Grand Tour of the Western States - Parks and Railroads

Day 1 – Saturday  – San Francisco

Various flight options from the UK with individual private taxi transfers from the airport to our hotel, the 5-star Kimpton Alton Hotel located at famous Fisherman’s Wharf on the scenic San Francisco Bay.  After check-in and unpacking we will take you on a wonderful tour of San Francisco at night by rail.  At 6:00pm we will meet in the hotel lobby for our night tour of the city by the bay.   Be sure and schedule your flight arrivals to give you plenty of time to transfer to our hotel, freshen up, unpack, get some dinner at the hotel restaurant and be ready to enjoy a night on the town riding the rails. You might want to consider arriving a day early.  We can arrange your extra lodging if you like.

We start our evening tour by boarding one of the famous Cable Cars.    The cable car station is just a short 1 block walk from our hotel. This ride will take us from Fisherman’s Wharf to Market & Powell Streets in the downtown area of the city. From here we transfer to a San Francisco Railway Muni Streetcar on Market Street and ride uptown to the end of the line at the famous Haight-Ashbury District. This area of the city is a thriving neighbourhood where cultures and eras meld together.  Made famous by the hippie movement of the 1960’s.  Haight-Ashbury was once home to the revolutionaries, famous singers including the Grateful Dead and Janis Joplin and of course cult leaders.  On the corner of Castro and Market Streets we go underground and catch one of the newer trams that will take us all the way to the foot of Market Street at the Ferry Building. From this point we go back up to street level and catch one of the classic muni street cars for the final journey back to Fisherman’s Wharf and our hotel.

Day 2 – Sunday (B, D) – Roaring Camp and Big Trees Railroad steam ride

After breakfast at the hotel restaurant, we again take a ride on one the famous San Francisco Cable Cars, this time on a different route than what we rode on last night. When our Cable Car passes the San Francisco Muni Railway Car Barn we will jump off and visit the very interesting Muni Cable Car Museum. Here at the historic Cable Car Barn & Powerhouse we can view the actual cable winding machinery from an elevated gallery, as well as the path of the cable entering the building and leaving underneath the street. On display are various mechanical devices, such as grips, track, trucks, cable, brake mechanisms and some of the first cable cars. After our museum visit we reboard another cable car and continue on to Market Street.  From here we board our highway transportation and travel south to the Santa Cruz Mountains and the small town of Felton.

At Felton we will be able to get some lunch before boarding the early afternoon Roaring Camp and Big Trees narrow gauge steam excursion that will take us deep into the massive Redwood trees. We will travel over trestles, through towering redwood groves and up a winding narrow-gauge grade to the summit of Bear Mountain and return. Upon arrival back in Roaring Camp we will board our highway transportation and travel to Mountain View where we will catch one of the new electric Cal Train northbound commuter trains for the 40-minute ride to the San Bruno station. Cal Train has just taken delivery of all new electric passenger equipment. Here we will transfer back to the highway and continue north crossing over the famous Golden Gate Bridge and into the Golden Gate National Recreation Area where we will have some great views of the famous Golden Gate Bridge, the San Francisco Bay and the San Francisco City skyline as darkness falls onto the Bay Area.  From the Golden Gate Bridge, we return to our hotel to freshen up before our “Welcome to San Francisco Dinner”.  This is a great time to get to know your fellow travellers.

Day 3 – Monday – Old Sacramento

Early hotel check-out after breakfast.  Right in front of our hotel we will board one of Muni’s historic street cars for the ride to Embarcadero at the foot of Market Street and next to the Ferry Building. Here we transfer underground and catch a ride on the fast BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) trains which runs under the San Francisco Bay to Oakland and on to Walnut Creek. From here it is a short transfer by road to the Walnut Creek Model Railroad Society’s huge HO scale model railroad. We have arranged a special operating session just for our group.  This is one of the largest model railroads in California.

