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DRGW 3105 SAVED AND OTHER BITS
Posted Tuesday, February 27 2001 at 2304 h MST
First, the bad news: DRGW 5353 is pretty much considered dead. It's in the deadline at Burnham has shown no sign of moving back in to be repaired. DRGW 3105, however, which suffered significant problems in the last few weeks, has been saved by the dedicated Burnham Shops employees (okay, while UP doesn't call it Burnham anymore, I can't remember what its new name is). It's now repaired and headed for Pueblo tonight. From all of us who still think fondly of the Rio Grande, we can't thank you enough for your efforts. DRGW 5377 and 5389 are still running the Denver-Pueblo manifests, 3100/3118/3128 are on the Denver locals, and 3129 was on the Alamosa run today. Also, 5356 and 5390 are on their way back to Denver, due to arrive in a few hours (in the very early morning on Wednesday, 2/28). - NDHolmes
DRGW 5356/5390 HEADING FOR DENVER
Posted Tuesday, February 27 2001 at 0738 h MST
It looks like DRGW5356/5390 will be heading east to Denver today, and should cover some pretty good ground in the daylight. Both units traced at Thompson, UT, around 7:30am this morning, and are expected in North Yard around 1am tomorrow. In other news, according to a Trainorders post, DRGW 5326 (quite possibly the last surviving SD45 in Grande paint, though I'm not sure) has been moved from the deadline at Indio, CA, to the West Colton roundhouse. According to the trace, the apparently happened early this month. No idea why yet... - NDHolmes
TRIP REPORT FOR YESTERDAY POSTED
Posted Monday, February 26 2001 at 2257 h MST
Finally, after many hours of work (mainly due to not being able to think coherently tonight), I've gotten the trip report for this weekend posted. Saturday was just random wanderings through the area of Colorado between Denver and Ft. Collins. Sunday, obviously, includes the more relevent and interesting pursuit of DRGW 5389 on the southbound MDVPU-25. Look in the trip reports section below for the link. - NDHolmes
DRGW TIDBITS FOR THE DAY
Posted Monday, February 26 2001 at 0655 h MST
Okay, here's the basic movement news for Monday: DRGW 3129 is on the Alamosa run, passing Walsenburg around 0220h. DRGW 5371/5372 are headed west on a DVGJ train, and DRGW 5502 is heading into Roper from Wyoming. Helper is now down to five T-2s. DRGW 5507 and 5515 were on the head end of a BNSF train (along with BNSF 1030) that derailed about 30 miles east of Belen, NM - never fear, the power was not involved, just 13 cars came off. Also, I caught up with 5389 leaving North Yard yesterday, and will be posting photos sometime this evening. - NDHolmes
T-MOTOR ON THE JOINT LINE AND GATS
Posted Sunday, February 25 2001 at 1143 h MST
DRGW 5389 is scheduled to go south to Pueblo on tonight's MDVPU. It's supposed to depart Denver around 1700h tonight (2/25), but it seems it's always been running late lately. 5377 is already in Pueblo, and my guess is that it will return to Denver early tomorrow on MPUDV. In worse news, it looks like DRGW 5353 may be retired - the trace shows the ominous "Unit Released" several days ago, and Paul Z. reports it in the dead line. Should also mention that the Great American Train Show is in Denver this weekend, it runs through 5pm today. Check out gats.com for all the info. That's where I'm headed, need to get out of the house. - NDHolmes
GRANDE SD45s TO ANDESITE ROCK - COMMERCE CITY, CO
Posted Friday, February 23 2001 at 1014 h MST
DAIR 2701 and 2801, which I believe to be formerly DRGW 5339 and DRGW 5331 respectively, have been sold/leased/something to Andesite Rock of Commerce City, CO. Yes, these are the same people with the two D&RGW-painted SD39s from some movie. Thanks to the Colorado Zephyr and SP9794 for posting this tidbit to Trainorders.com. Oh yes, and for those of you who follow the Trough Train through Colorado, I spotted it leaving Denver southbound last night around 2330h, right after I'd made a brief visit to North Yard to check on DRGW 5356 and 5390. - NDHolmes
