Railtrail Annual Brochure 2021

W orldwide T our – C olorado S team

Colorado not only has stunning mountain scenery but is home to a host of incredibly scenic railroads. This very special and unique tour at Fall Foliage time features no less than eight railways including FOUR DAYS OF SPECIAL STEAM CHARTERS, plus railroad museums, National Parks, and a journey on Amtrak’s “California Zephyr” through the heart of the Rockies. Travel with an expert Railtrail Tour Manager who has had over 30 years’ experience of escorting tours to the USA.

TOUR HIGHLIGHTS

DAY 1 We depart London Heathrow on the direct BA flight to Denver, the ‘Mile High City’ . On arrival late afternoon we have a private coach transfer into downtown Denver and our hotel for the next two nights, the centrally located Holiday Inn Express. DAY 2 Today we have free time to explore the fabulous city of Denver independently using local trams and buses with our included transport pass . Alternatively, we can ride on the vintage Platte Valley Trolley (payable locally) which is within walking distance of the hotel or we can accompany our experienced tour manager to see heavy freight trains in action or visit the famous Caboose Hobbies at Lakewood. Tonight, we get to meet our fellow passengers and enjoy a group dinner. (B,D) DAY 3 After breakfast we leave our hotel and transfer by private coach to the Colorado Railroad Museum at Golden on the outskirts of the city. We have time for a look around the comprehensive and excellent collection before we have a special steam charter train around the museum grounds with plenty of opportunity for photographs. A packed lunch will be provided before we depart by private coach climbing into the mountains to Georgetown for the incredible 3ft gauge loop railway . This last and extremely difficult section of the former Colorado Central line, completed in 1884, consists of a spiral and impressive 97ft high Devils Gate curving viaduct plus steep grades from Georgetown up to Silver Plume, 600ft higher, to tap into the silver reserves in the area. We watch the early afternoon train climb from the station and over the ★ ★ Special steam charter Colorado Railroad Museum ★ ★ Special steam charter Como Roundhouse ★ ★ Two days steam freight charter on the 64-mile Cumbres & Toltec Railroad ★ ★ Ride the Durango and Silverton steam train ★ ★ Steam over the 97ft high Devils Gate Bridge ★ ★ Travel by train through the 1,000ft deep Royal Gorge ★ ★ Rail to the summit of 14,000ft Pikes Peak ★ ★ Amtrak ride through the heart of the Rockies ★ ★ Great Sand Dunes National Park ★ ★ Mesa Verde National Park ★ ★ Incredible mountain scenery

Fares Ex London By Air From £4695

Fares Ground Only From £3995

OR

Cumbres & Toltec Railroad

©CTR

by road to Canon City for our afternoon excursion on the Royal Gorge Railway . The former D&RGW route traverses an extremely narrow 1,000ft deep gorge of the Arkansas River where at times the track is cantilevered over the river itself beneath the Royal Gorge Bridge. Following our fascinating day, we stay overnight at the Quality Inn Canon City.(B) DAY 6 We travel by road from Canon City via the remarkable Great Sand Dunes National Park , a huge area of dunes some rising to around 750ft on the edge of the San Luis Valley surrounded by wonderful mountain scenery. At Alamosa we visit the workshops of the San Luis & Rio Grande Railroad , a standard gauge freight line. We then continue, on to Antonito in time to watch the arrival of the 3ft gauge Cumbres & Toltec steam hauled train before heading over the 10,230ft La Manga Pass to Chama, where we overnight stay at the Branding Iron Motel. (B) DAY 7 After a morning visit to the loco shed of the Cumbres & Toltec Railroad we join our special steam hauled freight charter train for a superb full day of photo run-bys through stunning scenery over the 64-mile line to Antonito. As well as crossing the regular steam passenger train the route features a climb to over 10,000ft at the Cumbres Pass, trestle bridges, ledge running, tunnels, and wild west scenery plus, at this wonderful time of year we can see the vivid orange and yellow Fall Colours of the Aspen trees. During our journey we can sit back, relax, and enjoy our

viaduct before riding the next train to Silver Plume. We hope to have a workshop tour at Silver Plume before heading further into the Rockies by road to the former silver mining town of Leadville at over 10,000ft altitude - the highest city in the USA . Tonight, we stay at the historic Delaware Hotel built in 1886, where all the bedrooms are decorated in a Victorian style. (B,L) DAY 4 This morning we ride the standard gauge Leadville, Colorado and Southern diesel train through the San Isabel National Forest, affording great views over the Arkansas River Valley. We enjoy a two and a half hour round trip with a packed lunch provided on board. We then transfer to Como for the South Park Rail Society’s 1881 South Park & Pacific RR stone roundhouse and a special steaming of their 3ft gauge Baldwin No.4 of 1912. In the late afternoon we continue by road to Colorado Springs and check in at our overnight hotel the Quality Inn Garden of the Gods. (B,L) DAY 5 Today we ride the recently rebuilt 9-mile long diesel operated Manitou & Pikes Peak Cog Railway, the fifth highest railway in the world to the summit of Pikes Peak at 14,115ft. Grades as steep as 1 in 4 (25%) are encountered. Afterwards there is free time to explore downtown Manitou and enjoy lunch at leisure before visiting the strange rock formations in the area known as “The Garden of the Gods” . We continue

Royal Gorge Train

Durango & Silverton Railroad

©DSR

© Shutterstock

Book now – online at www.railtrail.co.uk or telephone: 01538 382323

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