After our model railroad visit we travel by highway to the Western Railway Museum which is located near Rio Vista.  This Museum preserves the heritage of the Northern California electric railroads.  Equipment is on display on 22 acres.  We have arranged to have our own private charter interurban that will take us down the old Sacramento Northern Railroad, an electric line that once ran between San Francisco, Sacramento & Chico. Our 11-mile round trip rolls through the Solano County countryside, with its pristine, unchanged farmland and its views of Mount Diablo and the surrounding Marshlands. During our rail journey we will serve you sandwiches for lunch.  Walking around the Museum, you will be able to see trains that once ran in San Francisco, Oakland, Sacramento, Napa, Petaluma, Santa Rosa, and many other places across the west, of which many are nearing 100 years old.

After our train ride and museum visit we travel to Sacramento and visit the famous California State Railroad Museum located next to historic Old Sacramento. You can enjoy this world class railroad museum at your own pace and afterwards take a stroll through Old Sacramento which has buildings dating back to 1849 before we get our rooms at the 3-star Holiday Inn Sacramento Downtown. Our hotel is walking distance from the restaurants in Old Sacramento.

Day 4 – Tuesday  – Nevada City and the California Zephyr

This morning after breakfast we board our highway transportation and travel eastbound up into the foothills of the High Sierra Mountains and into the famous 49er Gold Rush Country. Our first stop will be at historic Nevada City and a visit to the Nevada County Narrow Gauge Railroad Museum. We have arranged to take a ride of several miles on our charter narrow gauge railcar through the woods. After our ride we will have a guided tour through this museum and into their workshops where they have been rebuilding one of the steam locomotives.

Then departing Nevada City, we travel to nearby Colfax just in time to board Amtrak’s eastbound California Zephyr which departs at 12:21pm for a spectacular ride over the High Sierra Mountains and famous Donner Pass including the interesting snow sheds at Norden.  Finally dropping down the east slope of the mountains running through Truckee then following the Truckee River all the way to Reno, Nevada. You can enjoy lunch in the dining car if you like or go directly to the lounge car and enjoy the scenic ride. The train arrives in Reno at 3:56pm. Transfer to our hotel and check-in at the 4-star Circus Circus on the strip in downtown Reno.  The rest of the evening at your own leisure enjoying the many casinos or if you like, watch trains as the Union Pacific mainline is only two blocks away from the hotel.  You can unpack and relax as we will spend two nights here.

Day 5 – Wednesday (L)– Virginia and Lake Tahoe

After breakfast we travel into the famous Comstock Mining Country and visit the wonderful wild west and historic town of Virginia City. Upon arrival you will have some time to explore downtown Virginia City before we visit the Virginia & Truckee Railroad workshops where you can inspect and photograph their steam locomotives, diesels and other pieces of historic rolling stock.  Then we go to the train station and take a ride on this historic railroad which was organized on March 5, 1868 and is considered the “Queen of the Short Lines”. The train ride will take us from Virginia City to Gold Hill and return.

Departing Virginia City, we travel to Lake Tahoe which is a large freshwater lake nestled high in the Sierra Nevada mountains at 6,225 feet, straddling the border between California and Nevada.  It’s renowned for its stunning beauty, deep blue color, and clarity, with the ability to see 70 feet below the surface. It’s the largest alpine lake in North America and the second deepest in the United States.  This lake is 22 miles long and 12 miles wide, with 72 miles of shoreline. Its maximum depth is 1,645 feet.  We will drive along the eastern shore of the lake making several photo stops along the way.  Next, we travel to the Union Pacific summit of Donner Pass at Norden location of the famous snowsheds.  Norden is the summit of Donner Pass for the railroad and when Southern Pacific was in charge a small town was located within this snowshed.  We will have a picnic lunch next to the railroad and hope a train might come by. According to the Union Pacific Donner Pass averages 34 feet of snow each winter which makes this one of the snowiest places in the United States.

Departing Donner Pass we next go to the Feather River Canyon for a visit to the Western Pacific Railroad Museum which is on the mainline of the former Western Pacific, now Union Pacific Railroad.  This museum has 29 diesel engines 1 steam locomotive and one electric motor plus countless pieces of rolling stock from not only Western Pacific but several other western railroads.  Included in this collection is one of the UP 6900 class Centennial diesels which are the largest in the world plus F units that once pulled the original California Zephyr.  We have arranged to have a charter train around the museum grounds for our group.  After our museum visit we return to our hotel in Reno for a 2^nd nights lodging.        

