Ski train
Ski Train at Denver Union Station in 2003
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|
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Service type | regional rail |
| Status | Planned |
| Locale | Colorado |
| Predecessor | Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad |
| First service | 1940 |
| Current operator(s) | Amtrak |
| Website | Winter Park Express |
| Route | |
| Start | Union Station (Denver) |
| End | Winter Park Resort |
| Distance travelled | 56 miles (90 km) |
| Average journey time | 2 hours, 15 minutes |
| Service frequency | Weekends from January 7th - March 26th |
| Line used | Union Pacific Central Corridor |
| On-board services | |
| Class(es) | Coach, Club, Private |
| Catering facilities | Cafe Lounge |
| Observation facilities | Vista dome |
| Technical | |
| Three EMD F40PH locomotives Eight Coach cars One Retreat car Three Club cars Two Cafe Lounge cars |
|
| Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge |
The Ski Train (reporting mark SKTX) is a seasonal passenger service in the period 1940-2009 and resuming for the 2016-17 season. From 1940 to 1988, the service was operated by the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad, then purchased by the Ansco Investment Company. The resumed service will be run by Amtrak.
The train was instituted by the railroad in 1940 and ran from Union Station in Denver, Colorado for 56 miles (90 km) to the ski resort town of Winter Park, Colorado. The train's scenic route left Union Station and traveled through northwest suburban Denver, generally parallel to South Boulder Creek, past Pinecliffe and Rollinsville.
The route climbed about 4,000 feet (1,200 m) and passed through 29 tunnels before reaching the final mountain underpass, the 6.2-mile (10.0 km) long Moffat Tunnel. This is the highest railroad tunnel in the United States and the third longest, After the Cascade Tunnel in Washington state and the Flathead Tunnel in Montana. It passes under the Continental Divide.
The train stopped less than 100 yards (91 m) from the base of the ski lifts of Winter Park Resort. There was one trip in each direction per day, with a travel time of 2 hours and 15 minutes, assuming no delays from freight rail traffic.
The Ski Train carried skiers to Winter Park Resort from December through March each ski season between 1940 and 2008-2009.
For the 75th anniversary of Winter Park, a special one-day-only Amtrak Winter Park Express Ski Train on Saturday, March 14, 2015, was announced on February 25; more than 450 seats sold out in less than 10 hours. By popular demand, a second train was added for Sunday, March 15, and it also sold out quickly. With demonstrated enthusiasm for the excursion train, there are renewed hopes that the Ski Train may again operate seasonally from the recently redeveloped Union Station public transit complex. In April, Amtrak and Winter Park officials met to begin work on a proposal to track owner Union Pacific Railroad for running at least two trips weekly during January, February, and March 2016. In mid-November, the official word was a hopeful "we're still working on it," but, a month later, Colorado Public Radio prophetically reported "Ski Train Unlikely To Return This Season." Nonetheless, negotiations between Amtrak, Union Pacific, and the Federal Railroad Administration continued, and, starting with the 2016-7 season, Amtrak has returned to offering the Ski Train.
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Wikipedia