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RAILFEST 2009 SCHEDULE IS UP
Posted Friday, July 3 2009 at 1704 h MDT
Thinking about my train chasing plans for the next few months, I noticed last night that the D&S's Railfest 2009 event listing is up and reservations are open. Railfest this year is a bit earlier, running from August 13-16. The highlight of the year, of course, is the return of Dan Markoff's Eureka & Palisades #4, a 1875 narrow gauge 4-4-0 woodburner.

A quick rundown of Railfest's trips, by day:

Thursday, 13-Aug-2009:
* 0825h: E&P #4 - Durango to Cascade ($149 coach, $169 caboose)
* 0915h: RGS #5 - Durango to Cascade with Tacoma plant tour ($99)
* 1800h: President's Reception in the roundhouse

Friday, 14-Aug-2009:
* 0825h: E&P #4 - Durango to Silverton ($179 coach, $199 caboose)
* 0915h: RGS #5 - Durango to Silverton ($99)
* 1000h: Tour of historic East Mancos, CO, tank ($10)

Saturday, 15-Aug-2009:
* 0900h: RGS #5 - Silverton to Elk Park ($59)
* 1000h: Tour of historic Glencoe, CO, townsite ($10)
* 1030h: E&P #4 - Silverton to Cascade ($149 coach, $169 caboose)
* 1300h: RGS #5 - Silverton to Elk Park ($49)
* 1600h: RGS #5 - Silverton to Elk Park ($49)

Sunday, 16-Aug-2009:
* 0745h: Presidential Brunch Train - Silverton to Durango ($189)
* 0900h: RGS #5 - Silverton to Durango ($99)
* 1000h: E&P #4 - Silverton to Durango ($179 coach, $199 caboose)

Full details about D&S Railfest 2009 can be found on their website [here], and reservations can be made at 1-888-872-4607.

My guess is that the Eureka trips will sell well, so if you want tickets, getting them sooner rather than later might be a good idea. Right now I'm on the Saturday and Sunday E&P trips. As usual with Railfest, the real challenge will be finding a hotel room for less than a trillion dollars a night. It's a sad state of things when photo excursion tickets are just barely more expensive than a night's hotel room. - NDHolmes

NEW TRIP REPORT - OL SPECIAL ON THE NORTH FORK
Posted Friday, June 19 2009 at 1522 h MDT
Finally, after nearly 7 months of 60-70 hour, 6-7 day weeks at work, my big project is finally starting to wind down and I can get back to my usual life. So, in celebration of that, I decided to take some time off to go on my first mainline railfan trip of the year. (Yes, really - I haven't been out hardly at all this year. Been stuck in the office the whole time. My brain is still thinking it's like early April or some such. The reality that it's late June is barely sinking in.)

Union Pacific and Operation Lifesaver were going to be making a tour of Colorado, running multiple public trips out of Grand Junction (east and west), Glenwood (eastward only), and most importantly, Delta (up the North Fork towards Paonia). So, I decided that the chance to chase something other than a coal train on the North Fork Branch was just too irresistible to pass up. The results from last Saturday and Sunday are finally posted in a [new trip report].

Now I'm off for the Friends Pile Driver OB / Maintenance-of-Way special this weekend, so expect narrow gauge pictures sometime next week. Plus, I've got EBT, Cass Railfan Weekend 2009, and several other trip reports in the works. So, pending I don't get obnoxiously busy again, there should be much more activity around here soon.

Update: Fixed link above - sorry about that! - NDHolmes

NEW OPERATOR FOR THE GEORGETOWN LOOP
Posted Saturday, May 9 2009 at 1558 h MDT
Yes, folks, it's finally happened - Railstar has thrown in the towel and sold the remaining six years of the Georgetown Loop operating contract to a new company - Historic Rail Adventures, LLC. I heard rumblings about this earlier last week but without details, and now Stephen Peck has posted the official press release over at NGDF [here].

This new company is headed by Mark Graybill, and my understanding is that some of the old (Ashby era) GLR employees have offered to return to help out. My understanding is that this doesn't change the somewhat unfavorable terms of the contract with the CHS, but hopefully the new team can work with it and once again make the Loop the success it was under the original operator. I wish you guys all the best - hopefully the dark days of the Loop are almost over. - NDHolmes

SKI TRAIN LEAVING DENVER FOR THE LAST TIME - NOW!
Posted Friday, May 8 2009 at 1650 h MDT
Per Kevin Morgan, via the Colorado-Railfan list:

"The Ski Train will soon be leaving Denver for the last time! The train has been pulled from Burnham (the three F40's and the 17 tempo cars -- NOT the "private" cars California, Utah and Kansas) and moved to North Yard."

"I have heard that UP 7126 might end up being the leader, but I'm not certain. Apparently the train was first supposed to be called at 7:00am, but that has changed several times so far. I guess the latest word is 1:00pm, but that could still change."

The last report is that the current call time is just about now - 1645h. Heads up to the east, and if you get a few pictures of it on the move, I'd appreciate the chance to post them.

Update (9-May-2009 0003h): The train departed North Yard in Denver at 1705h on Friday, and is supposed to be into Council Bluffs, IA, by 0850h on Saturday. From there, it will be interchanged to the CN and make its way east across Iowa, then up through Wisconsin and Michigan to the Algoma Central.

Update 2 (9-May-2009 0900h): Kevin Morgan has posted photos of chasing its departure on his website [here]. - NDHolmes

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