Virginia and Truckee Railroad (Alamy Image)

Day 6 Thursday (L) – Nevada State Railroad and Lone Pine

After breakfast we check-out of our hotel in Reno and head south to Carson City where we will visit the Nevada State Railroad Museum.  This Museum is a cultural resource dedicated to Nevada railroad history. Included in the line-up of equipment are Virginia & Truckee Railroad steam locomotives and even a unique McKeen railcar.

After our museum visit we continue southbound into the Sierra Nevada Mountains to the old ghost town of Bodie.  We will have a picnic lunch here at the Bodie State Historic Park which is a genuine California gold-mining ghost town where you can walk down the deserted streets of this town that once had around 2,000 structures and a population of roughly 8,000 people. Gold mining began in the area in 1877, and people flocked to Bodie and transformed it from a town of a few dozen to a boomtown of over 8,000. In 1881, Bodie’s “bust” began and the town’s population declined drastically. The town’s population continuing to decline until only a few remained. Mining officially ceased in Bodie in 1942, the final nail in the coffin for Bodie’s township.  Two large fires in 1892 and 1932 reduced the town’s remaining structures down to less than 10% of the 2,000 structures that once stood. Only a small part of the town survives. Stores and businesses remain as they were left and stocked with goods and products. Designated as a National Historic Site and a State Historic Park in 1962, the remains of Bodie are preserved in a state of “arrested decay.” Today this once thriving mining camp is visited by tourists who continue to travel to Bodie from all over the world.   Just south of Bodie is Mono Lake and the Mono Lake Tufa State Natural Reserve. We will take a walk through the strange Tufa Towers of calcium carbonate which are 13,000 years old. You will feel like you are exploring a strange new planet.

Our last event of the day is a visit to the Laws Railroad Museum and Historical Site a few miles from Bishop, California.  Here a village sprang up surrounding the depot during the late 1880’s and the little community was then referred to simply as “Station”. This village was on the narrow-gauge Carson and Colorado Railroad which connected with the Virginia & Truckee just east of Carson City at Mound House, Nevada and extended south to Keeler, California.   In 1905 the Carson and Colorado railroad was absorbed into the Southern Pacific Railroad.  This small settlement was then changed from Station to Laws.  The narrow-gauge section of railway running through Laws operated with steam powered locomotives for eighty years, until 1960. Because of the narrow rail width, a type of engine which powered this railroad was affectionately dubbed “Slim Princess.”  Steam locomotive No. 9, a 4-6-0 built by Baldwin in 1909 is on display here.  During our visit we have arranged to charter their Doodlebug railcar built by Brill in 1927 and which once ran on the Death Valley Railroad.  Following our visit to this railroad museum we travel south to Lone Pine for lodging at the 3 star Best Western Frontier Motel.

Day 7 – Friday (B, L) – Death Valley National Park, Hoover Dam, The Racetrack

After breakfast we depart Lone Pine and continue our trek southeast towards the Mojave Desert and Death Valley National Park. Out of all of the national parks in the United States Death Valley holds the record of being the Hottest, Driest and Lowest national park in the country. This valley holds the record of the hottest place on earth at 134 F (57 C). Don’t worry, on our visit the average temperature in October is 82 F (28 C). Besides being the driest place it is the lowest at 282 feet below sea level. Also, on a clear day one can see the lowest point in the USA at Badwater Basin and the highest point in the lower 48 states which is Mt. Whitney at 14, 505 feet.

