Eastbound SP (Rio Grande) Manifest in the Royal Gorge
Another from the way back files of images I'm so grateful to have seen and so agonized to have not had the skill and gear to have properly captured the scene.
This view down from the world's highest suspension bridge - 1, 053 feet above the Arkansas River! This structure was built in 1929 and is part of the Royal Gorge Park, and at the time I was there it was still decked with wooden planks that you could terrifyingly see between and still was open to vehicular traffic. I'm not sure what it is like today.
Far below is an eastbound SP manifest approaching the "hanging bridge" at MP 166.2 on SP's Tennessee Pass Subdivision, the former Denver & Rio Grande Western mainline. This world famous location was once graced by the Grande's legendary passenger trains the Scenic Limited and then the streamlined Royal Gorge. All passenger trains were carded for a 10 minute stop here so passengers could disembark if they wished to marvel at the more than 1000 ft walls of the "Grand Canyon of the Arkansas."
The Hanging Bridge was actually built by and AT&SF subsidiary in 1879 during the bitter "royal Gorge War" as the Santa Fe and Rio Grande fought for the strategic route up the Arkansas to the fabulous silver mines at Leadville, deep in the Rocky Mountains, The bridge and all other AT&SF construction became D&RG property in 1880 for $1.4 million following the "Treaty of Boston" that resolved the two roads' differences. The bridge doesn't cross the river but rather suspends the tracks over it along the eastern wall at the gorge's narrowest point where no rock shelf could be carved. To this day it remains the only entirely original bridge on the whole ex D&RGW system (though it was modified and strengthened in the 1970s to allow for modern high cube boxcars and auto racks to clear). For it's first ten years the bridge saw only narrow gauge trains pass over it, then was dual gauged from 1890 to 1911, and solely standard gauge ever since.
The train is led by SP 147 (GE AC440CW blt 4/95) and SP 8623 (MK rebuilt SD40M-2 originally and SD45 built for the Santa Fe as #1835 in 10/66)
Nearly 25 years later trains can still be seen here operated by the Royal Gorge Scenic Railroad (tourist trains from Canon City) and Rock and Rail (stone and ballast trains from a quarry at Parkdale) but long thru manifests, intermodal, autorack, coal, and ore trains are but a memory...the last one having traversed the route about a year after this image was captured.
Royal Gorge
Near Canon City, Colorado
Sunday August 25, 1996
Eastbound SP (Rio Grande) Manifest in the Royal Gorge
Another from the way back files of images I'm so grateful to have seen and so agonized to have not had the skill and gear to have properly captured the scene.
This view down from the world's highest suspension bridge - 1, 053 feet above the Arkansas River! This structure was built in 1929 and is part of the Royal Gorge Park, and at the time I was there it was still decked with wooden planks that you could terrifyingly see between and still was open to vehicular traffic. I'm not sure what it is like today.
Far below is an eastbound SP manifest approaching the "hanging bridge" at MP 166.2 on SP's Tennessee Pass Subdivision, the former Denver & Rio Grande Western mainline. This world famous location was once graced by the Grande's legendary passenger trains the Scenic Limited and then the streamlined Royal Gorge. All passenger trains were carded for a 10 minute stop here so passengers could disembark if they wished to marvel at the more than 1000 ft walls of the "Grand Canyon of the Arkansas."
The Hanging Bridge was actually built by and AT&SF subsidiary in 1879 during the bitter "royal Gorge War" as the Santa Fe and Rio Grande fought for the strategic route up the Arkansas to the fabulous silver mines at Leadville, deep in the Rocky Mountains, The bridge and all other AT&SF construction became D&RG property in 1880 for $1.4 million following the "Treaty of Boston" that resolved the two roads' differences. The bridge doesn't cross the river but rather suspends the tracks over it along the eastern wall at the gorge's narrowest point where no rock shelf could be carved. To this day it remains the only entirely original bridge on the whole ex D&RGW system (though it was modified and strengthened in the 1970s to allow for modern high cube boxcars and auto racks to clear). For it's first ten years the bridge saw only narrow gauge trains pass over it, then was dual gauged from 1890 to 1911, and solely standard gauge ever since.
The train is led by SP 147 (GE AC440CW blt 4/95) and SP 8623 (MK rebuilt SD40M-2 originally and SD45 built for the Santa Fe as #1835 in 10/66)
Nearly 25 years later trains can still be seen here operated by the Royal Gorge Scenic Railroad (tourist trains from Canon City) and Rock and Rail (stone and ballast trains from a quarry at Parkdale) but long thru manifests, intermodal, autorack, coal, and ore trains are but a memory...the last one having traversed the route about a year after this image was captured.
Royal Gorge
Near Canon City, Colorado
Sunday August 25, 1996