If you've never taken a passenger train on the former Rio Grande, this is why you should if you get the chance! Whether it is the Rocky Mountaineer, such as here, or the California Zephyr, the scenery is breathtaking. The Mountaineer is crossing the Colorado River in Red Canyon under partly cloudy skies on a fantastic October afternoon.
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Just east of Range, the Rocky Mountaineer is crossing the Colorado River amidst some great fall colors as it continues westbound.
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Here at the west end of the Dotsero Cutoff, the cutoff joins the west end of Tennessee Pass. It is also here that the Eagle River joins with the Colorado River. The Rocky Mountaineer is technically still on the Dotsero Cutoff as it crosses over the Eagle River, and you can see it converging with the Colorado River.
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The Rocky Mountaineer has left the Dotsero Cutoff behind as it is now on the main at the east end of the siding of Dotsero. In the distance, you can see the line that heads to Tennessee Pass. Roughly six miles of the west end of Tennessee Pass is still in service, with a local coming out of Grand Junction once or twice per week to service industries at Gypsum.
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At the east end of Minturn, we look through the hole of a dwarf signal that no longer contains a lamp on railbanked Tennessee Pass.
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Over ten years ago, near the east end of Minturn on Tennessee Pass, two huge rocks ("Lions Head") came loose from the mountain side ahead and landed right in the middle of the right-of-way. Someone (presumably Union Pacific) has since shoved the rocks off to the side of the right-of-way, but the main and siding remain smashed and destroyed.
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A look toward the east end of Minturn on Tennessee Pass shows the damage done by a huge rock that landed here on the rails over a decade ago. Of course, there is no reason for Union Pacific to repair the rails here as the line hasn't seen a train now in a little over 28 years.
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Three decades ago, these tracks in the yard at Minturn would have been filled with power waiting to cut in to an eastbound coal load and help the train up the 3% grade of Tennessee Pass. The rails have now been silent for 28 years as new homes continue to be built in the area.
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The old engine shop as Minturn Yard looks like it might be used for something else these days. Not sure if Union Pacific sold it or if they are simply leasing it out to someone else. But fencing has been built across a few of the yard tracks in the long-defunct yard at Minturn.
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Not unique to the yard at Minturn, but actually becoming somewhat common all over Tennessee Pass, trees have grown up right in the middle of tracks. This small bunch of trees are indeed in the middle of the yard. Of course, it is of little difference to Union Pacific!
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We look east in the yard at Minturn, noting a few rocks that have fallen and landed on or near the tracks. You can also see the crossovers that were once used to bring helpers out of the yard and cut them in as mid-train swing helpers on eastbound trains looking to tackle the 3% grade between Minturn and the top of Tennessee Pass.
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I sure wish I had had the opportunity to get shots here at Minturn Yard before Tennessee Pass was railbanked by Union Pacific. That railbanking occurred just over 28 years ago, and these rails have been silent ever since. In all likelihood, they will never see another train run on them again.
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