As we continue our journey we pass through Las Vegas, Nevada before entering the state of Arizona. Before leaving the state of Nevada we will make a stop to view Hoover Dam on the Colorado River. Half of this dam is in Nevada and half in Arizona.  This dam is 726.4 feet high (221.3 meters) and is the 2nd highest in the United States

After departing Hoover Dam our next city is Kingman, Arizona and it is here where we will travel on the famous Route 66 Highway eastbound towards the Grand Canyon following the very busy BNSF mainline. Route 66 was opened in 1926 connecting Chicago, Illinois and Santa Monica, California (Los Angeles area). As we make our way eastbound following the mainline of the BNSF which is called  “The Racetrack”.  Freight trains run at 70 mph and passenger trains at 90mph (145 kph).  On the racetrack there are up to 100 trains per day. As we make our way east across Arizona we will stop at a few select locations to photograph some of the BNSF trains. We will find a good scenic location along the railroad to have our picnic lunch. Upon arrival at Williams hotel check-in at the 3-star Quality Inn Grand Canyon.

Day 8 – Saturday (B,LL)  – Grand Canyon Railway, Sedona

After breakfast we board the Grand Canyon Railway’s passenger train which departs at 9:30 am and arrives at the south rim of the Grand Canyon at 11:45 am.  Our group is booked in Luxury Dome Car Class which is the best way to see the scenery.  Additionally, dome cars are not packed full of passengers so you will have more room to move around and enjoy the ride.   Also, this class of ticket serves you drinks and snacks as part of the fare.  These snacks make for a nice lite lunch so when you arrive you can start sightseeing and not worry about getting lunch.  Once at the Grand Canyon you will have about 4 hours to explore the trails that run along the south rim of this spectacular national park. For most folks this is plenty of time.  The train departs the south rim at 3:30 pm arriving back in Williams at 5:45pm. Once off of the train we will take you downtown so that you can get some dinner.  There are many restaurants all within walking distance of the downtown area.  After dinner we then depart Williams by hiway for the one-hour drive to Sedona, Arizona. Sedona is famous worldwide for a place to come and relax and leave the everyday stress behind. People come to this area for spiritual and personal enrichment. From healing massage treatments, yoga, spas, salons and retreats, Sedona is said to have something to offer everyone. This area is considered to be a haven for spiritual wellness, due to the numerous energy vortexes that encompass the region. It is said that the massive red rock formations around Sedona give off a special energy that heals body and soul. You can unpack and relax as we will spend two nights at the 3-star Greentree Inn Sedona-Oak Creek

Day 9 – Sunday (B) – Sedona, Verde Canyon Railroad

Today you can relax and enjoy some individual activities if you prefer.  There is a long list of things to do in the Sedona area.  Sedona is recognized as being one of the best small cities in the country for the arts and many of the galleries and shops are within walking distance of one another.

We do have reservations for a spectacular train ride on the Verde Canyon Railroad.   For those tour members interested in taking this train ride we will need to know what you would like to do prior to the start of our tour on October 6.  This is a four-hour train ride from Clarkdale to Perkinsville and back  into Arizona’s other “Grand Canyon”. Captivating panoramic views are revealed in every direction, exclusively from the relaxed atmosphere of the train. This historic rail route runs through a protected corridor at the river’s edge, lined with towering red rock pinnacles, near ancient Indian ruins, over fortified bridges and into a tunnel carved through solid rock over a century ago. As far as the eye can see, wildlife, high-desert foliage and rugged terrain are visible from the train. This train departs Clarkdale at 10:30am returning at 2:30pm. On our way back to our hotel we will make a stop to explore the mining ghost town of Jerome and Jerome State Historic Park. We plan to be back at our hotel at around 6:00pm. There is no additional cost for the train ride as it is included in your tour.

Day 10 – Monday (B,L) – Oak Creek Canyon, Vermillion Cliffs National Monument and Kanab

We have an early departure from Sedona today right after breakfast. We first travel north through Oak Creek Canyon and Flagstaff finally crossing over the Colorado River at Marble Canyon which is 50 miles upriver from the Grand Canyon.

We then enter Vermillion Cliffs National Monument and follow the base of these very colourful mountains until we enter Utah. This remote and unspoiled 280,000-acre monument is a geologic treasure with many diverse landscapes.

Soon we arrive in the town of Kanab. This small town in Utah is known as The Little Hollywood. Hollywood has come to Kanab to make 120 movies and TV shows over the past 50 years. Some of the more famous movies and TV shows made in this area include How the West Was Won, The Lone Ranger, The Flintstones, Planet of the Apes, Gunsmoke and Six Million Dollar Man.