BRIEF SERVICE INTERRUPTION
Posted Friday, February 23 2001 at 0938 h MST
My wonderful ISP has decided they want to change their backbone infrastructure, and thus need to change my IP block. Arg, not my idea of a fun way to start a weekend. Well, I don't really have a choice, so sometime in the next 48 hours we'll have about an hour of downtime while they change their routers, we change our router and a bunch of configuration files, and hopefully everything (including DNS) comes back up correctly. I'm also going to use the downtime to install a few upgrades to the main server, so please be patient. Update (2/23 - 1539h): I think everything's done, except for a quick server reboot sometime in the next three days. If you notice any problems after tonight, let me know. - NDHolmes
THURSDAY'S MOVEMENTS
Posted Wednesday, February 21 2001 at 2242 h MST
DRGW 5356 / 5390 will be coming into Denver tomorrow morning, probably well after daybreak, so for anyone on the Front Range in Denver it could be a fun morning. Also, 3060 is on Alamosa duty again tomorrow, and on the other side of the system, DRGW 5502 is expected into Roper from California. DRGW 5377 continues to make semi-regular runs up and down the Joint Line on MDVPU/MPUDV trains. With the two arriving from SLC, there should be 18 Rio Grande units in Denver tomorrow afternoon. Have fun! - NDHolmes
DRGW3060 ON THE ALAMOSA RUN
Posted Wednesday, February 21 2001 at 1032 h MST
It appears that one of the few surviving D&RGW GPs with small lettering, DRGW 3060, has been put on the Alamosa local today. It's shown as arriving in Alamosa around 0830h this morning. No idea whether this will be a regular event for the next few weeks, but it's encouraging to see Grande power in the San Luis Valley again. - NDHolmes
THREE MORE GRANDES (PROBABLY) GONE
Posted Tuesday, February 20 2001 at 0900 h MST
DRGW 3149/3088/3072 were on yesterday's UP MLINL (Livonia, LA, to North Little Rock, AR), dead in tow. All of these had been sitting dead for some time previous, and all are billed to Paducah, KY, presumably for either rebuilding or scrapping. That leaves us with (if I can count) 75 remaining units that are active, total. - NDHolmes
GREAT PHOTOS OF T-2s IN UTAH
Posted Tuesday, February 20 2001 at 0853 h MST
Nelson Lunt has posted more photos on his site - this time of D&RGW T-2s moving in and around Helper-Soldier Summit, UT. They're excellent, and I strongly urge everyone to go have a look here. - NDHolmes
AOE ON THE JOINT LINE
Posted Monday, February 19 2001 at 2319 h MST
The American Orient Express is expected to make its way south on BNSF via the Joint Line tomorrow sometime, deadheading back to LA for the 2001 season. I've been told that the lead locomotive will be AMTK 817, but have no expected departure time from Denver Union Terminal. Thanks to Mike Doty for this bit - I hadn't even noticed it. Sorry for the news being slow and late, it's been a really, really bad day. Update (2/19 - 2328h): Scratch that, looks like it's scheduled to leave at approximately 0100h - technically tomorrow, but I doubt any of us will be awake to see it. - NDHolmes
NEW D&RGW PAPER POSTED
Posted Sunday, February 18 2001 at 1736 h MST
Instead of actually chasing trains today, I've spent some time doing administrative and content changes on DRGW.NET. The most exciting things are four new ETTs (Joint Line 1977/1980/1983 and System 1986) posted in the Employee Timetable section. Secondly, I've added several more "Past Photo of the Day" pages so you can check out any Photos of the Day you might have missed. Finally, while I normally reserve the News section for D&RGW news only, this time I'm making an exception. I've posted an open letter, of sorts, concerning railfan- and railroad-related sites and copyright issues over on Trainorders in response to a copyright permission thread. I think it's one of the most important problems we as web developers face, and would encourage anyone interested to read it and the rest of the thread. I'll tune this over the next couple days and post a final version here. - NDHolmes
