To Shiny Rails

First, let me say… The Rocky Mountaineer trip, Rockies to the Red Rocks, between Denver, CO and Moab, UT is remarkable in every aspect. The people were great, the food was great, the service was great, the train is great, the scenery was astounding, the photo opps are great, the narrative about what we were seeing was great (history, geology, flora/fauna, tall tales); it was all great. Shoutout to the best Hosts: Olivia and Lacey. Totally worth the price of admission. And about that scenery, the majority of the majestic scenery is best seen from an observation railcar while someone else is driving. Some of it is ONLY available to train passengers. The route is the same as Amtrak’s California Zephyr from Denver, CO to Brendel, UT. (Amtrak’s California Zephyr goes from Chicago, IL to Emeryville, CA via Denver, CO, Fraser-Winter Park, CO (Moffat Tunnel), Glenwood Springs, CO, Salt Lake City, UT, Reno, NV, and Sacramento, CA.) At Brendel, UT, the Mountaineer turns south onto the Cane Creek Subdivision (some spell it Kane) paralleling Highway 191 and stops at a point about 13 miles north of Moab, UT along Highway 191. That last stretch of track is rare mileage for railfans. In 2022, the Mountaineer became the first passenger train in history to traverse that track since the track’s construction was completed in 1962. The track was constructed to connect a potash mine outside of Moab with the east-west D&RGW mainline at Brendel, UT – 10 miles east of Crescent Junction, UT. It also became used for the cleanup of radioactive materials outside of Moab. Here’s more info about this subdivision on UtahRails.net: D&RGW Cane Creek Branch. As it happens, my Dad, my Father-in-Law, and I took a trip on the Canadian Rocky Mountaineer back in 2008. My photos and stories from that trip start at this webpage: Rocky Mountaineer Calgary to Kamloops. If you want to see what the Zephyr trip across the Rockies looks like in the winter, here are some Zephyr pics in the Rockies 2005 (west to east, also my photos). All the photos from the Rocky Mountaineer portion of this 2024 trip begin here.

I took the following photos in 2023 further down the Cane Creek subdivision by the potash mine. The subdivision is nearly 41 miles long from where it starts at Brendel to where it ends at the potash mine.