Day 11 – Tuesday (B, L) – Bryce Canyon National Park, Grand Staircase-Escalante

After an early breakfast we enter Bryce Canyon National Park in time to enjoy the morning sun light shining on the many Hoodoos (odd shaped pillars of rock left standing from the forces of erosion). Bryce in Southwestern Utah is famous for the largest collection of rock hoodoos in the world

Erosion has shaped colourful Claron limestones, sandstones, and mudstones into thousands of spires, fins, pinnacles, and mazes. Collectively called “hoodoos,” these colourful and whimsical formations stand in horseshoe-shaped amphitheaters along the eastern edge of the Paunsaugunt Plateau. Hoodoos formed over thousands of years by water, ice and gravity.

Midday we depart Bryce and continue eastward across Utah. We will make a stop to have our picnic lunch before entering the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. This is a vast area located in southern Utah, covering nearly 1.9 million acres of diverse landscapes, including cliffs, canyons, plateaus, and badlands. Established in 1996, it offers numerous outdoor activities such as hiking, camping, off-roading, and exploring. This area is known for its colourful rock formations that tell a story spanning millions of years. Finally, we arrive in the small town of Torrey and hotel check-in at the 4-star Capitol Reef Resort.

Day 12 – Wednesday (L) – Capitol Reef, Canyonlands and Horse Point

After breakfast we visit Capitol Reef National Park located in south-central Utah in the heart of red rock country. Capitol Reef National Park is a hidden treasure filled with cliffs, canyons, domes and bridges in the Water pocket Fold, a geologic wrinkle on the earth extending almost 100 miles.

We then continue our trek eastbound making a stop at Goblin Valley State Park.  This state Park is unlike any other place in the world. It captures and bewilders the imagination, challenging you with its geologic whimsy. The landscape, covered with sandstone “goblins” and other fascinating formations, is often compared to Mars. Even Hollywood came to this park to make the science fiction movie called Galaxy Quest.  After our visit we head towards Canyonlands National Park first stopping for our picnic lunch before continuing.  First we will make a stop at Dead Horse Point State Park.

The views of the Colorado River some 2,000 feet below, from the overlook is spectacular.  Next we will visit the northern section of Canyonlands National Park which is called Grand Viewpoint Overlook where you can look down into the canyon near where the Colorado and Green Rivers merge.   Finally we go on into near-by Moab and hotel check-in at the 3-star Best Western Plus Greenwell Motel which is right downtown and walking distance from many restaurants.

Day 13 – Thursday (B, L) – Price River Canyon and Arches National Park

After breakfast we depart our hotel and take a leisure drive along the scenic Colorado River west of Moab on a country road. We will make several stops to take pictures including the awesome Castleton and Fisher Towers which are spectacular rock formations near the river.

After traveling 43 miles this country road comes out at the small ghost town of Cisco which is also on the mainline of the former Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad (Now Union Pacific).   Here we will wait for the westbound Rocky Mountaineer passenger train which is due at about 10am.  This train is going all the way to Salt Lake City and is the newest train for the Rocky Mountaineer Company.  We will follow this passenger train for about 2 ½ hours until we reach the Price River Canyon stopping at scenic locations along the way for photos of this train.  This rail line now hosts trains from Union Pacific, BNSF, Utah Railway, Amtrak and Rocky Mountaineer so we could see some of these trains too.  After taking our last photos of the Rocky Mountaineer, we will have our picnic lunch before returning to Moab and the visiting Arches National Park where you will discover a landscape of contrasting colors, landforms and textures unlike any other in the world. The park has over 2,000 natural stone arches, in addition to hundreds of soaring pinnacles, massive fins and giant balanced rocks. This red rock wonderland will amaze you with its formations. We will keep exploring this park until sunset then return to our hotel in Moab for a 2^nd nights lodging.

