Nostalgia & History > Thru track at Denver Union Station?

Before Amtrak, was the original California Zephyr able to travel thru Denver Union Station without a backup move?
Were there any other passenger trains that operated thru Denver, such as the Colorado Springs section of the Denver Zephyr?
Thanks!
Andy

Interesting question...

The through tracks at Denver Union Station were for trains heading north and south on the so-called Joint Line to Colorado Springs, Pueblo, and points south on the Colorado & Southern (Burlington/BN) and the Rio Grande (west via the Royal Gorge and Tennessee Pass). Also, Santa Fe trains would head east from Pueblo to La Junta and Missouri Pacific trains would also head east at Pueblo.  Any train passing through en route to or from Rio Grande's Moffat Tunnel line would have to wye either arriving or departing from the station. The same was true of UP's through trains such as the combined City of Portland/City of Denver and the Portland Rose. Amtrak has followed this same policy (turning the train on a wye, usually upon arrival) since early 1980 when the San Francisco Zephyr stopped pulling into downtown Cheyenne, Wyoming where the units would run around the train and haul in backwards (eastbound) to Denver. It was visa-versa westbound from Denver to Cheyenne before Borie was made the Cheyenne stop.

I hope this gives you a very brief background on train ops at DUS before the through (north/south) tracks were removed...

ShastaDaylight

twropr Wrote:
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> Before Amtrak, was the original California Zephyr
> able to travel thru Denver Union Station without a
> backup move?

No.  It has always required a backup move to wye the California Zephyr because the former CB&Q line from Chicago and the former D&RGW Moffat from Salt Lake City approached the station from the same direction.

Did the UP's through trains use the same wye as the CZ?

Dave

The back up move was also a good excuse to put the CZ through the washer racks. Very much remember that from the family trips I had as a kid.

The track plan through the years was very confusing, just lots and lots of track going everywhere and connecting everything. Last time I was in Denver it was easy to completely avoid the tracks, that never happened though.

I do not know what the UP did when the City of Portland/City of Denver operated via Denver, dropping the City of Denver cars at Denver, or the City of St. Louis, but in the later days of the City of Kansas City, the train was not wyed at Denver.  Instead, the power ran around the train at DUS, and it was hauled backwards to Cheyenne.  It was turned at Cheyenne, and again hauled backwards to Denver, placing it correctly for the trip to KC after the power ran around it at DUS.  This would have also worked for the City of Portland, since hauling it backward to Cheyenne would place it properly for the westward trip to Portland.  This was what was done with the San Francisco Zephyr from the beginning of Amtrak until either it was discontinued in 1983 or Borie station was opened, don't remember which happened first.  That said, UP had a wye of their own near the depot, and one at Pullman further away.   BSB



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/19/15 11:35 by BigSkyBlue.

When the City of Portland was combined with the City of Denver, didn't it bypass Cheyenne after leaving Denver?
 

Was that using the Julesburg to LaSalle 'branch'?

http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?11,3054599

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> When the City of Portland was combined with the
> City of Denver, didn't it bypass Cheyenne after
> leaving Denver?
>  

The City of Denver always operated from Julesburg to Denver . When the City of Portland was combined with it into Denver, the City of 
Portland then ran direct to Laramie via Speer, IIRC. One the City trains started getting combined, there were several variations.

In 1977 when I went into engine service and worked second shift hostler at the shop my first move was to check on the Amtraks to be ready to be at the depot to run the power around the train with the yard pilot.

Bob Krieger
Cheyenne, WY

UP had a wye just east of Q's 31st facility, all their own track