Nostalgia & History > The Friday F: Grande Finale at Grand Junction

First up, an unusual early morning sun angle for shooting the Rio Grande Zephyr at Grand Junction.  Eatbound #18 normally didn't get into town until mid-day high sun , but this day was different, and not in a good way.  Today, in April 1983, was the last run for the train.  A few months earlier, the massive landslide at Thistle, UT had severed the Rio Grande mainline, and the RGZ was cut back to a Denver-Grand Junction operation.  By the time through service to SLC was restored, it would be an Amtrak train with Superliners.  But in the early morning of the last day, the train could be photographed in strong early morning light, waiting for passengers.

It was also waiting for the press people, lots of them.  There was a helicopter parked in back of the station building that would fire up as soon as we left, and follow us for a half hour or so along the Colorado River.  When we got to Denver at the end of the run, there were snippets of coverage on all three national TV networks.

A couple years earlier, a perfectly routine RGZ approached Prospect Junction with the Denver skyline in the background.  This scene is hardly recognizable today, and in fact can't be viewed at all, at least not legally.  The skyline is almost totally obscured by new buildings as Denver's building boom continues.  Prospect has been reconfigured with the new commuter rail line running pretty much through where I was standing for this photo.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/19/16 06:38 by march_hare.

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Hard to believe it's been 33 years since; time sure flies!  Thanks for sharing.

Cheers, Jim Fitch

It was a GRANDE train too.

Gee, what we had here, in Colorado, and took largely for granted... === === = === JLH

Nice shots!  Old D&RGW RR train crews were based olut of  Denver and Grand Junction.  Dever and
​Grand junction engine crews worked to and from Bond, CO.