Passenger Trains > Canyon Spirit CO to Utah 7 Apr 2026

Canyon Spirit RMRX 8020 and 8021 departed Pinecliffe, CO, after Union Pacific 12-car passenger special passed 7 April 2026.  Union Pacific's Moffat Tunnel Subd had three passenger trains that morning; Amtrak's California Zephyr train 5, UP CEO Jim Vena special from Fraser, CO, to Pueblo, CO, and Canyon Spirit trip Denver to Glenwood Springs, CO.

You must be a registered subscriber to watch videos. Join Today!

I wonder if the smart people on TO could tell us the last time 3 passenger trains would have gone through that part of the D&RGW on the same day?

I love the steam locomotive effect!

That's a lot of passenger trains on that route!  Nice video, I'm hoping to catch it today or tomorrow around Salt Lake.

Many thanks for posting of your video of Canyon Spirit- the new name for the Rocky Mountaineer's train out of Denver, Colorado.

In answer to  question posted with your post by another Trainorders member:

Historically, on a regular basis, 3 trains polishing the rails daily on this route ended after July of 1967 when the Prospector was discontinued. These would be the original California Zephyr and the Yampa Valley (former Yampa Valley Mail) along with the Prospector.

Attached is a Rio Grande publicity photo of the Prospector taken on the 4ht of October in 1952.

Jeff in Murray, Utah-

---

Milwaukee Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I wonder if the smart people on TO could tell us
> the last time 3 passenger trains would have gone
> through that part of the D&RGW on the same day?

4 trains just a few weekends ago. 2 Ski Trains and # 5 & #6.

in 67 we had 6 passenger trains a day

What are we seeing here? The front unit coughs out a bunch of smoke then subsides. A second later, the trailing unit does the same thing. In what looks like some strange synchronicity. 

they have worked on those engines a lot, still smoky

Regarding the smoky engines, I had the thought that Canyon Spirit was using Tier One power, maybe even Tier Minus-One!  I'm also curious about the consist. There are far more former Red Leaf Cars on that train than should be needed for crew.  I know at least one's a lounge car and at least one is a crew car.  I was almost wondering if they were bringing back Red Leaf just to have an additional class of service on that train. I'd appreciate hearing what's going on from whoever might know.

NPRocky Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Regarding the smoky engines, I had the thought
> that Canyon Spirit was using Tier One power, maybe
> even Tier Minus-One!  I'm also curious about the
> consist. There are far more former Red Leaf Cars
> on that train than should be needed for crew.  I
> know at least one's a lounge car and at least one
> is a crew car.  I was almost wondering if they
> were bringing back Red Leaf just to have an
> additional class of service on that train. I'd
> appreciate hearing what's going on from whoever
> might know.

It's the same on the western Canadian Rocky Mountaineer trains as well with what seems to be an excess of former Red Leaf cars. They are crew cars, a place for storage of various supplies, service cars, etc.  They are not bringing back Red Leaf, just bringing them along to support operations............I had hoped they would convert a few more of the former Red Leaf coaches into "lounges" that could offer another car people in Silver and Gold Leaf could go to, more than what is offered now on just the US ops of Canyon Spirit with the lounge cars. I was speaking to a few travel agents these past two weeks and they were mentioning the same thing - oddly......

Nice!  My wife and I were among the psgrs for the inaugural run of the Canyon Spirit.  I just posted a reply to another thread about the train, incl two of my pics of the interior.  But I'm no good at posting pics so they're both rotated 90 degrees from where they oughta be.