FOUR T-2s INTO DENVER TOMORROW MORNING
Posted Saturday, February 17 2001 at 2323 h MST
DRGW 5356 will (probably) be arriving first. The trace currently has it estimated in around 0843h tomorrow morning (2/17). Following it are three more tunnel motors - DRGW 5371/5389/5390 - coming in on a Roper-Denver train. These are currently predicted in 0930h, but I have a feeling they'll be late, based on their current rate of progress. - NDHolmes
NEW TRACK CHARTS, COURTESY SCOTT MEIER
Posted Thursday, February 15 2001 at 2336 h MST
In an effort to get the most complete library of track charts without having a perpetual bidding war, Scott Meier (with the original D&RGW track chart site) and I decided to do a bit of working cooperatively. The first fruit of this arrangement is a set of SP track charts from 1992. Currently, I've scanned and posted the Denver-Dotsero section of the line in the Route Maps & Charts section. Update (2/17 - 2238h): The entire line from Denver to Salt Lake from the 1992 SP track charts is now online. Also, I've posted a 1952 Passenger Tariff table for your viewing, and I've also added several more pages of past Photos of the Day, for those of you requesting this because you possibly missed some. - NDHolmes
TWO GRANDE AND ONE EX-GRANDE SD50 TOGETHER
Posted Thursday, February 15 2001 at 1513 h MST
DRGW5503, DRGW5506, and SP5511 are travelling together from Pocatello, ID, to Council Bluffs, IA. While this isn't D&RGW country they're passing through, three of them together is odd enough I thought everyone might be interested. Hopefully someone can catch them as they pass across the midwest. - NDHolmes
NEW KIND OF TRIP REPORT
Posted Tuesday, February 13 2001 at 2344 h MST
Over the past six months, I've had these little "mini-trips" building up that had a few interesting photos, but never enough to justify a whole trip report to themselves. I've now put up a new kind of trip report - a "Triplet" - three mini-trips, all rolled into one report. The first one covers wreck remnants on the Monarch Branch, a quick trip to Glenwood Springs, and my trip back to Iowa over the holidays. - NDHolmes
DRGW POWER AROUND COLORADO
Posted Tuesday, February 13 2001 at 1859 h MST
For tonight (2/13), DRGW 5347 will be on MDVPU, departing south along the Joint Line around 1800h. DRGW 5507 is also billed to Pueblo, but from Nampa, ID, and not expected until 2/15 or 2/16. This may change, but right now it's an exciting prospect. Paul in Arvada also mentioned that 5377 was leading a westbound MDVPU that passed Plainview at 1715h tonight (2/13). It should cross Utah and maybe extreme western Colorado in daylight tomorrow. Also of note are three GP40s coming from California to Ogden, UT. They are DRGW 3127/3130/3142. - NDHolmes
DRGW 3105 NOT THE COLO SPRGS SWITCHER
Posted Monday, February 12 2001 at 1524 h MST
Contrary to my previous post, it looks like 3105 will not be taking over Colorado Springs switching duties. It's now moved on to Pueblo, and SP 7110 is still hanging around the yard here. I guess this is what I get for posting based on trace information rather than actual sightings. In other news, I'm back in CS now, hopefully for a couple weeks. - NDHolmes
T-2s MOVING ACROSS COLORADO
Posted Wednesday, February 7 2001 at 0959 h MST
DRGW 5371/5389/5390 are moving west across Colorado today in daylight. Paul Birkholz has just notified the list that these three are on a wesetbound MDVRO today, and passed Dotsero at approximately 0930h MST. Good luck! Update (2/7- 1000h): I should really learn to read. The train in question is ZDVRO-07, not MDVRO-07. Translation: Fast moving. Now I really mean the good luck thing above, because you all are going to need it. - NDHolmes
DRGW 3105 - COLO SPRGS SWITCHER
Posted Tuesday, February 6 2001 at 2248 h MST
