When I first visited the USA toghether with a friend in summer 1991, we stopped our camping bus at the Tennessee pass railway of the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad overnight. In the mornin... (more)

Rio Grande EMD SD40T-2 No. 5382 and EMD SD50 No. 5515 wait for a call to duty in front of the small enginehouse at Minturn, Colorado, at the foot of the famed grade over Tennessee Pass.

For years, Colorado’s Minturn yard has sat empty, rusty and forlorn, as seen on June 4, 2018. The sand tower is now gone and weeds grow between the rails that once supported interstate commerce.... (more)

DRGW 3082 leads an eastbound manifest uphill into Belden siding. A downhill helper set waits on the track along the Eagle Mine. View from Highway 24 high above.

An eastbound Rio Grande manifest pauses at Minturn before climbing the steep grade to Tennessee Pass.

One of the huge losses insofar as scenic lines was the Rio Grande route via Tennessee Pass that carried just enough traffic to keep things interesting. I was working as relief agent at Minturn and... (more)

With the former Rio Grande route over Tennessee Pass now dormant since the last Union Pacific train operated over it in 1997, nature has been taking over portions of the route. On the east switch ... (more)

A eastbound Climbs Tennessee pass at east belden

Severed—forever?
In early March 2014, a 30-foot boulder came crashing down the mountainside above Minturn, slamming onto the Tennessee Pass main line below while breaking in two and de... (more)

Nightfall over Minturn
Darkness is settling over the town of Minturn, that sits at the foot of Tennessee Pass on Rio Grande’s Royal Gorge Route main line. Three EMD SD40T-2 Tunnel Moto... (more)

Looking toward the east switch of Minturn siding shows an impediment to any possible train movements over Union Pacific’s railbanked Tennessee Pass route on June 4, 2018. In early March 2014, a ... (more)

Today, Colorado’s Minturn yard sits empty, rusty and forlorn. No longer do crews cut in helpers for the arduous climb up the steep 3 percent grades of Tennessee Pass. The sand tower is now gone ... (more)

No trains have passed this way recently!
In early March 2014, a 30-foot boulder came crashing down the mountainside above Minturn, Colorado, just west of milepost 301 on this famous Rio... (more)

Nothing has run on Tennessee Pass lately
Proof can be found looking down the main line just west of milepost 301 on this famous Rio Grande route that Union Pacific stopped operating in ... (more)

Minturn yard—1985
Rio Grande’s Minturn yard at the western base of a three percent climb over Tennessee Pass was an important location on the railroad’s map. It was a crew change ... (more)