I was fortunate enough to get to visit Tennessee pass back in the last days of the D& RGW, and chased a train to the summit and followed the the helpers back down. I have since ridden the Royal Gorge tourist train a couple times also. Sure do miss those tunnel motors.
10min mark...im a railroader and so 63 loads and 30 empties is not 7000 tons lol more like 9000. Not critiquing but I just know from experience. Gives you more appreciation for the railroaders battling this grade! Great video!
I was fortunate enough to see the line in action, in the summer of 1992. We floated the Arkansas river, for roughly 20 miles, and saw several trains during the trip. I hate to see the line in its current state.
Wow, that must have been really neat to float along with the trains. We know the stretch of river you are talking about, and it is beautiful there on the Arkansas River!
They had there fair share of run a ways. On 22-Nov-1994, the crew of SP taconite train 2MNGVC-17 found themselves unable to slow the heavy westbound, having just crested Tennessee Pass and started down the 3% grade to Minturn. At approximately 0245h, the train had reached 60+ mph when it tried to round the 10-degree curves at Mitchell, CO. While the lead unit, DRGW 5369, held the rails, the following three units - DRGW 5348, SP 8670 (an SD40R), and DRGW 5370 - derailed at MP 283.6, as did 51 of the 54 cars of iron ore behind them. Taconite pellets went everywhere, and one or more of the fuel tanks ruptured, spilling approximately 1500 gallons of diesel fuel. Engineer FM Thompson, in the lead unit that negotiated the curves and stayed on the rails, was uninjured. However, Conductor M. Perkins was in the 5370 when the derailment occurred, and reportedly suffered very serious injuries. Thankfully, both men lived, and both were cleared of any fault in the wreck. The cause of the derailment was determined to be ice blockage in the brake pipe just behind the head end. Fault for the wreck was placed with the individual(s) who not conducted an adequate brake test before the train departed Pueblo some hours earlier
On February 21, 1996 at about 5:55 a.m., mountain standard time, Southern Pacific Lines freight train 1ASRVM-18 derailed 39 cars and 2 locomotives while descending the Tennessee Pass, a 3.0 percent grade in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. The train’s three-member traincrew consisted of a locomotive engineer, a student locomotive engineer, and a conductor. According to the conductor, the train was being operated by the student engineer. As the train started the mountainous descent it began gaining speed and eventually ran away. The runaway train broke apart three different times, resulting in three separate derailments. Event recorder data showed that as the train descended the steep mountain grade, small (1 to 2 psi) incremental brake pipe reductions were progressively made in an apparent attempt to control the rapid increase in the train’s speed. Train speed continued to increase despite continued incremental brake pipe reductions and brake application. Train speed increased to the point where the brake system no longer had the ability to stop the train. Such action would be expected of an inexperienced engineer. By the time the brakes were applied in emergency, the train was going too fast for the brakes to be effective. The student engineer and engineer both perished and the brakeman was seriously injured!
@@charlessmileyvideos man like I find it very cool an have a certain level of respect for you cause you know so much about the railroad...an what makes it so great is that your telling an showing REAL history an your telling it Truthfully 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
The trains go over the UP Moffat Line now! UP also rerouted many trains around Colorado to Wyoming and the Sunset Line to the south so traffic is a trickle of what it once was in Colorado!
Yeah it’s not formally abandoned on paper, but the physical infrastructure basically says abandoned. I think it’s officially listed as “out of service.” I don’t think UP will outright abandon it because, as you said, FNBS or some other company may come in and buy it and resurrect it. UP hates competition, and they also hate the inclines of the pass cutting into their bottom line, so they just hold it because they don’t wanna sell it nor do they want to operate it. CDOT listed it as a vital piece of infrastructure so hopefully one day it will be reinstated. While any modern traffic won’t be the same as DRGW and SP tunnel motors battling the grade, I’d still rather at least see some Urine yellow locomotives going up and down it than no traffic at all. The history of Colorado railroads is too interesting to let the line idle away into obscurity, especially the TP.
An exciting chapter from our full length movie "Tennessee Pass: from start to finish" available at www.cspmovies.com
One of the best DVDs I have from CSP. Fantastic title.
I was fortunate enough to get to visit Tennessee pass back in the last days of the D& RGW, and chased a train to the summit and followed the the helpers back down.
I have since ridden the Royal Gorge tourist train a couple times also.
Sure do miss those tunnel motors.
The DRGW and SP Tunnel Motors were amazing! They prowled these Mountains well, and were perfectly suited for the heavy grades and tunnels!
10min mark...im a railroader and so 63 loads and 30 empties is not 7000 tons lol more like 9000. Not critiquing but I just know from experience. Gives you more appreciation for the railroaders battling this grade! Great video!
I was fortunate enough to see the line in action, in the summer of 1992. We floated the Arkansas river, for roughly 20 miles, and saw several trains during the trip. I hate to see the line in its current state.
