Part Eighteen

“Trains and Travel”

With all of the shitty Wi-Fi at the hotel I was staying in at Durango, today part is a combination of Tuesday and Wednesday. To really appreciate the trains and the traveling, check out the picture blogs of each day.  

As many of you know, I have been a railfan since I was 4 ½ years ago. And there have been a few times that I have ridden the steam train at the Essex Steam Train back in Essex, Connecticut. Even seeing Union Pacific’s Challenger 3985 back in 2010 was a real treat. But on Tuesday, I got to ride what is deemed a National Historic Landmark. It was a moment to travel back in time.

From our friends at www.wikipedia.org,

“The Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad (D&SNG) is a 3 foot (914 mm) narrow-gauge heritage railroad that operates 45.2 miles (72.7 km) of track between Durango and Silverton, in the U.S. state of Colorado. The railway is a federally designated National Historic Landmark and is also designated by the American Society of Civil Engineers as a Historic Civil Engineering Landmark.

“The route was originally opened in 1882 by the Denver & Rio Grande Railway (D&RG) to transport silver and gold ore mined from the San Juan Mountains. The line was an extension of the D&RG 3 foot (914 mm) narrow-gauge line from Antonito, Colorado, to Durango. The last train to operate into Durango from the east was on December 6, 1968. The states of New Mexico and Colorado purchased 64 miles between Antonito and Chama, New Mexico, in 1970 and operates today as the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad. Trackage between Chama and Durango was removed by 1971.

“The line from Durango to Silverton has run continuously since 1881, although it is now a tourist and heritage line hauling passengers, and is one of the few places in the U.S. which has seen continuous use of steam locomotives. In March 1981, the Denver & Rio Grande Western sold the line and the D&SNG was formed.

“Some rolling stock dates back to the 1880s. Trains operate from Durango to the Cascade Wye in the winter months and Durango-Silverton during the summer months. Durango depot was built in January 1882 and has been preserved in original form.”

While going from Durango to Silverton, the locomotive, #473, put on quite the show as she endured a steady climb in elevation. 

Diesel locomotives of today just can’t be compared to the sights and sounds that a steam locomotive makes. Standing next to it at the train stations and feeling the heat and steam coming out of the beast is very surreal. And you have a few ways to ride the train. Either in propane heated coaches:

Out in the elements in an open seat gondola to see, hear and smell the experience:

Or in full comfort in a glass enclosed coach recently built back in 2012. 

For me, I was lucky to upgrade to the glass coach called Knight Sky. When you arrive in Silverton, it is a very colorful town. Many places to eat and lots of gift shops. A tip of the hat to Natalia’s 1912 Restaurant for a delicious BTL sandwich and fries lunch with a scrumptious peach cobbler for dessert.

To really appreciate this piece of history, check out the picture blog and go to Wikipedia.Org for a detailed history of the D&SRR.

Wednesday was a long travel day. Almost 400 miles in 9 hours. But worth it. First stop was the Four Corners Monument. Again from our friends at Wikipedia.org:

“The Four Corners Monument marks the quadri-point in the Southwestern United States where the states of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah meet. It is the only point in the United States shared by four states, leading to the area being named the Four Corners region. The monument also marks the boundary between two semi-autonomous Native American governments, the Navajo Nation, which maintains the monument as a tourist attraction, and the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe Reservation.

“The monument where "visitors can simultaneously straddle the territory of four states" is maintained as a tourist attraction by the Navajo Nation Parks and Recreation Department. Unlike many other attractions based on what are primarily political boundaries, such as the Berlin Wall, Four Corners Monument is an example of a political boundary that is a tourist destination in its own right. The monument consists of a granite disk embedded with a smaller bronze disk around the point, surrounded by smaller, appropriately located state seals and flags representing both the states and tribal nations of the area. Circling the point, starting from north, the disk reads with two words in each state "Here meet in freedom under God four states". Around the monument, local Navajo and Ute artisans sell souvenirs and food. An admission fee is required to view and photograph the monument. The monument is a popular tourist attraction despite its remote and isolated location. As early as 1908, people traveled long distances to take pictures of family and friends at the monument in Twister-like poses, sitting on the disk, in a circle of friends or family around the disk, or for couples to kiss directly over the disk.”

At the end of each state name, you find the Navajo Indians selling their trades. A great place to visit.

Oh, and the individuals laying on the monument? There was a group of German tourists from near Hamberg enjoying their stay in the U.S.

After FCM, it was up into Utah, the third new state for me besides New Mexico and Arizona. Words here cannot describe the immense beauty I have seen today. Pictures hopefully will do justice.

After leaving Utah and entering back into Colorado, I saw what friends of mine out here tell me of the incredible way parts of Interstate 70 were built. From Palisade, east of Grand Junction, to De Beque about 20 miles east, the highway is built thru some very talk mountains and valleys. And some of those curves will force you to keep your speed in check. So gorgeous!!

I arrive in Glenwood Springs, Colorado at about 4:15pm MDT. And an added bonus: the Colorado River runs right by outside my hotel room and up on the embankment is a single track mainline of the Union Pacific. Saw a couple of coal trains and a Maintenance-of-Way train. Good deal.