Day 14 – Friday (B, L) – Goosenecks State Park, Monument Valley

After breakfast and hotel check-out we head south towards the Utah/Arizona border. We will stop in the small town of Bluff for lunch. South of Bluff we explore Goosenecks State Park in southern Utah near the town of Mexican Hat. Goosenecks is on the edge of a deep canyon above the San Juan River with impressive views of one of the most striking examples of an entrenched river meander on the North American continent. The San Juan River twists and turns flowing a distance of over six miles while advancing one and half miles on its way to Lake Powell. Gaze at the results of 300 million years of geological activity, where the San Juan River winds and carves its way through the desert 1,000 feet below.  We then continue southboud making a stop to photograph the balanced rock called Mexican Hat.

A short distance from Mexican Hat is Monument Valley.  Here we cross into Arizona and also into the Navajo Nation.  This is a sovereign nation within the boundaries of the United States.  Before hotel check-in we will take a tour of the Navajo Nation’s Monument Valley Tribal Park which is inside of the Navajo Nation. This park is right on the Utah and Arizona state line.  We will take you on a 17-mile loop through the valley to view some of the rock formations with Navajo names like: East & West Mitten, Merrick Butte, Elephant Butte, The Three Sisters, Camel Butte, The Hub, Rain God Mesa, and Totem Pole to name a few.  You will be experiencing one of the most majestic – and most photographed – points on earth. Monument Valley boasts sandstone masterpieces that tower at heights of 400 to 1,000 feet, framed by scenic clouds casting shadows that graciously roam the desert floor. The angle of the sun accents these graceful formations, providing scenery that is simply spellbinding. The landscape overwhelms, not just by its beauty but also by its size. The fragile pinnacles of rock are surrounded by miles of mesas and buttes, shrubs, trees and windblown sand, all comprising the magnificent colours of the valley. All of this harmoniously combines to make Monument Valley a truly wondrous experience.

Many Hollywood movies have been filmed here such as: Billy the Kid, Fort Apache, 2001 a Space Odyssey, Once Upon of Time in the West, The legend of the Lone Ranger, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, and Back to the Future Part III to name a few. Prior to sunset we check-in at the classic 3-star View Hotel. This Hotel is a Navajo owned business located within the Navajo Nation and the Navajo Tribal Park at Monument Valley. All rooms face east with a private balcony with views unlike anywhere else in world. You can enjoy the sunset as the shadows of late afternoon move across the valley and onto the massive rock formations right from your balcony. After the sun sets you can head for the hotel restaurant for dinner at your own leisure.

Monument Valley National Park (Alamy Images)

Day 15 (B, L) – Saturday – Galloping Goose Museum, Mesa Verde National Park

Be sure and get up early to enjoy the spectacular sunrise over Monument Valley.  You will have a perfect view from your private room balcony. Then wander to the hotel restaurant for breakfast prior to hotel check-out and our leisure start of the day.  Today we head east towards the state of Colorado making a stop in Dolores, Colorado to visit the Galloping Goose Historical Society’s Museum. The mission of the Galloping Goose Historical Society is to foster knowledge and continued interest in the Rio Grande Southern Railroad’s importance to the historical development of southwestern Colorado.

Next, we travel to near-by Mesa Verde National Park which offers a spectacular look into the lives of the Ancestral Pueblo people who made it their home for over 700 years, from AD 600 to 1300. Today the park protects nearly 5,000 known archaeological sites, including 600 cliff dwellings. These sites are some of the most notable and best preserved in the United States. After spending several hours at Mesa Verde, we travel to Durango and hotel check-in at the 3 star Best Western Rio Grande Hotel. Unpack and relax as we will spend two nights at this hotel.  Evening at your own leisure to explore downtown which is only two blocks from our hotel.

Day 16 – Sunday – Durango and Silverton Railroad

Today we will ride the famous Durango and Silverton Railroad from Durango to Silverton and return a total of 90 miles through the heart of the Colorado Rockies pulled by one of the railroad’s former Rio Grande steam locomotives.  Before boarding our train in Durango we will visit the Durango & Silverton Railroad Museum which is attached to the workshops.  You can even take a look into the old roundhouse from a window in the museum. We then board the first train of the day departing at 9:00am and arriving in Silverton at 12:30pm. This is an unforgettable journey which takes you up into the Rocky Mountains with views of the San Juan National Forest as you travel alongside the beautiful Animas River on your way to the historic mining town of Silverton. Much of your trip today will be in the remote and rugged wilderness of the Animas River Canyon.  There are no roads in this canyon and the only way in and out is by train.  Upon arrival in Silverton you will step back to 1882 as you explore this classic western mining town high in the mountains of Colorado.  You will have plenty of time to get some lunch.  The train will then depart Silverton for the return journey at 2:30pm and arriving back in Durango at 6:00pm. 2nd night in Durango at the 3 star Best Western Rio Grande Hotel.