Wow, that must have been really neat to float along with the trains. We know the stretch of river you are talking about, and it is beautiful there on the Arkansas River!
Did anyone else notice the hobo in the empty box car @ 7:25 ?
Could have been Shoestring in his younger days, RIP.
@@whereisthedollar Classic he scored why did they call him "Shoestring"?
@@charlessmileyvideos Not sure, but he has or had a channel on TH-cam. There are reports that he has passed away in the last year
Good catch
@7:25 - its a passenger extra train.
Yep, ride of a lifetime for sure!
This was really good....I bet it was nerve racking trying to manage all that up an the back down 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
They had there fair share of run a ways. On 22-Nov-1994, the crew of SP taconite train 2MNGVC-17 found themselves unable to slow the heavy westbound, having just crested Tennessee Pass and started down the 3% grade to Minturn. At approximately 0245h, the train had reached 60+ mph when it tried to round the 10-degree curves at Mitchell, CO. While the lead unit, DRGW 5369, held the rails, the following three units - DRGW 5348, SP 8670 (an SD40R), and DRGW 5370 - derailed at MP 283.6, as did 51 of the 54 cars of iron ore behind them. Taconite pellets went everywhere, and one or more of the fuel tanks ruptured, spilling approximately 1500 gallons of diesel fuel.
Engineer FM Thompson, in the lead unit that negotiated the curves and stayed on the rails, was uninjured. However, Conductor M. Perkins was in the 5370 when the derailment occurred, and reportedly suffered very serious injuries. Thankfully, both men lived, and both were cleared of any fault in the wreck. The cause of the derailment was determined to be ice blockage in the brake pipe just behind the head end. Fault for the wreck was placed with the individual(s) who not conducted an adequate brake test before the train departed Pueblo some hours earlier
On February 21, 1996 at about 5:55 a.m., mountain standard time,
Southern Pacific Lines freight train 1ASRVM-18 derailed 39 cars and 2
locomotives while descending the Tennessee Pass, a 3.0 percent grade in the
Rocky Mountains of Colorado. The train’s three-member traincrew consisted of a
locomotive engineer, a student locomotive engineer, and a conductor.
According to the conductor, the train was being operated by the student
engineer. As the train started the mountainous descent it began gaining speed
and eventually ran away. The runaway train broke apart three different times,
resulting in three separate derailments. Event recorder data showed that as the train descended the steep
mountain grade, small (1 to 2 psi) incremental brake pipe reductions were
progressively made in an apparent attempt to control the rapid increase in the
train’s speed. Train speed continued to increase despite continued incremental
brake pipe reductions and brake application. Train speed increased to the point
where the brake system no longer had the ability to stop the train. Such action
would be expected of an inexperienced engineer. By the time the brakes were
applied in emergency, the train was going too fast for the brakes to be effective.
The student engineer and engineer both perished and the brakeman was seriously injured!
@@charlessmileyvideos man like I find it very cool an have a certain level of respect for you cause you know so much about the railroad...an what makes it so great is that your telling an showing REAL history an your telling it Truthfully 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
Excellent video!
Thanks SPSteve glad you enjoyed it!
What way do the trains go now without going over the pass ?
The trains go over the UP Moffat Line now! UP also rerouted many trains around Colorado to Wyoming and the Sunset Line to the south so traffic is a trickle of what it once was in Colorado!
Is it abandoned? I thought that then UP decided not to abandon it and just not use it so FN BS as Stobe used to call them, couldn't use it
Well, many crossing are paved over and their are boulders on the tracks. It is doubtful there will ever be another thru train on the TP Line
Yeah it’s not formally abandoned on paper, but the physical infrastructure basically says abandoned. I think it’s officially listed as “out of service.” I don’t think UP will outright abandon it because, as you said, FNBS or some other company may come in and buy it and resurrect it. UP hates competition, and they also hate the inclines of the pass cutting into their bottom line, so they just hold it because they don’t wanna sell it nor do they want to operate it. CDOT listed it as a vital piece of infrastructure so hopefully one day it will be reinstated. While any modern traffic won’t be the same as DRGW and SP tunnel motors battling the grade, I’d still rather at least see some Urine yellow locomotives going up and down it than no traffic at all. The history of Colorado railroads is too interesting to let the line idle away into obscurity, especially the TP.
Nothern part of the Royal Gorge route. Does this see any use now ?
I think UP just stores cars there now. Maybe a local to Minturn not sure!
Whats the grade on this ? Looks steep
The grade is the steepest mainline railroad in the US at 3%! It is a tough stretch of railroad rea 3l comments below about wrecks and runaways!
It is unused because UP does not work or play well with others.
Some of those Locamotives Sure Need a Bath 😊
They look like "Cinder Blocks"! Too many tunnels and not enough showers!