Passenger Trains
This is a partial list of D&RGW passenger trains. Westbound trains had odd numbers, while eastbound trains had even numbers. Many of the trains were named and renamed as well as being re-numbered. There are over 180 names on a complete list of all the railroad's named trains.
| Train numbers | Train name | Endpoints | Years of operation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1/2 | Scenic Limited | Denver-Salt Lake City (via Royal Gorge) | 1906-1946 |
| 1/2 | Royal Gorge | Denver-Grand Junction (via Royal Gorge) | 1946-1967 |
| 5/6 | The Exposition Flyer | Chicago-Oakland | 1939–1949 |
| 5/6 | California Zephyr | Chicago-Oakland | 1949-1970 1983– |
| 7/8 | Prospector | Denver-Salt Lake City/Ogden | 1941–1942; 1945–1967 |
| 9/10 | Yampa Valley Mail | Denver-Craig | 1949-1963 |
| 9/10 | Yampa Valley | Denver-Craig | 1963-1968 |
| 17/18 | California Zephyr | Chicago-Oakland | 1949–1970 |
| 17/18 | Rio Grande Zephyr | Denver-Salt Lake City | 1970–1983 |
| 19/20 | Mountaineer | Denver-Grand Junction-Montrose | 1936–1959 |
| 115/116 | San Juan Express | Alamosa-Durango | 1881–1951 |
| 315/316 | Shavano | Salida-Gunnison | 1937–1940 |
| 461/462 | Silverton | Durango-Silverton | 1882–1981 |
| Special | Ski Train | Denver-Winter Park | 1940–2009 |
Other named passenger trains operated by the Rio Grande included the Colorado Eagle (operated in conjunction with the Missouri Pacific Railroad between St. Louis and Denver), Panoramic (between Ogden and Denver), Royal Gorge (between Denver, Pueblo, and Ogden), and the Yampa Valley (between Denver and Craig, Colorado). From 1940 to 2009 the Ski Train connected Denver with Winter Park, Colorado. This started as a D&RGW train but was bought by the Ansco Investment Company in 1988, then re-sold to Canada in 2009.
Note that the San Juan Express earlier was called the Colorado and New Mexico Express, and express passenger service had been offered between Alamosa and Durango since shortly after the line was completed in 1881. The Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad now operates scenic trips over this route between Antonito, Colorado and Chama, New Mexico.
The Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, which has been operating since 1881, provides scenic day trips from Durango to Silverton.
The largest collection of surviving California Zephyr equipment can be found at the Western Pacific Railroad Museum at Portola, California, although this museum focuses on the Western Pacific Railroad, rather than the Rio Grande. Several items of DRGW owned Zephyr rolling stock still survive in private hands.
Read more about this topic: Denver And Rio Grande Western Railroad
Famous quotes containing the words passenger and/or trains:
“Every American travelling in England gets his own individual sport out of the toy passenger and freight trains and the tiny locomotives, with their faint, indignant, tiny whistle. Especially in western England one wonders how the business of a nation can possibly be carried on by means so insufficient.”
—Willa Cather (1876–1947)
“Ever notice how these European trains always smell of eau de cologne and hard boiled eggs?”
—Billy Wilder (b. 1906)