Looks like 3105 is now the new Colorado Springs switcher. The other day I noticed it trace to Roswell (which I believe is a location in CS), and today I noticed that it's officially listed at Colspring, CO. This means the SP 7110 is finally gone and black and orange has returned at last! Hopefully it will stick around for a few months. - NDHolmes
COLORADO SPRINGS DERAILMENT PHOTO
Posted Tuesday, February 6 2001 at 1725 h MST
Altamont Press' Railroad News Network has an blurb and a photo concerning the Colorado Springs derailment. Looks like a fairly large mess - the train involved was BNSF's Black Thunder Mine (WY) to Southwestern Public Service, Harrington Plant (Amarillo, TX), according to the Colorado Zephyr as posted on Altamont. I'm still in Memphis, can't take photos from here, but will be home this weekend. - NDHolmes
COLORADO SPRINGS DERAILMENT
Posted Sunday, February 4 2001 at 2243 h MST
Yet another Joint Line derailment has occurred - this one practically in my back yard - Colorado Springs, specifically Kelker. For those who don't know, Kelker is on the south side of CS, around where Colorado 29 goes over the Joint Line. From the D&RGW list, it sounds like 9-12 cars of a southbound/loaded BNSF coal train came off - cleanup is expected to start midmorning tomorrow. In other news, I'll be gone all week on business, so news may get a little slow. Also, it's doubtful I'll get photos of this one, as I have to be on the plane in the morning by 8. Anyone else care to contribute some? - NDHolmes
TRIP REPORT POSTED - YESTERDAY'S MRODV-02
Posted Sunday, February 4 2001 at 1421 h MST
Faster than my usual self, I actually have the trip report for yesterday's chase of MRODV-02 online. For those of you who don't know about this particular train, it had four Grande T-2s and one ex-Grande T-2 painted in SP colors on the front. Not only that, but it got delayed enough that it worked across the eastern part of the Moffat in the daylight! See the Trip Reports section below for the link. - NDHolmes
NOW FIVE T-2s RETURNING FROM ROPER
Posted Friday, February 2 2001 at 1154 h MST
DRGW 5353/5371/5389/5390 will be returning to Denver today, in what appears to be beautiful railfanning weather. Based on their timing so far, the train is running a bit later than normal, and the trace indicates that they're expected in Denver around 1100h tomorrow. I'll probably be up on the Front Range watching for them tomorrow, pending they're actually going to show up during the day. Update 2/1-1400h: I errored - Paul from Arvada pointed out that there are indeed five T-2s headed for Denver - one is hiding in SP paint, but the number indicates its D&RGW origins - 5412 - NDHolmes
CONTENT! REAL CONTENT!
Posted Thursday, February 1 2001 at 2305 h MST
For years, you've heard it might happen - DRGW.NET develops content. However, I don't blame any of you who have given up on me actually getting it done. It's finally happened, though! I've finally gotten the Historical Paper section to a state where I'm comfortable exposing it to the world. Check out the link in DRGW Info below, or right here. - NDHolmes
SHAMELESS COMMERCE PLUG
Posted Thursday, February 1 2001 at 1149 h MST
Since we can't all have every piece of D&RGW paper ever printed (and most of us don't have the space or the cash to anyway), but most of us would like to have access to the information, Keith Williams of DRGW.ORG fame has started offering documents he's scanned on CDR. It's available for a nominal fee of $15 to cover his time, efforts, materials, and shipping. If you're interested, this page lists all the materials on the first CD and also has a link to the ordering page. I strongly encourage you to order one - help support Keith's great efforts. I'm also working on a very similar project with materials I have, and hope to have a similar offer within a week or so. (Seriously, I've been working on this for some time, it's not just keeping up with the Jones, or in this case the Williams - all the materials will also be available in lesser quality right here on the website). - NDHolmes
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