Steam & Excursion > Happy Fourth - Denver Style

GrandLuxe Express sleeper Montreal (right) at old Denver Union Station (reopened in 2014 with totally different track layout), Denver, Colorado, September 28, 2007.  Fireworks launched from Coors Field (Colorado Rockies baseball team).

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May 29, 2009 - Phil Anschutz purchased the American Orient Express / GrandLuxe Express cars for his stillborn American Explorer train.  Train shown arriving Denver from California storage.  BNSF Rennix Yard at left.

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CZ, Happy Independence Day to you, too.  What ever became of the AOE trainset?

nycman Wrote:
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> CZ, Happy Independence Day to you, too.  What
> ever became of the AOE trainset?

Cars have gone all over the place.  After the American Explorer was cancelled, some cars were transferred to another Anschutz/Xanterra property, the Grand Canyon RY, including the 2 Budd full domes built in 1955 for the Empire Builder.  Some cars went to private owners, such as the former UP 11 double bedroom sleeper Berlin.  Still others were acquired by Ross Rowland for the planned Greenbrier Express, and were sold at auction last year to a number of parties: 2 cars were acquired by the North Carolina DOT for the Piedmont (these 2 had been built for the UP as coaches, then were converted to sleepers by AOE, and will now be coaches once again), 2 additional ex-UP coaches turned sleepers had been sold before the auction to NS (to become sleepers #14 and #15), UP acquired 4 cars, all of UP heritage (2 had been built as coaches converted by AOE to sleepers, one was built as an 11 double bedroom sleeper, and the 4th a 5 double bedroom sleeper-club lounge rebuilt to 11 double bedrooms), Western Maryland Scenic purchased a former C&O 5 double bedroom sleeper-buffet lounge blunt end observation, BNSF acquired a former B&O 10 roomette-6 double bedroom sleeper, and 5 additional cars went to several private parties (a former UP café lounge to an unknown party, 3 cars to "persons affiliated with the Morristown and Erie": a former UP 11 double bedroom sleeper, a former UP 5 double bedroom sleeper-club lounge rebuilt to 11 double bedrooms, and a former SP 4 double bedroom-4 compartment-2 drawing room sleeper, and finally, a second former SP 4-4-2 sleeper to "persons affiliated with Genesee Valley Transportation").  Also, the former NYC 5 double bedroom sleeper-buffet lounge observation Sandy Creek (named New York by AOE) is now owned by Wick Moorman as RPCX #800321 Sandy Creek.

Posting from Estes Park, CO