The ‘Royal Gorge Route’ train carries tourists through one of Colorado’s most amazing natural features, the Grand Canyon of the Arkansas River, known as the ‘Royal Gorge’. In places the canyon is only thirty feet wide, requiring the railway to be suspended above the river on an engineering masterpiece known as the ‘hanging bridge’. For decades passenger trains stopped on the bridge to allow passengers time to alight and wonder at the raging river below and the canyon walls rising 2600 feet above. During the heyday of the line in the 1890’s, four transcontinental passenger trains a day passed through the Royal Gorge. Competition from air and coach transport eventually reduced the service to one train daily between Denver and Salida, even this train was discontinued in 1967. The Rio Grande continued freight services through the gorge until 1989, after which various mergers and acquisitions led to closure of the Tennessee Pass line, including the gorge segment in 1997. Today’s ‘Royal Gorge Route Railroad’ began running trains over a 12 miles (19 km) section in 1998 going on to become a major tourist destination attracting over 100 000 visitors a year. The railway offers a variety of packages from a simple train ride to a delicious full dining option and for something really special it is possible to book a ride in the locomotive alongside the engineer. For further information about the history of this line please click on either of these links - https://royalgorgeroute.com/about-us/history/ - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Gorge_Route_Railroad To book a trip or cab ride please click on this link - https://royalgorgeroute.com/
I would like to thank the friendly staff for making my visit a real pleasure and a special thank you to the locomotive crew for mounting my camera on the locomotive to make this video possible.
Several people asked if the Royal Gorge Railroad was still connected to the national network, so I Googled it and discovered this very interesting article, please click on the link to read it - https://issuu.com/coloradorailfan/docs/tpass_summer_2015/15
This video was filmed on 15th September 2017
At the request of some American viewers I should point out that 'Train Driver' is not the general term used to describe the person at the controls of the locomotive, whereas 'Engineer' is the accepted title in the USA, I sincerely hope my American viewers will forgive me for this oversight.
Interesting reading copied from comments made by Chris Ball -
The suspension bridge above is the famous Royal Gorge Bridge. It was built in the late 1920s at an estimated cost of $350,000. Most of its wooden planks burned in a large wildfire in 2013, but they've been replaced since. The smaller bridge you go over mid-trip is the lesser known Hanging Bridge. It was designed by C. Shallor Smith in the late 1870s, and cost approximately $11,870 to construct. It was originally 90% over water and 10% over land, but with modern day reinforcements to accommodate larger trains, the ratio is now about 50-50.
The wooden pipeline on the opposite side of the river was built using prison labour, it was constructed using California redwood, back in 1908, completed in 1910, it served as Cañon City's main source of water until 1973. The pipeline stretches for 8 miles, and you can still see sections of pipeline that remain intact, over 110 years later. It's rather amazing!
