Through The Rockies

The Denver and Rio Grande Western has a wonderful history. Crossing Colorado, Utah and New Mexico, it managed to overcome adversity and be the lifeline to many communities in the days when roads were few and trains were the only really reliable way to go from place to place.

The Rio Grande used a slogan in marketing the railroad which really did describe what it did best. “Through the Rockies, Not Around Them.” And yes, it was a dig at competition. The mighty Santa Fe and it’s Chief took the southern route west. The fabled Union Pacific went over Sherman Hill to the north through Wyoming on it’s way to Salt Lake City. The Rio Grande went direct through the Rockies. But with the construction of the Moffat Tunnel, and opening in 1928, it shortened the route west between Denver and Salt Lake City.

At 6.2 miles long, it was an engineering marvel. A smaller tunnel next to the railroad tunnel carries water, as part of the supply for Denver. Previously, trains crossed the area high on the mountain in a slow and laborious route. This new route was a key element when the Rio Grande joined forces with the Western Pacific and the Burlington Route to run passenger trains between Chicago and San Francisco. The 1939 Exposition Flyer and the 1949 California Zephyr proved popular with travelers offering the best scenery along the route.

I’ve ridden through the Moffat Tunnel twice; once east and once west, back in the fall of 1980 on my vacation to Denver. Aboard the Rio Grande Zephyr, it was a throwback to earlier times in the streamliner era. The Rio Grande had decided against joining Amtrak in 1971 and continued to operate their own segment of the California Zephyr between 1970 and 1983. Using the same passenger cars and offering much the same service as it had years before, the train operated on a tri-weekly trip between Denver and Salt Lake City, with Wednesday’s being the day the train was serviced in Denver. My trip was part of a larger adventure, but I know many for whom the Rio Grande Zephyr was the destination, rather than the mode of transport.

As I head east again this week, I will head back some 39 years to my first ride. Indeed, “Through the Rockies, not Around Them.”