| The ‘Royal Gorge Route’ train carries tourists through one of Colorado’s most amazing natural features, the Grand Canyon of the Arkansas River, known as the ‘Royal Gorge’. In places the canyon is only thirty feet wide, requiring the railway to be suspended above the river on an engineering masterpiece known as the ‘hanging bridge’. For decades passenger trains stopped on the bridge to allow passengers time to alight and wonder at the raging river below and the canyon walls rising 2600 feet above. During the heyday of the line in the 1890’s, four transcontinental passenger trains a day passed through the Royal Gorge. Competition from air and coach transport eventually reduced the service to one train daily between Denver and Salida, even this train was discontinued in 1967. The Rio Grande continued freight services through the gorge until 1989, after which various mergers and acquisitions led to closure of the Tennessee Pass line, including the gorge segment in 1997. Today’s ‘Royal Gorge Route Railroad’ began running trains over a 12 miles (19 km) section in 1998 going on to become a major tourist destination attracting over 100 000 visitors a year. The railway offers a variety of packages from a simple train ride to a delicious full dining option and for something really special it is possible to book a ride in the locomotive alongside the engineer.
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Royal Gorge Route Railroad – Driver’s Eye View - Alaska ...