Thursday we head east via I-70 thru Denver, I-25 north up to Cheyenne and then east on I-80 and US 30 to our next stop in Sidney, Nebraska. This has been one great trip. More to come.

I am Philip J Zocco. On The Road. In Glenwood Springs, Colorado. 

Part Seventeen

Say Amen. Say CQ.

My third Sunday begins at Light of the World Catholic Church in Littleton, Colorado. I don't like to call them mega churches. It looks like a small cathedral inside. I'd like to say it is a "congregation in the round", kinda like a big semi-circle of pews surrounding the altar and sacristy where the Mass is celebrated. 

Capacity looked to be about 2000. And it was a special day at this 1030am Mass. Seems the Archbishop of Denver, the Most Reverend Samuel J. Aquila, was here to install a new pastor for the church, Father Matthew Book. 

I met his Holiness and Father Matthew. The service was great with the archbishop celebrating the Mass, the congregation in strong voice, and you follow the hymns of the Mass via PowerPoint projections on 2 big screens. Say Alleluia. Say Amen.

After church, I was on my way to Elizabeth, Colorado to visit my ham radio friend and private pilot Nate, WY0X, his wife Jean, KC0KTI, and their dogs, Dino and Rona. The pups were glad to see me and kept me company. A steak barbeque was for dinner and we got caught up on our lives. Nate, in particular, has been studying and is now a certified private pilot instructor. I learned a lot about flying from Nate and flying parlance. And there is one thing happening that reminds me of my hometown airport Bradley International. DIA, Denver International Airport, has departures going south over Nate’s house. A touch of home, how lovely.

Monday we head to Durango, Colorado to ride the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad. Yup, we are stoked!!

I'm Philip J Zocco. On TehRoad. In Elizabeth, Colorado.

Part Sixteen

“Busy, busy, busy”

So between shitty Wi-Fi and all of the miles done so far as of Wednesday.....HI, how are you? Sorry to be so behind. If I was working for a newspaper or magazine and being this late, I think the next line from me would be, “Do you want fries with that?” A couple of things got in the way for getting Saturday’s post to run on Sunday. Add to that taking a day off to visit a ham radio buddy of mine on Sunday and extremely shitty Wi-Fi in Durango which stopped everything. Anyway, we are back. So, here is Saturday’s part of the journey.

It began with a little uncertainty. As I made a turn out of my hotel’s parking lot, the dashboard tells me that I am low on coolant and should stop safely. No sooner the car straightened out, the warning went out. Made another turn and the light comes back on again.  So I go south on I-25 and make a stop in Carr, Colorado to refuel and make a call to Enterprise. Spoke to Kiki about my problems and she had me stop in the city of Fort Collins, a half hour’s drive away. I find their office and am told to go to Grease Monkey Car Services, about 2 miles away. They get the car, go thru all of the fluids and we are back in business. Due to all of the car troubles, I had to forgo my trip to find the eastern portal of Moffat Tunnel in Rollinsville, Colorado. Better luck next time out..

Next is a stop at the Colorado Model Railroad Museum in Greeley, Colorado. This is a one of a kind layout in a very simple steel building.

It took 5 and a half years for this layout to be built. It is a mountain style layout based on the railroads of the Rocky Mountains. 

And it is run on DCC. What this means is that the tracks are fed a constant supply of DC voltage. Inside each locomotive is a digital receiver which picks commands from a small transmitter that each engineer has in his hands. The commands cause the locomotives to move, turn on the headlights, sound the horn and you can hear the locomotives throttle up and down just like the real thing.
Plus, the engineers use small walkie-talkies to talk to a dispatcher who sets the signals and switches around the layout:

All in all, it is a beautiful layout to see if you are in the Denver area, an hour’s drive north. 

Oh, and I got some ideas for that railroad themed ham radio shack, ready for Halloween:

Check out the photos blog to really appreciate this museum.

I head to Denver and the western suburb of Lakewood, Colorado. Seems a model railroading store that I use to go to in downtown Denver has moved, sort of. What was known a Caboose Hobbies is now just simply known as CABOOSE. Seems the hobbies store went out of business and someone bought the entire inventory and set up a new store.  For any railroad modeler from Z to LGB scale, you will find just about anything you might need. Go to http://www.caboose.com for more information. 

The last part of my day was spent with an old family friend Cheryl Ierna who grew up in Wethersfield, Connecticut; lived in Boston for quite a while and moved out to Littleton, Colorado about 15 years ago. Her husband is Michael and they have an adapted daughter named Nadia whom Cheryl went to Russia to adopt when Nadia was 2 months now and she is now a young teenager and an excellent equestrian. A baked chicken dinner and homemade banana nut bread was on the menu. We called it a night at 930pm and it was time for a good night's sleep

Sunday we go and Praise the Lord and then visit an old ham radio friend and see how the Denver Broncos do. Time is flying by.

I am Philip J Zocco. On The Road. In Littleton, Colorado.