Day 17 – Monday – Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad, Alamosa

We have an early start this morning right after breakfast as we must be in Chama, New Mexico in enough time to board the 10:00am steam train on the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad. This excursion train will take us up and over the Rocky Mountains to Cumbres Summit at 10,022 feet and along the rim of the rugged and deep Toltec Gorge to Antonito, Colorado. This is one of the most spectacular steam-pulled train rides in North America.  Upon arrival in Antonito you will have the opportunity to photograph the locomotive crew watering and oiling the steam locomotive and visit the workshop area which will have other steam locomotives here.  After exploring the yards and workshop area of the railroad we travel the short distance by highway to Alamosa and hotel check-in at the 3 star Best Western Alamosa Inn.

Day 18 – Tuesday (B, L) – Sand Dunes National Park, Royal Gorge Scenic Railroad

After breakfast we first visit the depot and workshops of the former Rio Grande Scenic Railroad which closed in 2019 but there were still some diesel engines stored here including some classic F units.  A new railroad now serves the greater Alamosa region called The Colorado Pacific Rio Grande Railroad.  They have taken over the workshops of the former Rio Grande Scenic Railroad.  We then depart Alamosa and travel by highway to near-by Sand Dunes National Park for a short visit. The tallest sand dunes in North America are the centrepiece in a diverse landscape of grasslands, wetlands, forests, alpine lakes, and tundra.  Next, we travel to Canon City, Colorado and board the 3:30pm lunch train on the Royal Gorge Scenic Railroad for a journey through the spectacular and rugged Royal Gorge while enjoying a gourmet lunch. Since 1879, these tracks have followed the winding, tumbling Arkansas River deep within the soaring 1,000-foot granite cliffs of Colorado’s Royal Gorge. The former Rio Grande Railroad once ran regular passenger trains through this gorge.  Enjoy the breathtaking scenery as you have your lunch.  This train arrives back in Canon City at 5:00pm. After our lunch excursion we then travel by highway to Colorado Springs and check-in at the 3-star Quality Inn Garden of the Gods. Rest of the evening at your own leisure.

Day 19 – Wednesday (B) – Garden of the Gods, Pikes Peak Cog Railway, Manitou Springs

After breakfast and hotel check-out we visit the fascinating Garden of the Gods rock formations which is just a few miles from our hotel.  Next, we travel to near-by Manitou Springs and board the morning train on the Boardmore, Manitou and Pikes Peak Cog Railway. The 9 miles up to the summit of Pikes Peak is spectacular and breathtaking. This rail line enters Pike National Forest traveling along Ruxton Creek, by Diamond Rock, within the steep rocky walls of Englemann Canyon, past stacked boulder formations, a striking waterfall, and through Deer Park then Son of a Gun Hill, through the Icebox, a cool shaded canyon, past the remains of Halfway House Hotel, and eventually moving above timberline, where the views get more expansive. At the summit, which is 14,115 feet you will have views of both the Collegiate and Sangre de Cristo Mountain ranges as well as the mining town of Cripple Creek and on a very clear day you may even see the skyscrapers of Denver. Additionally on a super clear day you can see into the states of Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and even Wyoming. Our train arrives back at Manitou Springs at 11:00am. You will then have time to explore the many shops in downtown Manitou Springs and get some lunch.  Next, we travel to Golden, Colorado which is a few miles from Denver and home to the Colorado Railroad Museum.  Hotel check-in at the 3-star Table Mountain Inn in downtown Golden. Unpack and relax as we will be here for two nights.  Our hotel has a wonderful restaurant and very close to the hotel are several very good places to get dinner.

