly depends on what you like and want to do. Looking at the schedule, here are some thoughts: Going out, for the mid-day meal you could either: 1) eat before boarding; 2) get it “to go” or carry-out from someplace in Union Station or nearby, and eat on the train from the trays at your seat; or 3)&
Since I have yet to see it mentioned herein, I’m assuming that Justin is not a model railroader, otherwise, I would mention numerous places to visit concerning that subject. The Denver area could be considered the Model railroading Mecca of the US.
Dick
Texas chief
Model railroading? Yes, indeed. Denver is home to Caboose Hobbies, billed as “the world’s largest all train hobby shop”. It is indeed large – you can get lost in the place.
After all the concern for Justin’s mom, it might be advisable to find out what she’s into. Heck with Caboose, send 'em to Greeley to watch 'em run if they don’t go to CRRM to see 1:1 scale stuff mixed with a smattering of toy stuff.
From Brush SW into Denver, the CZ forces Texas bound coal trains into the hole so it can pass. Hope he’s watching mostly on the east (left) side of the car on the way into DUS.
There’s also Mizell Trains in Westminster, (northern suberb of Denver) with thier famous “Wall of Trains”. From there, go north another 20 mi. to Longmont and visit Intermountain Railway and Red Caboose. There is also the Rocky Mountain model railroad club layout in the basement of the museum in Golden. and last but not least, the “O” gauge layout in the basement of the Denver Union station.
Dick
Texas Chief
If you have the time, Palmer Lake, CO (between Colorado Springs & Denver) is the highest point (7000+ feet) on the “Joint Line” (BNSF/Union Pacific). A great place to watch trains and also have a picnic alongside the lake which used to quench the thirst of thirtsy steam locos. Lots of history there in Palmer Lake. Colorado Springs has a great streetcar/trolley museum (Pikes Peak Historical Street Railway Foundation) which is located at the former Rock Island Roundhouse (just off 1-25 & Fillmore St.). Also downtown, Giuseppe’s Old Depot Restaurant provides good food, and it’s trackside to the BNSF/UP main.Colorado Springs also preserved their former ATSF station and it’s beautiful.
There are college towns that aren’t?
Does the Birney car still run in Fort Collins?
Georgetown Loop?
Leadville?
Is there still a museum of sorts just east of Pueblo?
If you have time Cumbres and Toltec, Durango and Silverton and the new operation (forget the name) on La Veta pass. All right down in the south/south west of Colorado so probably need an overnight somewhere.
OT: Wings over the Rockies in Denver?