Happy "Colorado Railroad Heritage Week"!

I was not aware that there was a "Colorado Railroad Heritage Week," but there is! It begins tomorrow. Below is a post from the CRRM's Facebook page:

In honor of Colorado Railroad Heritage Week, which runs June 24 - 30, our June Attraction of the Month will honor all Colorado railroad attractions. 

Why? Because that’s a big part of what Colorado Railroad Heritage Week is about!

It was never easy to build a railroad in Colorado. As the highest state (average elevation 6,800 feet) in the United States, it’s filled with mountains, deep river gorges, severe winter snowfalls, droughts, floods, and steep elevation gains, all making the art of building railroads here a difficult – and sometimes treacherous – occupation.  

As a result, Colorado railroading became legendary.  

The so-called “Narrow Gauge Movement” – which advocated for building less expensive railroads to a gauge much narrower (at 3 feet between the rails) than so-called “standard gauge” railroads in the U.S. (built to 4 foot, 8 ½ inches between the rails) – came onto the scene just as Colorado was constructing the vast majority of its railroad network, in the 1870s and 1880s. This innovation allowed trains to navigate tighter curves and to be built in what had previously been impossible places.

Colorado’s Alpine Tunnel opened in 1882 as the highest railroad tunnel in the world, while Colorado narrow gauge railroads spread tentacles out across the state, reaching mining destinations that produced trillions (in today’s dollars) of precious metals. After about 1890, most new railroad mileage was built to standard gauge, allowing for the interchange of freight and even people without the necessity of changing trains or transloading cargo.

The romantic, at times dangerous, and always fascinating history of railroads in Colorado captured a huge rail fan base starting in the 20th century. Today, thanks to thousands of crewmembers and craftspeople, dedicated volunteers, and rail historians, Colorado is one of the top historic railroad destinations in the world.  

Colorado currently boasts:

● 18 steam locomotives in operation, with five more undergoing restoration to operating condition, making it one of the top two states for steam locomotion in the U.S. today

● The highest and longest steam railroad in North America (the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad)

● The highest cog railroad in the world (Broadmoor Manitou & Pikes Peak Railway)

● The highest and fourth-longest railroad tunnel in North America (Moffat Tunnel, used by Amtrak’s “California Zephyr” and Rocky Mountaineer’s Denver-Moab, Utah trains)

● Five out of the six original, famed Galloping Geese, a rail enthusiasts’ favorite contraption that took early automobiles and fitted them with train wheels and room for passengers, mail and freight (Colorado Railroad Museum, Galloping Goose Historical Society, Telluride Volunteer Fire Department)

● One of the largest model railroads by size in the U.S. (Colorado Model Railroad Museum in Greeley)

● Trains that have appeared in a number of movies, including “Around the World in 80 Days” and “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” (Durango & Silverton), “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” (Cumbres & Toltec Scenic), and “A Ticket to Tomahawk” (Colorado Railroad Museum)

To celebrate this amazing rail heritage, the Colorado Railroad Museum has worked with Colorado Governor Jared Polis and the numerous rail heritage sites in the state to create Colorado Railroad Heritage Week, June 24-30, 2025. Check out the web page https://coloradorailroadmuseum.org/colorado-railroad.../ for special activities, tour offerings and more!

“We hope Colorado Railroad Heritage Week will be a time for Coloradans to reflect on all that railroads have meant to our state,” says Paul Hammond, executive director of the Colorado Railroad Museum. But Railroad Heritage Week is just the tip of the iceberg.  Hammond points out there are many ways to appreciate and learn about railroad heritage in Colorado all year long.

You can find the more than three dozen operating heritage railroads and rail historic sites in Colorado that have previously been featured as a Colorado Railroad Attraction of the Month on the Museum’s social media channels here: 

https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/CORRofMonth/

Hammond says: “Rail heritage sites can be found just about everywhere in Colorado – from the eastern plains of Julesburg, Hugo and Limon, to the San Luis Valley in the south, to Western Slope communities from Durango to Grand Junction to Winter Park, and along the Front Range from Fort Collins to Pueblo. We encourage everyone to get out and visit at least one of these unique places during Colorado Railroad Heritage Week!”