Day 20 Thursday (L, D) – Georgetown Loop Railroad, Colorado Railroad Museum, Galloping Goose Ride

After breakfast we drive up into the Rocky Mountains to Georgetown which was founded in 1859.   Here you will have time to explore this historic mountain mining town which is known as “Silver Queen of the Rockies”.  Georgetown is famous for it’s well preserved Victorian architecture. We then board the morning excursion train on the Georgetown Loop Railroad for a ride up to Silver Plume and return.  The Georgetown Loop is an engineering marvel originally built in 1884, the railroad fulfilled the hopes of Georgetown citizens to become a prosperous settlement connected to Denver and points east.  To connect Silver Plume and Georgetown, these two towns are only two miles apart, but the tracks had to scale an elevation of 640 feet over mountainous terrain, requiring trestles, cuts, fills, loops, and curves totaling 4.5 miles.

After our train ride we return to Golden and visit the famous Colorado Railroad Museum which has a large collection of steam, diesel and railcars. They have 11 steam locomotives, 6 diesels, 3 Galloping Goose Railcars, and over 80 pieces of rolling stock including passenger cars and cabooses.  Also, they have a large HO model railroad and an outside G Scale model railroad plus many displays.   We have arranged to charter one of the Rio Grande Southern Galloping Goose Railcars so we can take a ride around the museum grounds.  Our charter will make several runs around the museum grounds which will give you the opportunity to not only ride the famous Galloping Goose but to then take several photos of it at different locations around the museum.  Back at our hotel in the evening we will have our Farewell Dinner.

Day 21 – Friday – Denver, Forney Museum of Transportation

After hotel check-out we take a ride on the Regional Transportation District (RTD) light rail train from Golden to downtown Denver. The light rail train will take 43 minutes to travel directly to the impressive Denver Union Station where you will have time to explore this beautiful landmark.   On June 1, 1881, Denver Union Depot opened its doors but burnt down in 1894.  The depot was quickly rebuilt but this was short-lived.  A new depot was built from carved granite and opened its doors in 1914 as Denver Union Station.  The Station reached its zenith in the mid-1940s, welcoming more than 50,000 visitors daily.  In 2001, efforts began in earnest to revitalize the once-great landmark of historic Lower Downtown Denver, culminating in a grand reopening of the reimagined Denver Union Station as a shopping, dining, and cultural destination in 2014 — precisely one hundred years after the opening of the rebuilt structure.

Our last activity of our tour will be a visit to the Forney Museum of Transportation which is a one-of-a-kind collection of over 800 artifacts relating to historical transportation. It began 70 years ago with a single 1921 Kissel but soon expanded to include vehicles of all kinds. Today it includes not just vehicles, but also buggies, motorcycles, steam locomotives, aircraft, carriages, rail equipment, fire apparatus, public transportation, sleighs, bicycles, toys & diecast models, vintage apparel and much, much more! This collection highlights includes Union Pacific ‘Big Boy’ Steam Locomotive #4005, Amelia Earhart’s 1923 Kissel ‘Gold Bug’, Forney Locomotive, Colorado & Southern Caboose, 1923 Hispano-Suiza, 1913-53 Indian Motocycle Collection, Denver & Rio Grande Dining Car, Stutz Fire Engine, 1888 Denver Cable Car, 1923 Case Steam Tractor, 1817 Draisenne Bicycle, 500 Piece Matchbox Collection, and more!

Finally, it is time to head for the Denver International Airport.   If you are flying back home today we will arrive at the airport at about 1:30pm. Be sure and allow plenty of time to check-in for your flights home.  If you decide to spend another night here, there are many hotels close to the airport in case you decide to schedule your flight for the next day.

Recommended UK Flights

BA0285 10:45 Heathrow T5 to San Francisco (arr 13:50)
BA0218 18:40 Denver to Heathrow T5 (arr 10:40 next day)

Connecting BA flights from Manchester, Newcastle and other UK regional airport via Heathrow (often costing not much more than the Heathrow flight). From Manchester and Newcastle it is also possible to fly with Air-Lingus via Dublin.