A Trip on the Royal Gorge Railroad

Mom loves trains. For a long time she has wanted to ride one of the scenic trains in Colorado, and this week before Seth heads off to school we took a morning off and drove about 90 minutes south to Canyon City to ride the Royal Gorge Railroad. According to a sign in town the Royal Gorge is one of the most visited sites in Colorado. The Arkansas River flows through the Royal Gorge, and the train follows the river through the gorge. There is a big suspension bridge over the gorge, and you can also see the gorge via tram. The train ride is about 28 miles one-way, but you go up and back. The train has locomotives on both ends and it just reverses for the return trip. Our tickets gave us assigned seats, but the train was nearly empty, and we could have sat almost anywhere. There is also an observation car that is open air, and where I spent most of the time because I could see better. The train doesn't go very fast; I would guess about 15-20 miles per hour.

Here is the train at the Canyon City station where we boarded

Pretty scenery in the gorge

In the first 10 miles there is this 30inch redwood pipe that was built in the late 1800's to bring water to the city. It was taken out of service in the 1970's. It looks to have been built like a wooden barrel except it is 8 miles long or so

A view of the Royal Gorge Bridge from the train. I'm not sure if cars can drive across or if it is only for pedestrians. Either way, you can be you have to pay to cross.

Hanging out in the observation car

The canyon gets pretty narrow. We are stopped just past the bridge for someone to get on or off; I'm not exactly sure

Some fun pictures of Mom

Later than night Seth attended his last Mutual activity (he leaves for BYU next Tuesday). It was a Scout Court of Honor but it included an Eagle presentation. Seth was sitting in the "Eagle's Roost" and it was probably the last time he'll wear that uniform as well.