Heritage at Adobe

The early morning light mingles with Rio Grande history along the Tennessee Pass Route at Adobe MP147.13 east of Florence, CO.

Along the Mighty Arkansas

The soft early morning sun deep in the canyon of a cold morning in the Royal Gorge kiss the nose of the Rio Grande heritage unit along the Arkansas ... (more)

Reflecting on Grande History

Union Pacific heritage Rio Grande 1989 is exiting the Royal Gorge near Canõn City, CO.

In the Royal Gorge

Union Pacific heritage Rio Grande 1989 is east of Parkdale, CO deep in the Royal Gorge.

High in the Rocky Mountains, searchlight signals still stand guard alongside the Tennessee Pass Route. Although this route has been inactive for over 20 years, the signals still appear to be in go... (more)

Southern Pacific’s RVSAM freight climbs Tennessee Pass on the morning of August 1, 1996. The eastbound train is working its way out of the canyon between Redcliff and Pando, Colorado, and is going... (more)

An eastbound Southern Pacific coal train curves through Edwards, Colorado, on September 5, 1995. Located on the Tennessee Pass route, the town of Edwards is about eleven miles west of Minturn in t... (more)

An eastbound Southern Pacific manifest freight grinds uphill climbing Tennessee Pass and crosses the Eagle River approaching Pando, Colorado, on August 2, 1996. Not only does the train have to fig... (more)

A Southern Pacific freight approaches the east switch of the siding at Texas Creek, Colorado, while following the Arkansas River westbound on Rio Grande’s original mainline route through the Royal... (more)

For a year-and-a-half after Union Pacific closed Colorado’s Tennessee Pass as a through route on August 23, 1997, it still operated a one-a-week local from Pueblo to Malta, near Leadville, on a ro... (more)

In the late 1980s, Rio Grande improved tunnel clearances on the Royal Gorge route over Tennessee Pass so doublestack trains could be operated. On May 24, 1991, a westbound Rio Grande stack train p... (more)

Autoracks bend through the multiple curves as Southern Pacific’s KCOAF train eases down the steep 3 percent grade on the western slope of scenic Tennessee Pass at Pando, Colorado, on August 2, 199... (more)

A westbound Southern Pacific freight follows the Arkansas River just west of Cotopaxi, Colorado, on Rio Grande’s original mainline route through the Royal Gorge and over Tennessee Pass on Septembe... (more)

On a pretty August 2, 1996, morning, an eastbound Southern Pacific autorack train passes Crystal Lakes south (railroad east) of Malta, Colorado, on the scenic line over Tennessee Pass. The train i... (more)

The east switch of Salida siding is no longer visible through the brush as trees and bushes encroach on the Tennessee Pass main line in Colorado that Union Pacific has rail banked for over twenty ... (more)